Self-regulation in populations and ecosystems. General characteristics of self-regulation Conscious and purposeful level

In the broadest sense, self-regulation(from lat. regulars- to put in order, to establish) - this is the expedient functioning of living systems of different levels of organization and complexity. The concept of "self-regulation" is widely used in various fields of science to describe living and nonliving systems based on the principle of feedback.

Mental self-regulation is one of the levels of regulation of the activity of these systems, expressing the specificity of the mental means of reflection and modeling of reality, including the subject's reflection, that realize it. Psychic self-regulation is carried out in the unity of its energetic, dynamic and content-semantic aspects.

The place and role of psychic self-regulation in a person's life is quite obvious if we take into account that almost his entire life is an infinite variety of forms of activity, actions, acts of communication and other types of purposeful activity. It is purposeful voluntary activity that realizes the whole multitude of effective relationships with the real world of things, people, environmental conditions, social phenomena, etc., that is the main mode of human subjective life. Success, reliability, productivity, the final outcome of any act of voluntary activity depends on the degree of perfection of self-regulation processes. Moreover, all individual characteristics of behavior and activity are determined by functional formation, dynamic and meaningful characteristics of those self-regulation processes that are carried out by the subject of activity. The process of formation of mental regulation is lengthy. Man's mastery of his behavior is a turn in the process of human evolution.

Personal regulation of vital functions arises in the process of anthropogenesis, when the very life activity becomes the subject of a relationship on the part of its carriers. A new system of the subject's relations arises - relations to their own direct relations with the world. In the consciousness of a person, not only objective reality is reflected, but also the very relations connecting him with it. These relationships can be of varying degrees of awareness, and their representation in consciousness forms a special plane of subjective reality. The personality represents a certain regulatory system that ensures that the subject separates himself from the surrounding world, structuring and presenting his relations with the world and subordinating his life to the stable structure of these relations, as opposed to momentary impulses and external stimuli. This is the essence of human self-regulation.

With all the variety of manifestations, self-regulation is a closed control loop, has the following structure:

· The purpose of the subject's voluntary activity;

· A model of significant operating conditions;

· The program of actual performance actions;

· A system of criteria for the success of activities;

· Information on the actually achieved results;

· Assessment of compliance of real results with success criteria;

· A decision on the need and nature of the correction of activities.

It is important to take into account that the general patterns of self-regulation are realized in an individual form, depending on specific conditions, as well as on the characteristics of nervous activity, on the personal qualities of the subject and his habits in organizing his actions, which is formed in the process of education. The goal adopted by the subject does not unambiguously determine the conditions necessary for building a program of performing actions. With similar models of significant operating conditions, different ways of achieving the same result are possible. Depending on the type of activity and the conditions for its implementation, self-regulation can be realized by various mental means (sensory concrete images, ideas, concepts, etc.).

In science, the problem of self-regulation was originally developed within the framework of will theory... The ability to regulate mental processes and states was noted in the works of Aristotle. The focus of will not only on external action, but also on attention was emphasized in the works of A. Ben, T. Ribot, W. James. However, in these works, the regulation of the performed action and various mental processes is not posed as a special problem. The idea of ​​behavior regulation as a special independent process was clearly formulated in the works of C. Sherrington, who developed C. Bernard's position on self-regulation. C. Sherrington believed that self-regulation associated with human consciousness does not need a special mental education called will, and is carried out through the work of certain nerve centers associated with conscious reflection.

In general, the regulatory approach to the problem of will turned out to be closely related to the motivational approach in the concrete idea of ​​will as overcoming an obstacle and contributed to the consideration of undesirable states as internal obstacles to activities associated with emotional stress.

The German psychologist J. Kul was one of the first to make the assumption that a special role in regulation is acquired by processes and mechanisms that support a particular motivational tendency of a person, form his intention to act, and bring him to the achievement of a goal. Among such mechanisms, Yu. Kul distinguishes the following: motivational, perceptual, emotional, behavioral control, control of attention, activation of efforts, coding and working memory. The author notes that these mechanisms are implemented most often at an unconscious level, but they can also take the form of conscious strategies.

According to Yu. Kuhl, an intention consists of a number of elements united into a single network. The key elements of this network are cognitive representations of the present, future, and current state. If all elements are activated to the same degree, the intent is complete and the action is most efficiently implemented. If any of these elements is absent or underrepresented, then the person pays increased attention to this element (consciously or unconsciously) and additionally processes the information associated with the missing element. This is the most likely reason for the occurrence of an inferior intention, which perseverates (ie, renews itself, “loops”), but does not translate into action.

Yu. Kul assumes that there are people subject to the formation of full-fledged intentions - subjects oriented towards action, and defective intentions - subjects oriented towards the state. The latter are characterized by such a type of regulation as "self-control", which is phenomenologically manifested in voluntary attention directed at the target object and in a person's efforts to increase the level of his own activity. In this case, directive supercontrol leads, paradoxically, to a loss of control. For action-oriented subjects, another type of regulation is characteristic - “self-regulation”, which manifests itself in involuntary attention to the target object and in the absence of efforts on the part of a person. “Self-regulation” in terms of resources is a more economical type of regulation than “self-control”.

