Professional communication styles. Levels of communication. Ritual communication is aimed at maintaining connections with society, reinforcing the idea of oneself as a member of society.

INTRODUCTION

Socially oriented communication is one of the most common forms of interaction, which is built according to certain rules, symbolically expressing real social relationships and the status of a person in a group. The manifestation of this type of communication is ritual communication. Ritual acts as a specific form of interaction, invented by people to satisfy the need for recognition. Ritual interaction proceeds from the position of “Parent - Parent”. Ritual reveals the values of the group; people express through ritual what touches them most, what constitutes their social value orientations.
The English scientist W. Turner, considering rituals and rites, understands them as prescribed formal behavior, as a system of beliefs and actions performed by a special cult association 1. Ritual interactions are needed to ensure continuity between different generations in a particular organization, to maintain traditions and transfer accumulated experience through symbols. Ritual interaction is a kind of holiday that has a deep emotional impact on people, it is a powerful means of maintaining traditions, stability, strength, continuity of social ties, it is a mechanism for uniting people and increasing their solidarity. Rituals, rituals, and customs are capable of being imprinted on the subconscious level of people, ensuring the deep penetration of certain social values into group and individual consciousness, into ancestral and personal memory.
Over the centuries, humanity has developed a huge variety of types of rituals that can be attributed to socially oriented communication. These are religious ceremonies, palace ceremonies, diplomatic and social receptions, secular ceremonies, including funerals and holidays. Socially oriented communication includes numerous norms of behavior: receiving guests, greeting acquaintances, addressing strangers, etc.
Ritual is a strictly fixed sequence of transactions, and transactions are carried out from the Parent position and are addressed to the Parent position, allowing people to feel recognized. If a person’s need for recognition is not fulfilled, then aggressive behavior begins to develop. This type of communication is precisely designed to remove this aggression, to satisfy the need for social recognition at least at a minimum level. Ritual style generated by intergroup situations.

