Professional deformation

Persons working with people are most susceptible to professional deformation, for example: law enforcement officials , military, leaders, deputies , officials, social workers , teachers , doctors, psychiatrists, sellers, and psychologists themselves. ^[4] For them, occupational deformation can be expressed in a formal, functional attitude towards people ^[5] . Both in the field of socioniomic professions and in technical professions, professional deformations are expressed differently depending on the particular profession: for teachers, authoritarianism and categorical judgments; among psychologists, psychotherapists - in an effort to manipulate another person, to impose a certain picture of the world, not taking into account the motives and goals of the person himself; among programmers - in a tendency to look for errors in various life situations, a tendency to algorithmization. ^[6]

In managers, professional deformation can manifest itself as an increase in aggressiveness, inadequacy in the perception of people and situations, leading to a drop (or loss) in the ability to communicate effectively, to improve oneself, to develop, up to the loss of taste for life ^[5] .

It happens similarly in creative professions, as illustrators Sergei Tyunin and Andrei Bilzho noted that many writers categorically do not perceive the genre of caricature , as they are “people of the word” ^[7] :

“My practice and life experience proves that writers understand the worst of caricatures because they feel the word, they’re used to the word, if they understand a witty signature, but visually they usually don’t whip ... but physicists "mathematicians are used to diagrams and can laugh at some kind of parabola."

- Artist Sergey Tyunin on the channel "Culture".

Special cases, methods of manifestation of professional deformation are: administrative delight ^[8] , emotional “burnout” syndrome , managerial erosion ^[5] .

There are several ways to systematize the manifestations of personality deformation :

1. First systematization
   1. Job deformation - the leader does not limit his power, he has a desire to suppress another person, intolerance of a different opinion, the ability to see his mistakes, self-criticism disappears, and confidence arises that his own opinion is the only correct one. It occurs most often.
   2. Adaptive deformation is a passive adaptation of a person to specific conditions of activity, as a result of which a person develops a high level of conformism , he adopts unconditionally accepted patterns of organization. With a deeper level of deformation, the employee appears significant and sometimes bearing a pronounced negative character of changes in personal qualities, including authority, low emotionality, stiffness.
   3. Professional degradation is an extreme degree of professional deformation, when a person changes moral value orientations, becomes professionally bankrupt.
2. Systematization of Rogov E. I. By prevalence ^[9]
   1. General professional deformations are deformations typical of workers in a given profession. For example, teachers who teach different subjects working in different educational institutions using different technologies remain similar to each other.
   2. Typological professional deformations are caused by the merging, syntonity of personal qualities with the corresponding functions of activity, which is reflected in the pedagogical profession in the existence of such types as “subject”, “organizer”, “methodologist”, etc.
   3. Vocational special deformations are deformations caused by specialization in the profession, which allows, for example, to distinguish primary school teachers from a high school teacher or physical education teacher from a mathematics teacher.
   4. Individual deformations are deformations caused by changes in the employee’s personality that are not externally related to the process of activity, when, in parallel with the formation of professionally important qualities, qualities develop that, at first glance, are not related to this profession.

In the areas of subject professionalization ^[10]

Deformation of personality:

1. Accentuation of professionally important personality traits with simultaneous degradation of properties not involved in activities.

2. The absorption of personality by the activity, the constant need for its implementation, as the only possible way of self-realization, manifested in the phenomena of "workaholism"; professional "coarsening" of the personality; administrative delight; rapture by power and so on.

3. Changes in the identity of the person, recorded in the deformed "I-image" and "I-concept" of the subject of activity; representations of the employee about professionally important qualities; hypertrophied assessment of the importance and importance of their profession; arbitrary-subjective interpretation of normative behavior; in symptoms of “dissatisfaction with oneself” and the image of the profession; psychological satiety with professional activity; in deideologization or superideologization of consciousness and so on.

4. The development of the subject of professional states of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion, manifested in the syndrome of "mental burnout"; chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS); the symptom of "experiencing traumatic circumstances"; the symptom of "driven into the cell"; emotional rigidity; "Stuck" in their professional development and so on.

5. The formation of an inadequate regulatory system of personality stabilization, including the phenomena of psychological defense; self-deception; behavioral deformities; professional marginalism; decrease in analytical abilities, flexibility of thinking, ability to look at a situation from a different position, and so on.

Deformations of professional activity:

1. Deformation of the main components of professional activity, starting from motives and ending with the result.

2. Adherence to instructions implemented with the help of such forms of behavior as formalism, pedantry, strict regulation of activities; excessive confidence in the infallibility of the methods used; counteraction to new ways and forms of work; low professional mobility; blocking the formation of an individual style of activity, etc.

3. Elimination of emotional manifestations from the sphere of professional activity, which is reflected in emotional detachment; “Instrument fetishism”; reliance on professional stereotypes; simplified perception of the situation; distortion of moral guidelines; reduction of frustration tolerance and so on.

4 . Deformation of professional functions and norms, fixed in the phenomena of reduction (simplification) of professional duties; inversions of the subjective meaning of the profession; weakening control over the implementation of professional behavior; learned helplessness; managerial erosion; behavioral rigidity; inefficiency of decisions; the emergence of "shadow functions" of the profession; information passivity and so on.