In Russian psychology, the basic principles of regulation in living systems were formulated in the works of P.K. Anokhin and N.A. Bernstein. In a general form, questions of self-regulation were touched upon by S.L. Rubinstein, A.N. Leontiev. Currently, research on the problem of self-regulation is carried out in three main areas:

· Self-regulation of activity;

· Self-regulation of behavior;

· Self-regulation of mental processes and states.

In this case, one of the central places is occupied by the problem of self-regulation of the mental activity of the subject of activity, the development of which is carried out within the framework of the subjective approach to the study of the psyche (K.A. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, O.A. Konopkin, V.I. Morosanova, A.K. Osnitsky and etc.). According to representatives of this approach, self-regulation is a kind of vertical, a subjective property, a coordinator of diverse personal qualities, which ensures overcoming the contradictions in the functioning of a personality in activity. Regulation is a functional means of the subject, allowing him to mobilize his personal and cognitive capabilities, acting as mental resources, to realize his own activity, to achieve subjectively accepted goals.

The core of O.A. Konopkin is an idea of an integral system of conscious self-regulation of activity, allowing the realization of subjective integrity, as well as the understanding that in a meaningful analysis of subjective characteristics, attention is paid to one or another purposeful activity that has a certain personal meaning and in relation to which a person acts as its initiator and creator.

Conscious self-regulation, according to O.A. Konopkin, this is a system-organized process of internal mental activity of a person to initiate, build, maintain and control various types and forms of voluntary activity, which directly realizes the achievement of the goals he accepts. Speaking about the individual characteristics of self-regulation, the author identifies personality structures that have a significant impact on what goals a person sets for himself, and also modulates in a specific way the individual profile of self-regulation, that is, the features of achieving these goals. It examines such qualities of the subject as independence, internal determinant, regulation of activity, the ability to be the creator of his life, as well as general self-regulation ability... This ability is manifested both in external activity (successful mastering of new types and forms of activity, etc.) and in the internal plan (awareness, understanding of the foundations of the activity being carried out). Insufficient development of this ability to a certain extent can be compensated by the formation of the necessary separate regulatory processes in a passive-reproductive way.

The structure of the general ability of self-regulation is distinguished:

· The presence of a complete functional structure of the self-regulation process;

· Internal plan of interaction with reflected reality;

· Emotional attitude to the reflected;

· Human speech development, etc.

The development of the general ability of self-regulation involves a person's awareness of his strengths and weaknesses and the maximum compensation for the inadequacy of some means of self-regulation by others - an individual kind of reflexive approach to himself.

The systemic organization of the self-regulation process (the systemic participation in it of all the psychic means of the subject) presents more opportunities for the manifestation of purely individual characteristics of self-regulation on the basis of those psychic means that a person has.

Within the framework of the structural-functional approach to the study of self-regulation processes, individual-typological differences in the implementation of regulatory functions are highlighted. In the studies of G.S. Prygin highlighted the types of self-regulation of activity: autonomous, mixed and dependent. This selection is based on the features of the functioning of the system of conscious self-regulation of activity and a certain level of development of personal qualities, united in the concept of “ effective independence».

Autonomous entities at all stages of the performance of activities, they reveal such qualities as: purposefulness, self-discipline, developed self-control, the ability to adequately assess the external conditions for the performance of activities, to actively search for information necessary for the successful implementation of activities, confidence in their personal qualities, knowledge and skills, as well as the ability, if necessary, to mobilize them to achieve the set goal - i.e. a complex of effective independence in the performance of activities.

Subjects with dependent type of self-regulation the complex of "effective independence" is poorly developed. A person cannot himself determine the correctness of the chosen method of action or assess the significance of one factor or another that affects the success of an activity; he cannot himself critically analyze the results obtained, etc. As a result, he often has to seek help from more competent people.

Subjects with mixed type of self-regulation to some extent combine the qualities inherent in these types: purposefulness, self-discipline, developed self-control are combined with an insufficient ability to simulate the conditions for performing an activity, which can lead to a mismatch between the goal and the result of the activity. In conditions of increased complexity of the activity being performed, the success of its self-regulation approaches the indicators of “dependent” ones, in a situation of a low degree of complexity of the activity it approaches the indicators of “autonomous” ones.

Interesting view of V.I. Morosanova on the self-regulation process. In her opinion, the implementation of any type of activity is provided by a certain regulation loop, characterized by individual regulatory characteristics specific to a given subject. In this sense, they are regulatory components of a specific activity. But here it should be borne in mind that any kind of activity traditionally singled out in psychology is "single", integral in its structure is very conditional. In reality, it is a diverse set of activity situations in which a person has to put forward and achieve a variety of goals, to regulate very diverse forms of activity. For example, educational activities, the main “system-forming” goal of which is the assimilation of knowledge, includes self-regulation of their activities in the classroom and at home, communication with peers and teachers, and so on. Therefore, in relation to any type of activity, it is difficult to talk about the possibility of a person's existence of a single style of individual activity.