1. THE MEANING OF RITUAL COMMUNICATION

Ritual communication combines everything that is considered a sign of good manners - greetings, handshakes, wishes, behavior and communication during parting, seeing off, etc. More complex, but still initially ritual, are weddings, anniversaries and other similar events. The “codes” of ritual communication are reflected in the rules of good manners; they are communicated to the subject in childhood and follow him throughout his life, right up to the last ritual in which he participates - his funeral 2.
In order to realize the planned influence, it is always preferable to take advantage of a natural ritual situation rather than one that was initially created artificially. For example, bringing together the right people under the pretext of celebrating an anniversary is much more natural than inventing some “suddenly arisen” reason for this. The naturalness of a ritual communication situation always helps to hide the third-party reason that this particular group of people ended up in a given place at a given time.
Based on this, it is often more productive to postpone what you have planned, tying its implementation to an upcoming holiday or celebration.
Quite often, for the successful implementation of any manipulation, the simultaneous presence of the right people in the right place is necessary. If the situation is urgent, the manipulator is forced to urgently construct a reason for this, as well as somehow ensure guaranteed presence the right people. This comes with a lot of opportunities to make participants suspicious that the initiator has some important goal, which sometimes makes manipulation simply impossible. This is where a ritual communication situation may well come to the rescue. If it is justified (say, an employee’s birthday), then the question of some third-party purposes of the “party” does not even arise. Moreover, the presence of a clear reason for a meeting in itself can distract from everything else, imposing an obligatory and pleasant ritual role on the participants of the celebration - congratulating, making toasts, having fun, giving compliments, etc. In any case, after some time of communication, its participants completely are captured by the ritual, and it becomes very difficult for them to “turn on” unexpected and inappropriate criticism.
Therefore, it is not surprising that a “manipulator from God” can wait quite a long time for the onset of a natural situation associated with some kind of ritual, because the guarantee that this situation will definitely occur is the presence of a large number of “periodic” rituals such as a birthday or a calendar holiday 3.
But what follows from all this for those who seek to avoid the manipulations that unfold against the background of ritual communication? First of all, always remember that the very fact that some event will definitely happen, and even develop in a pattern, is a background that is very favorable for the manipulator. Therefore, when taking part in a ritual, it is worth at least sometimes remembering a few simple rules.
If you have the opportunity to plan the composition of the participants in the ritual, try to ensure that “politeness” does not prevail over reasonableness. A small group of trusted friends is always safer than ostentatious hospitality.
If you are participating as an invitee, try to evaluate how natural it was that you were invited. Any doubts in this matter should force you to more carefully analyze the situation - first of all, its other potential participants. How natural is the participation of invited persons for this ritual? What could any of them need from you? Are you able to refuse the request of the “hero of the occasion”? etc. It is better to go through possible situations “before” than to try to frantically get out “on the spot” 4 .
Any violation of an accepted ritual must have some meaning, and you should always try to understand it, to evaluate how justified this violation of the canons is in a given situation.
If employees have to draw by lot the only valuable thing that the team is awarded with, and your boss offers you a prestigious business trip before this event, then it may seem to you that his goal is to ensure that you do not get this thing. If you raise a scandal about this, you will lose three times - you still won’t get this thing, you will lose the desired business trip and ruin your relationship with your boss.
The situation could be analyzed like this:
a) the boss doesn’t want me to get this thing, or
b) the boss wants this thing to go to a specific person, and my presence could harm this (why is not important), or
c) a business trip is really necessary.
In any of these outcomes, I don't get this thing. But if I raise a scandal, then the chance of still getting it in cases a) and b) will remain scanty, but I will lose an attractive business trip. But if case c) occurs and I go on a business trip, then the boss, feeling a certain guilt for the fact that I did not participate in the draw, may somehow try to compensate for this, and I will still win something.
Then you can act in different ways, but by agreeing to a business trip, you achieve the main thing - you avoid a possible scandal (and this could be the goal of the boss), while maintaining the ability to influence the situation in all three cases - I think that the ways of this influence are easy for the reader to imagine on one's own. The only important thing is that, without knowing why the boss violated the accepted ritual of “playing things out,” you are still able, after analyzing the situation, not to be a complete loser, or even turn it in your favor.
The more formalized the ritual, the more unanimous its participants, the less likely it is that they will be able to refuse some action clearly provided for by the ritual.
Ritual is not the Charter of the Armed Forces 6. If actions that are clearly undesirable for you follow from it, or compliance with it threatens you with clearly undesirable consequences, nothing other than “rules of good manners” can force you to comply with it. Don't let the idea that you can abandon any ritual or change it to suit the situation seem impossible to you.
One must always remember about the convenience for manipulation of almost any situation of ritual communication - neither the emotional, nor the moral and ethical coloring of the ritual reduces the possibility of successful manipulation. If someone harbors hopes that the “common joy” of victory or the “common sorrow” of farewell to the deceased somehow prevents prudent and cold-blooded manipulation, then he is hoping in vain. Moreover, such emotional unambiguity of the participants in the ritual will most likely be a factor contributing to the success of the manipulator. Because during such rituals a certain manipulation has already occurred - the so-called background impact on the emotional state of each participant in the ritual - “emotional contagion”. The attention of the participants is focused on the essence of the ritual, their emotional state is united. The overall picture is that it is simply impossible to break out of this state without a significant reason. And a smart manipulator will try not to give this reason; his actions are always completely “inscribed” in the rules of observance of the ritual, his behavior is always adequate to the situation.
We can summarize the above as follows: ritual is a universal “tuner” of the emotional background of any group 7 . And if it is important for the manipulator that the emotional background of the “environment” is not just something specific (joy, elation, sadness, etc.), but guaranteed to be homogeneous in its specificity, he will most likely try to use or provoke an appropriate ritual .

2 .ROLES IN RITUAL COMMUNICATION

The main task of partners in ritual communication is to maintain connections with society, to reinforce the idea of themselves as a member of society. It is important that the partner in such communication is, as it were, a necessary attribute of the ritual. In real life there are a huge number of rituals, sometimes very different situations, in which everyone participates as a kind of “mask” with predetermined properties 8. These rituals require only one thing from the participants - knowledge of the rules of the game.
In this style, many contacts are carried out, which from the outside, and sometimes from the inside, seem meaningless, meaningless, since at first glance they are completely uninformative, do not and cannot have any result.
For example, a birthday. All those present have known each other for twenty years, get together 3-4 times a year, sit for several hours and talk about the same thing. And not only do the topics of conversation, in essence, do not change, but in addition, everyone can certainly predict the point of view of anyone on any issue. It would seem that this is an absolutely pointless waste of time, which should only cause irritation. This also happens, but much more often we enjoy these types of meetings.
The situation described is a typical case of ritual communication, in which the main thing is to strengthen the connection with one’s group, reinforce one’s attitudes, values, opinions, and increase self-esteem and self-esteem. In ritual communication, a partner is only a necessary attribute, and his individual characteristics insignificant. This is true both when we know a person well and when we see him for the first time. Only one thing is important - his competence regarding a specific ritual.
Let's remember broadly famous expression that a bore is a person who, in response to the question: “How do you live?”, begins to tell in detail how he lives. In other words, we understand or perceive a person as a bore only when he goes beyond the ritual. If he does not go beyond them (for example, he answers a sacramental question “normally”), then we cannot say anything concrete about him, and we don’t need that 9.
In ritual communication, it is important for us to follow a role - social, professional or interpersonal.
For example, to the question: “How are you living?” you have to answer something like: “normal”, “wonderful”, “excellent”, etc., but the answer is: “disgusting”, suggesting a further question: “What’s so?” and a subsequent conversation on this topic is already a way out of the greeting ritual and a transition to another communication.
A person who answers that he lives disgustingly goes beyond the scope of his ritual role.
For ritual communication, it is very important, on the one hand, to correctly recognize the communication situation, and to imagine how to behave in it, on the other.
etc.................