Deformations of professional interaction :

1. Monological and unreasonable dominance, manifested in a sense of their absolute rightness; cognitive rigidity; demonstrations of authoritarianism and aggression; the effect of "rapture by power"; overestimation by the person of his capabilities the symptom of "personal detachment, or depersonalization"; symptom of double morality; splitting verbal and real plans; the perception of a communication partner as an object for manipulation, burdensome with its problems and the very fact of existence, etc.

2. Rigid structured and formalized relationships in the system of “subject-object”, which is found in relation to the object of professional activity as a “typical representative” or inanimate object; interaction not with a specific person, but with a stereotype prevailing in a subject; in a symptom of "emotional deficit"; the inability to enter the position of the object, to participate, to empathize; indifference, indifference, spiritual callousness and so on.

3. Evaluation of the relationship is associated with hypertrophy of the evaluative function, while the subject of the activity appropriates the right to any evaluations, which leads to professional cynicism; observing and evaluating an object through the coordinate grid of its classifications; the symptom of "emotional-moral disorientation" and so on.

4. Transfer of features and methods of professional interaction to communication in other areas and interaction with the immediate social environment. This direction of deformations is manifested in a violation of mutual understanding, communicative barriers, the symptom of "expanding the sphere of saving emotions" and so on.

One of the most common reasons for professional deformation, according to experts, is the specificity of the immediate environment with which a professional specialist is forced to communicate, as well as the specificity of his activities. Another equally important reason for professional deformation is the division of labor and the increasingly narrow specialization of professionals. Daily work, over the years, to solve typical problems, not only improves professional knowledge, but also forms professional habits, stereotypes, determines the style of thinking and communication styles.

In the psychological literature there are three groups of factors leading to the emergence of professional deformation: factors due to the specifics of the activity, factors of a personal property, factors of a socio-psychological nature.

When considering professional deformations, one should proceed from the understanding that a professional is a person as a whole. Accordingly, all its levels (individual, personality, subject of activity and individuality) can undergo deforming changes in the process of prolonged implementation of professional activity. These destructive changes will manifest themselves in professional activities , professional behavior (when entering and leaving professional activities), as well as in professional and non-professional communication .

Professional deformation is considered as a “distortion” of psychological models of a profession and activity, or their destructive construction ^[11] .

In a first approximation, one can speak of professional destructions as an extreme form of expression of professional deformations. But the differentiation (distinction) of the concepts of “professional deformations” and “professional destructions” is not in the degree of increase of negative manifestations. There are various psychological mechanisms.

In professional deformations , distortions occur - the structure of the activity or personality traits of a professional.

And with professional destructions, the destruction (or destructive construction) occurs - of the structure of the activity performed (change of its focus on other goals and results ) or of the personality (its orientation to the opposite values - labor and life) of the professional.

Professional and destructive activity as) a manifestation of professional marginalization and deprofessionalization (destruction of professionalism) ^[12]

1. The stereotype “the boss must be hard-skinned, firm, persistent” changes the structure of managerial interaction, transferring it to a threat regime with punishment for misconduct, ordered communication.
2. The stereotype “the boss is always right” negatively affects the independence of decisions and judgments of the employee, forms lack of initiative, waiting for orders and orders from the leadership.
3. The stereotype of dogmatic following orders gives rise to a mindless execution of any order of the boss, often leads to intrapersonal conflicts, if one has one's own opinion about the need to act differently.
4. The stereotype of a “little man” leads to a decrease in professional self-esteem, a manifestation of conformism and the absence of one's own judgments on a particular service issue.
5. The stereotype of “optimal” role-playing behavior often acts as a mechanism of adaptive behavior to certain official situations and specific professional actions. So, threatening and aggressive behavior is considered as optimal for obtaining evidence from a suspect, etc.
6. The stereotype of “finding the guilty” justifies all actions to find the guilty, punish him, etc. At the same time, the work to identify the true causes of inefficiency is relegated to the background, and its shortcomings are not revealed.

In general, not professional, usage, the term professional deformation is used in a weaker sense, indicating (often with irony) only a certain influence of professional habits on people's behavior in private life, the transfer of specific professional stereotypes and attitudes to behavior outside work.

13th San: I did not fully understand the essence of the term “Professional personality deformation” even after speaking at the conference at the academy with this topic.

But when a friend-photographer who came to visit me at my request to “take off his jacket” in the hallway, took and photographed it (!), Everything immediately fell into place ...

http://bash.im/quote/395628

Prevention of professional deformation is a set of preventive measures aimed at reducing the likelihood of development of the prerequisites and manifestations of professional deformation. It is necessary to master the techniques of controlling consciousness, develop the ability to switch from one type of activity to another, strengthen willpower, and most importantly, do not focus on stereotypes, standards, patterns and act on the situation in real time based on immediate conditions.

• Beznosov S.P. Professional deformation of personality. - SPb. : Speech, 2004 .-- 272 p. - ISBN 5-9268-0258-X .
• Druzhilov S. A. Psychology of professionalism. - 2nd ed., Rev., Ext. - Kharkov: Publishing House "Humanitarian Center", 2017. - 360 p.
• Seer E.F. Psychology of professions. - 2nd ed., Revised. and add. - M .: Academic project , 2003. - 336 p. - (textbook for universities).
• Markova A.K. Psychology of professionalism. - M .: International Humanitarian Fund “Knowledge”, 1996. - 312 p.

• Professional deformation as a negative phenomenon // Kuzmina Yu. M.
• Scientific school of professional deformation
• Professional personality deformation, prevention, reasons: teacher, doctor, marketing specialist, tourism manager