IN AND. Morosanova considers self-regulation as the main characteristic of the subject and analyzes the stylistic features of self-regulation of activity, focusing on the personal aspects of self-regulation. The author introduces the concept - individual style of self-regulation in the voluntary activity of a person. Individual-typical features of self-regulation are determined by the personality characteristics of the subject, are modeled under the influence of the requirements of a specific activity, and on the basis of this, such a structure of regulation is formed that contributes to the achievement of an acceptable success for the subject.

IN AND. Morosanova identifies two types of self-regulation:

· Harmonious type, in which all the main processes and links of regulation are developed at approximately the same level;

· Accentuated type, in which there is a different degree of development of individual regulatory links.

The grounds for this classification are formal (structural characteristics of styles) and substantive (efficiency of self-regulation and regulatory and personal properties) subclassifiers.

A.K. Osnitsky considers the problem of independence as a subjective activity and distinguishes two types of self-regulation: activity and personal. The first type captures the predominance of object transformations in the regulation of tasks, and the second - the tasks of transforming attitudes towards objects and people.

Activity self-regulation manifests itself in the organization of efforts to improve the efficiency of actions, successful achievement of the goal, optimization of individual components of regulation in the system of increasing its efficiency as a whole.

Personal self-regulation manifests itself in the determination of their individual place in the cultural and historical tradition and those corrections that are made in determining their own positions. Both in activity-based self-regulation and in personal self-regulation, much depends on the formation of activity, courage and awareness, fixed in the regulation of efforts, in actions.

As source self-regulation of personality is considered the contradiction between the anticipatory and current reflection (what is planned and what is not implemented). According to K.V. Milyukhin, the decisive role of anticipatory reflection in the self-regulation of the personality can be explained as one of the factors causing the mismatch between the ideal model of the required future, which is created by the human brain, and reality. Mismatch acts as an internal impulse, as an incentive force. Behavioral and other activity is triggered in the course of resolving (removing) a contradiction.

The following are considered as self-regulation mechanisms:

Reflection;

· Semantic binding;

· Modeling the required future and creating a contradiction between the desired and the reality.

Reflection(as the subject's focus on himself and on his activity) is a universal mechanism of the self-regulation process. It stops (fixes) the process of activity, objectifies it, which makes it possible to consciously influence this process. In the process of self-regulation, reflection performs two important functions: constructive and control. According to A.I. Podolsky, reflection regulates the search for a solution to a problem, stimulates the advancement and synthesis of hypotheses, and ensures the correctness of their assessment.

B.V. Zeigarnik, A.B. Kholmogorova, E.S. In addition to reflection, Mazur distinguishes one more mechanism of self-regulation - semantic binding... They point out that the possibility of conscious regulation is set by the hierarchical structure of the semantic formations of the personality, which are a unity of affective and cognitive components. The process of self-regulation involves the restructuring of semantic formations, the condition of which is their awareness. It is conscious semantic formations that underlie self-regulation of behavior, with their help, an arbitrary change in semantic orientation, control over immediate impulses, assessment and correction of actions and deeds is carried out. The process of self-regulation, which involves the formation of a new semantic system, is provided by a number of mechanisms that set the general principles of correlation between motives and meanings, motives and goals within the structure of the motivational sphere.

Semantic binding is both a mechanism of self-regulation as a component of experience and a mechanism of self-regulation as volitional behavior. However, in the case of volitional behavior, semantic linking consists rather in strengthening already existing meanings, ways of linking them with other motives and values, while in the process of experiencing a new semantic system is being formed. Establishing an internal connection with the value sphere of a person and thereby transforming neutral content into an emotionally charged meaning is a special internal work, which can be designated as the action of semantic binding. In the dynamic aspect, the result of this work is the emergence of new impulses, which receive an "energy charge" by linking the new content with the motivational and semantic sphere of the personality.

Thus, the semantic sphere of the individual, as a specially organized set of semantic formations (structures) and connections between them, provides semantic regulation of the integral life of the subject in all its aspects.

An important function of semantic formations is as follows: any human activity can be assessed and regulated by its success in achieving certain goals and by its moral assessment. The latter cannot be produced “from within” the current activity itself, proceeding from the available actual motives and needs. Moral assessments and regulation necessarily imply a different, non-situational support, a special, relatively independent psychological plan, not directly captured by the immediate course of events. This support is for a person semantic formations, especially in the form of their awareness - personal values, since they do not set specific motives and goals by themselves, but the plane of relations between them, the most general principles of their correlation. The semantic level of regulation does not prescribe ready-made recipes for actions, but gives general principles that in different situations can be implemented by different external actions.