It’s not enough to have a good mind, the main thing is to use it well

Descartes

Communication style significantly determines a person’s behavior when interacting with other people. The specific choice of communication style is determined by many factors: a person’s personal characteristics, his worldview and position in society, the characteristics of this society, and much more. How many communication styles are there? This question is difficult to answer. However, if we proceed from the fact that a communication style is simply a person’s greater readiness for a particular situation, then we can talk about three main styles. They can be conventionally called ritual, manipulative and humanistic.. The ritual style is generated by intergroup situations, the manipulative style by business situations, and the humanistic style by interpersonal situations.

In the future, we will proceed from the fact that communication style is rather a predisposition to a certain communication, direction, readiness for it, which manifests itself in how a person tends to approach most situations. However, style does not completely determine a person’s communication; he can also communicate in someone else’s style. For example, if a person has a primarily manipulative style, this does not mean that his communication with his closest friend will also be businesslike.

Ritual communication. Here main task partners is to maintain contact with society, to reinforce the idea of oneself as a member of society. It is important that the partner in such communication is, as it were, a necessary attribute of the ritual. IN real life There are a huge number of rituals, sometimes very different situations, in which everyone participates as a kind of “mask” with predetermined properties. These rituals require only one thing from the participants - knowledge of the rules of the game.

In this style, many contacts are carried out, which from the outside, and sometimes from the inside, seem meaningless, meaningless, since at first glance they are completely uninformative, do not and cannot have any result.

For example, a birthday. All those present have known each other for twenty years, get together 3-4 times a year, sit for several hours and talk about the same thing. And not only do the topics of conversation essentially do not change, but in addition, everyone can certainly predict the point of view of anyone on any issue. It would seem that this is an absolutely pointless waste of time, which should only cause irritation. This also happens, but much more often we enjoy these types of meetings. Why do we need this?

The situation described is a typical case of ritual communication, in which the main thing is to strengthen the connection with one’s group, reinforce one’s attitudes, values, opinions, and increase self-esteem and self-esteem. In ritual communication, a partner is only a necessary attribute, and his individual characteristics are unimportant. This is true both when we know a person well and when we see him for the first time. Only one thing is important - his competence regarding a specific ritual.

Let us recall the well-known expression that a bore is a person who answers a question. “How do you live 9”, begins to tell in detail how he lives. In other words, we understand or perceive a person as a bore only when he goes beyond the ritual. If he does not go beyond them (for example, he answers a sacramental question “normally”), then we cannot say anything concrete about him, and we don’t need this.

In ritual communication, it is important for us to follow a role - social, professional or interpersonal.

For example, to the question: “How are you living?” you have to answer something like: “normal”, “wonderful”, “excellent”, etc., but the answer is: “disgusting”, suggesting a further question: “What’s so?” and a subsequent conversation on this topic is already a way out of the greeting ritual and a transition to another communication. A person who answers that he lives disgustingly goes beyond his ritual role.

For ritual communication, it is very important, on the one hand, to correctly recognize the communication situation, and to imagine how to behave in it, on the other.

For example, someone leaves the guests. He is already dressed, standing in the doorway, but still doesn’t leave, he says something, he says- ten minutes, half an hour. The person does not recognize the situation in which the farewell ritual should take place, but continues to exist in a “table conversation” situation. The guest does not fulfill role expectations and begins to be perceived as an annoying, intrusive person.

In many cases we take part in ritual communication with pleasure, in even more situations we participate in it automatically, fulfilling the demands of the situation, with little or no awareness of what we are doing.

We say hello to our friends many times and strangers in one organization, on the landing, on the street, we ask them “How are you?”, we find out what is normal, we talk about the weather, we scold public transport, which “does not work well,” and we laugh. And such communication is also necessary for a person- Imagine what your reaction would be if everyone suddenly stopped greeting you. It is clear that the reaction would be far from optimistic, since depriving a person of this ritual directly indicates social isolation and is perceived by him as such.

It follows from this how much importance a person attaches to ritual communication. But ritual communication rarely prevails in life. It is only a prologue to another communication - manipulative.

Manipulative communication. This is communication in which the partner is treated as a means of achieving goals external to him. What is important to demonstrate to your interlocutor in manipulative communication? Only what will help you achieve your goal. In manipulative communication, we “slip” into our partner a stereotype that we consider most beneficial at the moment. And even if both partners have their own goals of changing the interlocutor’s point of view, the one who turns out to be a more skillful manipulator, i.e., will win. the one who knows the partner better, understands the goals better, and has a better command of communication techniques.

One should not conclude that manipulation is a negative phenomenon. A huge number of professional tasks involve manipulative communication. In fact, any training (the subject needs to be given new knowledge about the world), persuasion, control always includes manipulative communication. That is why the effectiveness of these processes largely depends on the degree of mastery of the laws and techniques of manipulative communication.

Manipulative communication is an extremely common type of communication that occurs mainly where there is joint activity. It is important to remember one significant point - a person’s attitude towards manipulative communication and the reverse impact of the manipulative style.

Imagine that you are sitting in the office of a mid-level executive who receives frequent phone calls. The style of conversation changes all the time. If the opponent's status is higher - one tone, if lower - another. This is a typical example of manipulative communication, and everyone will explain to themselves that “this is how it should be, otherwise you won’t do anything.” However, this is unpleasant for many.

And finally, there is a reverse influence of manipulative communication on the person who uses it. There is a manipulative deformation of personality in cases where, due to the frequent professional use of manipulative communication, good techniques for its use and, accordingly, constant success in this field, a person begins to consider manipulative communication the only correct one. In this case, all human communication comes down to manipulation (both when it is necessary and when it is completely unjustified).

Humanistic communication. This is the most personal communication, allowing you to satisfy such human needs as the need for understanding, sympathy, and empathy. Neither ritual nor manipulative communication can fully satisfy this vital need. The goals of humanistic communication are not fixed or planned initially. Its important feature is that the expected result of communication is not the maintenance of social connections, as in ritual communication, or a change in the partner’s point of view, as in manipulative communication, but a joint change in the ideas of both partners, determined by the depth of communication.

The situations of humanistic communication are known to everyone - these are intimate, confessional, psychotherapeutic communication. It is connected

but with the mood and goals of the partners. But here we should point out situations where this communication and even its individual elements are inappropriate.

For example, help desk telephone operators get annoyed with those clients who, instead of quickly asking a question, try to first enter into confidential communication with them: introduce themselves, get to know each other, talk about their problems, reasons for contacting the help desk, etc.

Humanistic communication is determined not so much from the outside (by goal, conditions, situation, stereotypes) as from the inside (by individuality, mood, attitude towards a partner). This does not mean that humanistic communication does not imply social determination. It is obvious that a person, no matter how he communicates, still remains social (that is, connected with the life and relationships of people in society). However, in this communication (more than in other types) there is a dependence on individuality. In humanistic communication, the partner is perceived holistically, without division into necessary and unnecessary functions, into qualities that are important and unimportant at the moment.

For example, in two hours of conversation we can get to know a random fellow traveler on a train well and be sure that we understood him correctly. At the same time, we may have little or no understanding of what our manager’s secretary, with whom we “communicate” almost every day for many years in a row, is like as a person.

Our fellow traveler, with whom we spoke openly, trying to understand each other and not pursuing any further goals (what kind of “business” there could be with a stranger), “opened up” to us, we “felt” him. And communication with a secretary is always of a manipulative nature to one degree or another, therefore, we perceive her very limitedly - only in relation to the functions that she must perform in our affairs.

The main mechanism of influence in humanistic communication is suggestion; suggestion is the most effective of all possible mechanisms. It is important to remember that this is a mutual suggestion, since both partners trust each other, and therefore the result is not a change in the point of view of one of them, but a mutual joint change in the ideas of both partners.

So, we have examined in some detail (using various examples) the problem of communication as a whole, and also focused on the structure, content, characteristics of the elements of communication, and mechanisms of influence on the communication partner. In Chapter II we will move on to the problem of business communication, but for this it is necessary to thoroughly understand what is presented in Chapter 1.

Specialists of modern psychology pay close attention to. Often it is precisely this that can pull a person out of the grip of boredom and routine and lift his spirits. The fundamentals of communication psychology are devoted to the study of communication, as the most important need of an individual. Due to the multifaceted nature of the subject of research, it is possible to systematize the main types of communication in psychology; more specific directions appear in psychology, such as basics of communication psychology.

When we communicate with friends, we ask them about the weather, shopping, prices, or the possibility of solving some everyday problem - this type of communication is called cognitive. In essence, people simply exchange information. If, as a result of a conversation, one person manages to influence the emotional state of another, for example, to stir up a bored friend with jokes, then such communication will be recognized as emotional, or conditioned.

More in-depth is motivational communication. It is characterized by a special focus - an exchange of desires, an appeal to personal interest, an attempt to solve one’s problem through communication.