Self-regulation is ineffective in the absence of personal meaning and the corresponding motivation of the subject. That is, the process of regulation of states with conscious regulation bears an imprint of personal significance for the subject. This allows us to assert that semantic regulation life activity is the basis of the process of self-regulation of the individual.

The highest level of value-semantic regulation is represented by a system of personal values, which are non-situational, stable structures. They determine the functioning of regulatory formations and are considered as conscious semantic formations. This level is called the content-based level of value-semantic regulation.

The next level of regulation is dynamic, it is determined directly by the regulatory component (planning, modeling, programming, etc.), reflection, personality activity, emotional experiences.

Thus, self-regulation is the process of a person's conscious voluntary control of their behavior, activities, thanks to which there is a resolution of conflicts, mastery of their behavior, etc. The process of self-regulation is mediated by the work of the mechanisms of consciousness and, first of all, the reflection and transformation of the semantic formations of the personality. Effective self-regulation presupposes adequate awareness and transformation of the semantic structures of the personality that determine behavior and activity.

What is self-regulation? This is the unique ability of any person to consciously adjust himself and his inner world for further activities, the task of which is adaptability.

The ability to self-regulation is inherent in every biological system, and consists in the skills of raising and maintaining its biological or even physiological parameters at the proper level. In the process of self-regulation, the factors that were previously governing no longer affect the biological system from outside, but are formed within it.

In psychology, self-regulation is understood as timely, that is, previously realized, work on one's psyche, for subsequent changes in its various characteristics, in order to achieve certain results. Based on this, we can conclude that self-regulation should be practiced from childhood.

Self-regulation of the psyche

Literally, self-regulation is about putting things in order. When self-regulation of the psyche is considered, it implies prematurely conscious activity aimed at changing specific personal characteristics in order to achieve a particular goal.

The self-regulation process is based on certain patterns of various mental processes, as well as their consequences.

As a rule, these include:

• The influence of motivation as an activating factor that generates a certain purposeful activity of the subject, the task of which is to change certain personal characteristics.
• A spontaneous or controlled effect resulting from the control of certain mental images that appear in the consciousness of a person.
• Full functional integrity and interconnection of all elements of cognition that are involved in the subject's work on assessing and changing his mental characteristics.
• A mutually conditioning factor in all spheres of the unconscious and areas of consciousness, with the help of which the individual exerts a regulatory influence on himself.
• Mandatory connection of functions between mental and emotional processes in consciousness, as well as experience of a bodily nature.

As a rule, the beginning of the self-regulation process is always associated with a certain motivation, which causes the definition of a specific contradiction. Actually, the set of such contradictions between the present “I” and the ideal “I” is the main “driving force” that drives the action of the abilities to self-regulation.

Any adequate individual, striving to be the master of his own life, must have a developed mechanism of self-regulation. In the same way, any purposeful actions of the subject, the purpose of which is, for example, the strengthening and safety of health, can be attributed to self-regulation. This kind of action can also include daily sports training, gymnastics.

In addition, self-regulation includes the psychoemotional sphere. That is, it is a kind of set of methods and actions, up to theoretical ones, through which a specific "coding" and further control over one's psyche is achieved.

This condition often develops with the help of an individual's addressing himself with words - affirmations, mental images, regulation of his breathing or even muscle tone. This workout is also often referred to as auto-training. One of the positive aspects of auto-training is that it necessarily helps to achieve such beneficial effects as calming, elimination of various levels of emotional stress, there is also a decrease in emotional and mental fatigue, and the general level of psychophysical reactivity increases.

The ways

Timely self-regulation is the best way to avoid many accumulating negative influences of external factors that lead to the formation of psycho-emotional fatigue and stress. There are many ways of the so-called natural self-regulation. These include the ability to sleep, eat, take a hot bath or shower, dance, and much more. The problem is that such seemingly elementary actions, due to circumstances, may turn out to be completely impossible.

In this case, I can apply to varying degrees effective techniques of natural self-regulation, which include a smile or laughter, a positive attitude of thinking, immersion in dreams or discussions, contemplation of a beautiful view or any other landscape, even looking at drawings, photographs, animals or flowers.

Of course, one of the most powerful ways is sleep. He is able not only to reduce the degree of fatigue, charge with the necessary vigor, but also reduces the level of various emotional negative influences. This explains the increased sleepiness of most subjects who have recently experienced or even experience some kind of traumatic situation.

It is also worth noting separately such a method as self-hypnosis. It consists in a certain set of statements and beliefs that the subject directs to himself. It is widely believed that this method is not effective enough, if not completely useless. However, this is far from the case!

Convincing yourself in certain attitudes, especially during any dangerous and extreme situation, allows you to control and manage most of the processes of your psyche, cognitive functions or the emotional sphere, and even control some somatic functions of the body. All used formulations of attitudes and beliefs must be pronounced as accurately and clearly as possible, in a low voice, in a firm and persistent tone. In this case, it is necessary to focus maximum attention on the wording. Self-hypnosis lies at the basis of such common trainings as meditation, yoga, relaxation.