In psychology, the concept of “communication” is understood as a form of activity that takes place between people and consists of the exchange of information between them.

Types of communication

Depending on how communication occurs, on the specifics of people’s behavior, following types:

Primitive. Its peculiarity is indifference to the interlocutor, reluctance to understand him, as a rule, accompanied by fast, dismissive speech.
Formal- or mask level. It is also characterized by a lack of interest in the interlocutor. Well-worn phrases, ostentatious politeness, false sympathy - this is a set of cliches under which it is easy to hide the true attitude towards another.
Secular- empty, meaningless, ritual behavior. Filled with dialogues accepted in appropriate situations, when their content is of no interest to either side.
Role-playing- the basis of the attitude towards the interlocutor is not personal interest, but his social role.
Business conversation already presupposes a closer relationship. Focus on results forces you to take into account the character traits, even the mood of your interlocutor. At this level, it is necessary to maintain distance, and the businesslike style characterizes the seriousness of the relationship.
Interpersonal- this is close contact with the interlocutor, genuine interest in him.
Manipulative level of communication- has the goal of achieving personal gain. The interlocutor is seen as a means, a living instrument on the path to personal interest. The “diplomatic” style is often used to resolve everyday issues.
Playful or informal communication style. Friendly, light with a humorous twist, communication or flirting, a game devoid of obligations.
Spiritual level. The highest degree of frankness in a relationship, when a person fully opens up in communication.

Communication functions

Pragmatic function communication (or communicative) is the interaction of people at the level of interpersonal or intragroup communication. Communication is an important need for humans.
Function of formation and development lies in the fact that communication has a certain impact on the participants in communication, contributes to their development and improvement in all respects. Through communication with other people, a person learns social norms, values that have developed in society, gains knowledge and is formed as a person.
Confirmation function allows communication participants to recognize and confirm themselves.
Merge-unlink function of people. Communication, on the one hand, facilitates the establishment of contacts between participants in communication, through which the necessary information is transferred. In addition, communication sets up communication participants to achieve common goals and objectives and thereby connects them into a single whole. On the other hand, communication can contribute to the isolation of the individual, as well as differentiation in the communication process.
Organization and maintenance function interpersonal relationships. Communication helps to establish and maintain contacts and relationships between participants in communication, facilitating their joint activities.
Intrapersonal function communication is the communication of a person with himself. This can occur in the form of internal or external speech, which is completed as a dialogue. Such communication can be regarded as a universal way of thinking.

According to the functions performed, they are distinguished three sides of communication:

communicative, which consists in the exchange of information between participants in communication;
interactive the side of communication lies in the interaction of people in the process of communication;
perceptual side of communication, which lies in the fact that in the process of communication people perceive each other in a certain way.

Communication styles

In communication psychology, there are several styles:

Ritual communication- communication, in which the main task is to maintain relationships with other people. In real communication, there are many so-called “rituals” - situations when a person behaves in a strictly defined way. All that is required of him is knowledge of how to behave in each specific case. For example, greeting acquaintances or strangers, talking about the weather and everyday problems - all these are elements of ritual communication.
Manipulative communication- this is communication, which boils down to the fact that one of the participants in communication manipulates the other, i.e. One of the participants is a means of achieving a certain goal. But one should not assume that such communication is only negative character. Professional communication and communication for the purpose of learning are manipulative in nature. In order to successfully cope with this type of communication, it is necessary to know the goals of the interlocutor, as well as the laws and techniques of manipulative communication.
Humanistic communication- This is rather a personal communication that involves understanding and sympathy. It is impossible to determine any single goal of humanistic communication. An example of such communication is a conversation between a doctor and a patient, pedagogical communication, etc.
Authoritarian communication- implies authoritative communication of one of the communication participants. He does not encourage the initiative of his interlocutors; he considers his point of view to be the only correct one.
Democratic communication- this style is characterized by encouraging the initiative of conversation participants, paying attention to the interests and goals of all participants in communication.
Liberal communication. People who adhere to this style of communication are rather uninitiative, “go with the flow”, and make concessions to other participants in communication.

You need to choose your communication style especially carefully when working on

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Posted on http://www.allbest.ru

Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

Federal state budget educational institution higher professional education

Amur State University

(FGBOUVPO "AmSU")

discipline: Psychology of communication

Ritual communication

Performed:

Shcherbakova Ekaterina Aleksandrovna

Checked:

Klimova Tatyana Vladimirovna, senior teacher

Department of Psychology and Pedagogy

Blagoveshchensk

Introduction

1. Ritual communication

2. Interpersonal rituals

Conclusion

Introduction

The lifelong dependence of people on each other places the problem of human relationships at the very core of human existence. People have a strong need for affiliation: to enter into long-term, close relationships with other people that guarantee positive experiences and results.