The self-regulation technique, which is based on auto-training and its principles, is a fairly powerful tool for any person who seeks to gain maximum control over himself. With its help, you can remove the feeling of fatigue, emotional imbalance, increase your concentration and performance, without waiting for someone else's help and without spending hours on "necessary rest."

The levels of adaptation of the body to changing conditions.

How do organisms adapt to environmental conditions? There are several levels at which this process takes place. The cellular level is one of the most important.

Let us consider, as an example, how a single-celled organism - Escherichia coli adapts to environmental conditions. It is known to grow and multiply well in an environment containing the only sugar - glucose. Living in such an environment, its cells do not need the enzyme needed to convert other sugars, such as lactose into glucose. But if bacteria are grown in a medium containing lactose, then an intensive synthesis of an enzyme that converts lactose into glucose begins immediately in the cells. Consequently, Escherichia coli is able to rebuild its vital activity in such a way that it becomes adapted to new environmental conditions. The given example also applies to all other cells, including cells of higher organisms.

Another level at which organisms adapt to environmental conditions is tissue. Training leads to the development of organs: weightlifters have powerful muscles; diving people have highly developed lungs; excellent shooters and hunters have a special visual acuity. Many qualities of the body can be developed to a great extent by training. In some diseases, when a particularly heavy load falls on the liver, there is a sharp increase in its size. Thus, individual organs and tissues are able to respond to changes in the conditions of existence, the adaptation of the organism to the conditions of the internal and external environment.

Self-regulation... The body is a complex system capable of self-regulation. Self-regulation allows the body to effectively adapt to changes in the environment. The ability for self-regulation is strongly expressed in higher vertebrates, especially in mammals. This is achieved through the powerful development of the nervous, circulatory, immune, endocrine and digestive systems.

Changing conditions inevitably entails a restructuring of their work. For example, a lack of oxygen in the air leads to an intensification of the circulatory system, the pulse quickens, and the amount of hemoglobin in the blood increases. As a result, the body adapts to the changed conditions.

The constancy of the internal environment under systematically changing environmental conditions is created by the joint activity of all 1 systems of the body. In higher animals, this is expressed in maintaining a constant body temperature, in the constancy of the chemical, ion and gas composition, pressure, respiration and heart rate, constant synthesis of the necessary substances and the destruction of harmful ones.

Exchange substances- a prerequisite and way of maintaining the stability of the organization of the living. The existence of a living organism is impossible without metabolism. The exchange of substances and energy between the body and the external environment is an integral property of living things.

A special role in maintaining the constancy of the internal environment is played by immune (protective) system... The Russian scientist I.I.Mechnikov was one of the first biologists to prove its great importance. The cells of the immune system secrete special proteins - antibodies, which actively detect and destroy everything foreign to a given organism.

Maintaining the relative constancy of the internal environment of the body is called homeostasis. Gameostasis- the most important property of the whole organism.

The biological clock. Organisms do not always rigidly maintain the characteristics of the internal environment at the same level. Often external changes entail a restructuring of the internal environment. An example of this is the change in the physiological state of organisms depending on changes in the length of the day during the year, or, as they say, changes in photoperiodic conditions (photoperiodism).

For many animals living in temperate climates, the breeding season coincides with an increase in daylight hours. The change in photoperiodic conditions in this case is the leading factor. Seasonal rhythms are most clearly manifested in the change in the cover of deciduous forests, the change in the plumage of birds and the hair cover of mammals, in periodic stops and resumption of plant growth, hibernation of some animals, the seasonality of reproduction, etc.

The study of the phenomena of the diurnal, seasonal and lunar periodicity of living organisms has shown that all eukaryotes (unicellular and multicellular) have the so-called biological clock. In other words, organisms have the ability to measure diurnal, lunar and seasonal cycles.

It is known that tidal currents in the ocean are caused by the influence of the moon. During the lunar day, the water rises (and recedes) either twice or once, depending on the region of the Earth. Marine animals that live in such periodically changing conditions are able to measure the time of ebb and flow using a biological clock. Locomotor activity, oxygen consumption and many physiological processes in crabs, sea anemones, hermit crabs and other inhabitants of the coastal areas of the seas change regularly during the lunar day.

The course of the biological clock can be rebuilt depending on the changed conditions. An example of such a process is a change in the rhythms of many physiological functions: body temperature, blood pressure, phases of physical activity and rest in a person who flew from Moscow to Kamchatka, where the sun rises 9 hours earlier. During a fast flight over long distances, the restructuring of the biological clock does not occur immediately, but within a few days.