In real life, there are a huge number of rituals, sometimes very different situations, in which everyone participates as a kind of mask with predetermined properties. They require only one thing from the participants - knowledge of the rules of the game. The purpose of ritual communication is not to change another, not to influence him, but to confirm oneself - one’s opinions, one’s ideas. If a person is well versed in the situation, if he is competent in rituals, then the effectiveness of communication will be high for him.

Ritual interaction is one of the common forms of interaction, which is built according to certain rules, symbolically expressing real social relations and the status of a person in a group and society. What do we call rituals? interpersonal communication? Greetings and farewells, compliments and thanks, questions about health and the exchange of gifts - in choosing all these habitual and seemingly self-evident forms of behavior, we are not at all free. We are persistently taught them in childhood (remember the now idiomatic phrase “ Magic word") and throughout the rest of our lives they strictly control whether we follow them.

1. Ritual communication

1.1 Social ritual and its functions

A ritual is a joint activity of a conditional nature, carried out in the form of a ceremonial, involving the participation of two or more persons, carrying a special emotional charge and often sacred meaning, focusing around a clearly defined set of social. objects and giving participants a specific feeling of solemnity and going beyond the limits of everyday reality. Ritual can arise from any area of group life. Rituals allow almost no variations and are performed under strict control over compliance with the norms of interaction between participants. The performance of a ritual has the features of a dramatic action and involves the representation in persons of ideas about their culture and the world as a whole, shared by certain groups of people.

Emile Durkheim divided rituals into two categories: positive and negative, or sacred and profane. Positive rituals bring participants together and in a way that supports them socially. relationships and allows for various kinds of offerings, including acts of giving and greeting. Negative rituals (or rituals of avoidance) protect some people and their property from the attacks of others. They are often referred to by the term "taboo".

In everyday consciousness, the concept of “ritual” is most often associated with religious behavior. At the same time, all researchers of rituals note a number of characteristics of ritual behavior that do not have a religious or magical connotation, but are mandatory for it. These include:

§ orderliness of actions in the ritual, their standardized set, stereotypicality;

§ the symbolic nature of ritual actions expressing in a stylized explicit form certain values or problems of a group or individual;

§ stability over time, repeatability, reproducibility: the words and actions that make up the ritual are defined very precisely and change little, if at all, from one instance of the ritual to another;

§ strict sanctions if participants deviate from the rules of conduct;

§ non-utilitarianism, the absence of a materially fixed result, direct expediency in the ritual, its difference from “rational”, practical activity.

The definition of social ritual, taking into account the above features, is as follows. Social ritual is a historically established form of non-instinctive, predictable, socially sanctioned, ordered symbolic behavior, in which the method and order of execution of actions are strictly canonized and cannot be rationally explained in terms of means and ends.

Functions of social rituals

Almost all researchers identify the following functions of social rituals:

§ communicative function;

§ ideological function (formation of a system of cultural symbols);

§ socialization function (social education, transmission of experience, social and labor skills from generation to generation);

§ function of social control;

§ function of strengthening group cohesion;

§ function of regulating mental stability, creating confidence in difficult and crisis situations (during a crisis, following rituals can relieve feelings of anxiety and trouble, thereby causing positive emotions in people).

One of the most important consequences of ritual (both religious and everyday) is psychotherapeutic compensation, which consists of communicating, uniting people, overcoming loneliness, anxiety, discord with oneself, alienation, isolation and gives a person a sense of belonging to a group - social, age, gender, ethnic, professional.

So, ritual transforms the complex experiences of an individual into a coherent system of symbols and offers him an image of a simple and orderly world.

1.2 Forms of ritual behavior

ritual communication behavior

It is interesting to note that such forms of behavior that are close in content to ritual, such as custom, rite, etiquette, ceremonial, which also represent stable forms of human interactions, differ in both ordinary and theoretical consciousness (as indicated by the very presence of the corresponding concepts in the language ). This fact once again confirms the elaboration in social perception and, accordingly, the cultural significance of ordered forms of social life.

According to experts, a ceremony is a more detailed sequence of actions, including a number of rituals. In addition, the ceremony always has a social character; it cannot be performed by one person, while rituals can be both collective and individual. Etiquette, unlike social ritual, is not associated with belief in the deep value meaning of the actions performed or the involvement of supernatural forces in them. Custom has utilitarian-practical features that are not found in ritual.

Already at the beginning of the 20th century. German sociologist G. Simmel came to the conclusion that most of a person’s daily life consists of actions of a ritual nature that have little or no connection with genuine worries and concerns (Simmel, 1996). He proposed viewing ritual as a formal procedure, as a discrepancy external behavior the individual and his inner world. Thus, secular communication is entirely ritualistic: its rules require participants not to touch on real life problems: family complications, financial difficulties, illness, etc. Such communication is the product of a conscious agreement to ignore the real values of life that go beyond the boundaries of the form of communication itself. A tactful person will not insert a remark about his own personal problem into the conversation, even if it is a thousand times more important to him than the topic of the conversation. According to Simmel, the phenomenon of tact is the phenomenon of ritualization of everyday life.

This understanding of ritual led to the fact that public consciousness ritual behavior is perceived with a certain negative connotation - as insincere, superficial.

The ideas of G. Simmel echo the views of E. Bern, according to whom many formal rituals ceased to correspond to the principle of expediency and efficiency and turned into a symbol of loyalty. Rituals offer a safe, reassuring, and often enjoyable way to structure time. From a psychological point of view, rituals represent an attempt to get rid of guilt and gain reward by meeting Parental demands.

Berne's description and characterization of such a semi-ritual form of interaction as pastime clearly reveals the social and psychological nature of ritual.

The stereotyping of rituals means that the order and outcome of a sequence of interactions is known in advance, unless, of course, something unexpected happens. A particular party (as a typical form of pastime) is practically no different from a dozen similar parties, except for the names of the people present at it, although for various groups A different set of pastimes is typical.

Pastimes can be classified in many ways - for example, according to social characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, nationality, cultural level, and the well-being of the participants. If at a party someone from the group wants to move from those talking in one corner to another group, then he either must join the new pastime, or be able to switch this group to new topic. A good housewife is usually in control of the situation. If necessary, she will announce the “program”: “We are playing here... Would you like to take part?” Or: “Meet Mr. N - a writer. He will be happy to play in...” Pastimes not only create the structure of time and provide participants with mutually acceptable “strokes,” but also perform the function of social selection. By the end of the party, each player chooses a few people to get to know better, discarding other participants, no matter how interesting or attractive they were during the evening. Hanging out forms the basis for acquaintance and can lead to friendship. Thus, this type of interaction, according to E. Bern, helps to confirm the roles chosen by a person and strengthen his position in life.

Thus, in social theory The view that ritual actions permeate any social behavior, representing its symbolic, communication aspect. This ensures the independence of the problem of the place of ritual elements in interpersonal interaction.

2. Interpersonal rituals

In everyday communication, rituals, as a rule, perform the same functions (stabilization of relationships, social control, transfer of experience, etc.) as in other types social interaction. However, unlike religious rituals, they are standardized to a much lesser extent and are almost not subject to rationalization (that is, special comprehension in the minds of their participants).

The degree to which real life interactions are ritualized can vary. In the first chapter of this section, we talked about the fact that the so-called social-role level of interpersonal interaction (or, in the terminology of E. Berne, rituals and pastimes) is distinguished as an independent type. People’s behavior at this level can be called strictly ritual, while in the structure of business or intimate-personal communication there are only individual ritual moments (or stages).

The main goal of interaction at the social-role level is to confirm by its participants knowledge of the norms and requirements of the social environment. It is obvious that achieving this goal is possible only through the use of certain stereotypical models of behavior, which, in fact, represent ritual behavior: the exchange of socially accepted phrases and gestures that are appropriate in a given situation. Such communication, carried out for the sake of the very process of maintaining contact, is called phatic (literal translation - stupid, meaningless; see also chapter “Speech in Interpersonal Communication”). At the same time, most verbal and non-verbal ritual gestures are accepted and reproduced unconsciously; gestures typical for a given environment are used, expressing one or another attitude towards the interlocutor. This is a way of expressing your disposition. The use of stylistic expressions characteristic of a group of people indicates a person’s desire to demonstrate his involvement in this group. The wider the arsenal of phatic communication techniques - words, gestures, facial expressions (and it, as a rule, increases with an increase in the level of education and culture, as well as experience in communicating with different people), the more automatic and relaxed they become, the easier it is for a person to establish contacts with strangers, and the more painlessly he becomes part of a new team.

If the interlocutor, whose sincerity you doubt, is not lazy to find and express the words and gestures accepted in a given situation, then this can be regarded as a kind of signs of attention, indicating that the partner, at least, does not want open confrontation. At the same time, people do not always count on sincere feelings. At the social-role level, the decisive role is given to the demonstrated emotion. Despite the general moral and ethical condemnation of hypocrisy, those around us are jealous that everyone demonstrates feelings appropriate to the place, time and events taking place. Such a formal technique is useful even in the closest relationships.

Formal methods of role-based communication are even more important when performing professional functions, especially when the profession requires direct contact with people. However, in social-role contacts, the importance of formal agreement regarding norms and rules of behavior becomes decisive.