The daily rhythms of the life of many organisms are determined by the alternation of light and darkness: the beginning of dawn or dusk. Starlings gather in flocks for 10-30 minutes an hour before sunset and fly to overnight places tens of kilometers away. They are never late thanks to their biological clock, which adjusts to the Sun. In general, the daily periodicity is formed as a result of the coordination of many rhythms, both internal and external.

In some cases, the reason for the periodic fluctuations of the internal environment lies in the organism itself. Experiments on animals have shown that in conditions of absolute darkness and sound isolation, periods of rest and wakefulness alternate sequentially, within a time interval close to 24 hours.

So, fluctuations in the internal environment of the body can be considered as one of the factors that maintain its constancy.

Anabiosis... Organisms often find themselves in environmental conditions in which the continuation of normal life processes is impossible. In such cases, some organisms can fall into suspended animation (from the Greek "ana" - again, "bios" - life), i.e. a condition characterized by a sharp decrease or temporary cessation of metabolism. Anabiosis is an important adaptation of many species of living beings to unfavorable living conditions. Spores of microorganisms, plant seeds, animal eggs are examples of anabiotic state. In some cases, suspended animation can last for hundreds or even thousands of years, after which the seeds do not lose their germination. Deep freezing of sperm and eggs of especially valuable farm animals for their long-term storage and subsequent widespread use is an example of the use of suspended animation in the practice of people.

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Self-regulation is a kind of adjustment by an individual of his personal inner world and himself in order to adapt. That is, this property of absolutely all biological systems to form, and in the future to keep biological or physiological parameters at a specific, more or less constant level. In self-regulation, the factors that control do not affect the controlled system from the outside, but appear in it itself. This process can be cyclical.

Self-regulation is a previously understood and organized influence of the subject on his psyche to transform its characteristics in the right direction. That is why the development of self-regulation must be started from childhood.

Mental self-regulation

Self-regulation is translated literally how to put things in order. That is, self-regulation is a pre-conscious and organized influence of the subject on his own psyche to change its characteristics in the desired and expected direction.

Self-regulation is based on a set of patterns of mental functioning and their consequences, which are known as psychological effects. These include:

• the activating influence of the motivational sphere, which gives rise to the activity of the subject, aimed at transforming characteristics;

• the effect of controlling involuntarily or voluntarily mental images that arise in the consciousness of a person;

• functional integrity and structural unity of all cognitive processes of the psyche, which provide the effect of the subject's influence on his psyche;

• the interdependence and unity of the areas of consciousness and the spheres of the unconscious as objects through which the subject exercises a regulatory influence on himself;

• functional connection of the emotional-volitional area of ​​the individual's personality and her bodily experience, thought processes.

The beginning of the self-regulation process should be interconnected with the definition of a specific contradiction associated with the motivational sphere. It is these contradictions that will be a kind of driving force that stimulates the reorganization of some properties and traits of your personality. The techniques of such self-regulation can be built on the following mechanisms: reflection, imagination, neurolinguistic programming, etc.

The earliest experience of self-regulation is closely related to bodily sensation.

Every reasonable person who wants to be the master of his own life must develop self-regulation in himself. That is, self-regulation can also be called the actions of an individual in order to be healthy. These activities include daily morning or evening exercises. According to the results of numerous studies that were carried out in the Russian Federation, it was revealed that as a result of self-regulation, the human body rejuvenates.

Self-regulation of the personality is also the management of one's psychoemotional states. It can be achieved through the influence of the individual on himself with the help of words - affirmations, mental images (visualization), regulation of muscle tone and breathing. Mental self-regulation is a peculiar way of coding your own psyche. This self-regulation is also called auto-training or autogenous training. Self-regulation results in several important effects, such as: emotional tension is eliminated; recovery, i.e. the manifestations of fatigue are weakened; activation, i.e. psychophysiological reactivity increases.

There are natural ways of self-regulation, such as sleeping, eating, communicating with animals and living environment, hot showers, massage, dancing, movement, and more. However, it is not always possible to use such means. So, for example, being at work, an individual at the time of a tense situation or overwork cannot go to sleep. But it is precisely the timeliness of self-regulation that is a fundamental factor in psychohygiene. Timely self-regulation is able to prevent the accumulation of residual phenomena of overstressed states, helps to restore strength, helps to normalize the emotional background, helps in taking control of one's emotions, and enhances the body's mobilization resources.

Natural self-regulation techniques are one of the simplest and most accessible methods of regulation. These include: smiling and laughing, positive thinking, daydreaming, observing beauty (for example, a landscape), looking at photographs, animals, flowers, breathing clean and fresh air, praising someone, etc.

Sleep affects not only the removal of general fatigue, but also helps, as it were, to reduce the influence of negative experiences, to make them less pronounced. This explains the increased sleepiness of a certain number of people during the period of stressful situations or difficult life moments.

Water treatments perfectly help to relieve fatigue and relax, also relieve irritation and soothe. A contrast shower helps to cheer up, defeat lethargy, apathy and fatigue. Hobbies - For many subjects, it is an excellent means of relieving anxiety and tension, as well as recuperating. Sports and physical activity contribute to the fight against stress and fatigue associated with hard working days. Also, a change of scenery helps to relieve accumulated stress and fatigue. That is why a person needs a long vacation so that he can afford to go on vacation to the sea, resort, sanatorium, cottage, etc. This is an excellent tool that restores the necessary supply of mental and physical strength.

In addition to the above natural methods of regulation, others are also distinguished, for example, breathing control, muscle tone, verbal exposure, drawing, auto-training, self-hypnosis and many others.

Self-hypnosis consists in the process of suggestion, which is directed at oneself. This process allows one to evoke certain necessary sensations in oneself, to control and manage the cognitive processes of the psyche, somatic and emotional reactions. All formulations for self-hypnosis should be pronounced in an undertone a number of times, while you need to fully focus on the formulations. This method is the basis for all kinds of methods and techniques of mental self-regulation, such as autogenous training, yoga, meditation, relaxation.

With the help of auto-training, an individual can restore working capacity, improve mood, increase concentration, etc. within ten minutes without anyone's help, without waiting for the anxiety, overwork to pass by itself or develop into something worse.

The auto-training method is universal, it allows subjects to individually select the appropriate response to the influence on their own body, to decide exactly when it is necessary to eliminate the problems that have arisen that are associated with unfavorable mental or physical conditions.

The German psychiatrist Schultz in 1932 proposed a method of self-regulation, which was called autogenous training. The basis for its development was the observation of people entering trance states. He believed that the basis of all trance states are factors such as muscle relaxation, psychological peace and a feeling of sleepiness, self-suggestion and suggestion, highly developed imagination. Therefore, by combining several methods, Schultz created an author's technique.

For individuals who have difficulty with muscle relaxation, the technique developed by J. Jacobson is optimal.

Self-regulation of behavior

In the system of organizing the directions of any behavioral actions, an act is realized not only from the position of a reflex, that is, from stimulus to action, but also from the position of self-regulation. Sequential and final results are regularly assessed using multicomponent polar afferentation in the form of their likely satisfaction of the initial body need. Due to this, any outcome of behavioral activity that is inadequate to meet the initial need is able to be instantly perceived, evaluated and, as a result, the behavioral act is transformed in the direction of seeking an adequate outcome.

In cases where living organisms have successfully achieved the results they need, behavioral actions of a specific orientation stop, while being accompanied by personal positive emotional feelings. After that, the activity of living organisms is seized by another dominant need, as a result of which the behavioral act goes in a different direction. In the same cases, when living things are faced with temporary barriers to achieving the desired results, two end results are likely. The first is the development of a formulated approximate research reaction and the transformation of the tactics of behavioral manifestations. The second is to switch behavioral acts in order to obtain another equally significant result.

The system of self-regulation of behavioral processes can be schematically represented as follows: the emergence of a reaction is an organism that feels a need, the end of a reaction is the satisfaction of such a need, i.e. the acquisition of a useful adaptation result. Between the beginning and the end of the reactions lies the behavior, its step-by-step results, which are aimed at the final outcome and their regular assessment using reverse afferentation. Any behavior of all living things is initially built on the basis of a continuous comparison of the properties of external stimuli affecting them with the parameters of the final adaptation result, with a regular assessment of the results that were obtained from the standpoint of satisfying the initial need.

Self-regulation methods

A person is a rather complex system that can use various types of self-regulation to achieve a more significant level of activity. Its methods are subdivided, depending on the period of their implementation, into methods aimed at mobilization right before the stage of activity or during it, methods that are aimed at full recovery of strength during rest (for example, meditation, auto-training, music therapy, and others).

Methods aimed at recovery play a special role in the daily life of the individual. A well-timed and full night's sleep is considered the best way to achieve recuperation. Sleep provides the individual with high activity of the functional state. But due to the constant influence of stress factors, overwork and overload, chronic stress, a person's sleep can be disrupted. Therefore, for self-regulation, other methods may be needed that are aimed at obtaining an individual good rest.

Depending on the area in which self-regulation of the personality usually occurs, the methods are corrective, motivational and emotional-volitional. The following methods of self-regulation are referred to as emotional-strong-willed: self-hypnosis, self-confession, self-order and others.

Self-confession consists in a full internal report to your personality about your real personal role in different life situations. This technique is a frank story about the vicissitudes of fate and the difficulties of life, about mistakes, wrong steps taken earlier, that is, about the most intimate, about deeply personal worries. Thanks to this technique, the individual is freed from contradictions and the level of mental tension is reduced.

Self-belief consists in the communicative process of conscious, critical and analytical impact on personal personal attitudes, the basis. This technique will become more effective only when it begins to rely on tough logic and cold intellect, on an objective and reasonable approach to obstacles, contradictions, problems in life processes.