Thus, the success of ritual interaction depends mainly on three factors:

1) knowledge of the norms and rules of behavior characteristic of a communication situation;

2) the ability to subordinate one’s behavior to these rules (often contrary to immediate emotions and sensations), without being embarrassed by some insincerity of one’s manifestations;

3) the ability to help another come to mutual agreement if the partner’s behavior in some way does not correspond to the established stereotype of “proper behavior.”

If a person does not comply with the limits of decency raised to the level of norms by one or another society or social group, then those around him conclude that he is either not familiar with them (“a stranger”), or deliberately does not take into account established norms (opposes himself to others), or is in a state of strong mental agitation and requires special treatment.

E. Berne also emphasized that the main criterion for ritual or semi-ritual methods of communication is their social acceptability, that is, what is commonly called good manners. All over the world, parents teach children to say greetings when meeting, observe rituals of food, courtship, mourning, and conduct conversations on certain topics, maintaining the necessary level of criticality and goodwill. Some techniques have purely local significance, others are universal. For example, table manners during meals or the custom of inquiring about the wife's health may be encouraged or prohibited by local traditions. An informal ritual (for example, farewell) in different places may differ in a number of details, but at its core it is unchanged. Formal rituals (such as the Catholic liturgy) are characterized by much less freedom. As a rule, it is the formal rituals during meetings that precede semi-ritual conversations on certain topics or pastimes.

3. Cultural characteristics of ritual behavior in communication

When talking about intercultural characteristics of people’s behavior, one should keep in mind representatives not only of different national-ethnic groups, but also of any other groups that are characterized by their own system of values, norms and rules of behavior. In sociology, such groups are called subcultures. Being one of the most important components of the communication context, culture inevitably determines the ways of interpersonal influence. Ritualized forms are a prerequisite for interaction, without which it loses its social and psychological stability. At the same time, the content of rituals differs from group to group depending on the social status, age, nationality, gender, and other people composing it. Representatives of different groups and social circles greet and say goodbye in different ways, compliment and thank each other in different ways. If the peculiar greeting ritual among professional sailors resembles, rather, the original “antics and jumps”, which an uninitiated observer would find funny, then a standard handshake today will not confuse anyone. However, in the 15th-16th centuries, a handshake was excluded from the rules social etiquette: to greet each other when meeting each other, men had to answer each other with quick nods of their heads, ladies kissed, the man kissed the lady’s hand, to which she responded with a curtsey. Thus, the cultural context determines ritual behavior in communication and is reflected in it.

The way a person uses the greeting ritual to distinguish between “friends” and “strangers”, letting the other side understand its place in a given situation, can be seen in various works of art.

Conclusion

1. Ritual is a historically established form of non-instinctive, predictable, socially sanctioned, ordered symbolic behavior, in which the method and order of execution of actions are strictly canonized and cannot be rationally explained in terms of means and ends.

2. The main functions of social ritual include: communicative function; ideological function (formation of a system of cultural symbols); socialization function; social control function; function of strengthening group cohesion; the function of regulating mental stability, creating confidence in difficult and crisis situations.

3. Everyday life is permeated with rituals of interpersonal interaction. Their significance lies in the fact that they 1) act as a way to indicate the boundaries of interaction, create a certain situational frame that allows participants to navigate the goals and methods of interaction; 2) are forms social support or mutual acceptance; 3) offer ways to manage conflict interactions, regulate communication in the event of a discrepancy between the definitions of the situation or the expectations of partners.

4. In intercultural and intergroup interaction, ritualized forms are filled with content that differs from group to group depending on the social status, age, nationality, and gender of the people composing it. Thus, in ritual behavior in communication, the cultural context is manifested, indicating to both the observer and the participant in the interaction the proposed scenarios of interpersonal behavior in a specific situation.

List of used literature

1. Psychology and ethics of business communication: textbook: rec. Min. arr. RF / ed. V.N. Lavrinenko - 5th edition, revised. and additional -M.: YUTINI-DANA, 2007 - 416 p.

2. Fionova L.R. Ethics of business communication. Tutorial. Penza 2010

3. Bern E. People who play games. Psychology of human relationships / Trans. from English St. Petersburg, 1992

4. Ilyin E.P. Psychology of communication and interpersonal relationships - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2009

5. Popular scientific article “Ritual communication” by V.P. Tretyakov. Center for distance education "Elitarium" (St. Petersburg) 2007

Posted on Allbest.ru

...

Professional communication styles. Levels of communication. Ritual communication is aimed at maintaining connections with society, reinforcing the idea of ​​oneself as a member of society.

Types of communication

Communication functions

Communication styles

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Similar documents

Professional communication styles. Levels of communication. Ritual communication is aimed at maintaining connections with society, reinforcing the idea of oneself as a member of society.