Self-order is the implementation of decisive actions in circumstances of clarity of the goal and limited time for reflection. It is developed in the process of conducting trainings to overcome oneself, in those cases when the desired action begins immediately after giving such an order. And, as a result, a reflex connection is gradually formed, which unites inner speech and action.

Self-hypnosis is the implementation of a psycho-regulatory function that acts at the level of reason, a stereotypical level, which demands the influence of creative efforts to analyze and resolve difficult situations. The most effective are verbal and mental self-hypnosis if they are characterized by simplicity, brevity, positivity, optimism.

Self-reinforcement consists in the controlling reactions of self-regulation of personal life. The result of the activity and the activity itself are assessed from the position of a personal personal standard, that is, they are controlled. A standard is a kind of standard set by an individual.

In the motivational sphere, there are two methods of self-regulation: mediated and direct. The indirect method is based on the result of the influence on the central nervous system in general or on some specific formations through direct factors, for example, meditation. Direct methods represent a direct and conscious revision by a person of his motivational system, adjustment of those attitudes and motives that do not suit her for some reason. This method includes auto-training, self-hypnosis, etc.

The correction method includes: self-organization, self-affirmation, self-actualization, self-determination.

Self-organization is an indicator of personality maturity. There are characteristic signs of the process of self-organization formation: active making oneself a person, the ratio of life preferences to personal personality traits, a tendency to self-knowledge, identifying one's weak and strong features, a responsible attitude to activity, work, one's words and deeds, to the surrounding society.

Self-affirmation has a relationship with the needs of the individual in self-disclosure, in the manifestation of his own personality and self-expression. That is, self-assertion is the subject's aspiration to acquire and maintain a specific social status, often acting as a dominant need. Such a desire can be expressed in real achievements in certain spheres of life and in defending one's own significance before others through verbal statements.

Self-determination consists in the ability of the individual to independently choose the direction of self-development.

Self-actualization consists in the aspiration of the individual towards a more complete identification and formation of personal personal potentials. Also, self-actualization is the continuous implementation of possible potentials, talents, abilities as the fulfillment of one's life goal or the calling of fate.

There is also a method for ideomotor training. It is based on the fact that every mental movement is accompanied by micro muscle movements. Therefore, there is a possibility of improving actions without performing them in reality. Its essence lies in the meaningful replay of future activities. However, along with all the advantages of this method, such as saving time and money resources, forces, there are a number of difficulties. The implementation of this technique requires serious attitude, focus and concentration, mobilization of the imagination. There are certain principles for training individuals. First, they must recreate as accurate an image of the movements they are going to practice as possible. Secondly, the mental image of actions must certainly be associated with their muscular-articular feelings, only in this case it will be a real ideomotor representation.

Each individual must choose and select methods of self-regulation individually, in accordance with his personal preferences and those that can help him successfully regulate his psyche.

Self-regulation of states

The question of self-regulation of states begins to arise when conditions have a significant impact on the efficiency of the activities performed, interpersonal communication, mental and physiological health. At the same time, self-regulation is understood not only to eliminate negative states, but also to challenge positive ones.

The human body is so arranged that when tension or anxiety arises, its facial expressions change, the tone of the skeletal muscles, the rate of speech increase, fussiness arises, which leads to mistakes, the pulse quickens, breathing changes, the complexion. If the individual shifts his attention from the causes of anger or sadness to their outward manifestations, such as tears, facial expressions, etc., then the emotional tension will subside. From this it should be concluded that the emotional and physical state of the subjects is closely interrelated, so they can influence each other.

Methods of self-regulation of states can be associated with breathing, with muscles, etc.

The simplest, however, quite effective way of emotional regulation is to relax the facial muscles. To learn how to manage your own emotions, you first need to master the relaxation of the muscles of the face and the voluntary control of their condition. Control will be more effective if it is turned on early from the moment the emotions appear. For example, when angry, teeth can automatically clench and facial expressions change, but if you try to control manifestations, while asking yourself questions such as "how does my face look?", The muscles of the face begin to relax. It is very important for any individual to learn the skills of relaxing facial muscles in order to use them in office or other situations.

Breathing is another reserve for stabilizing emotional states. As strange as it may sound, not everyone knows how to breathe correctly. Improper breathing can result in increased fatigue. Depending on the state of the individual at the moment, his breathing also changes. So, for example, in the process of sleep in a person even breathing, in an angry individual, breathing becomes more frequent. It follows from this that breathing disorders are dependent on the internal mood of a person, which means that with the help of breathing control, one can influence the emotional state. The main purpose of breathing exercises is to consciously control the depth, frequency and rhythm of breathing.

Visualization and imagination are also effective means of self-regulation. Visualization consists in creating internal mental images in the consciousness of the subject, that is, a kind of activation of the imagination through visual, auditory, gustatory, tactile and olfactory sensations and their combinations. This technique helps an individual to activate memory, to recreate exactly those sensations that he experienced earlier. When you reproduce certain images of the world in your mind, you can quickly get distracted from the alarming situation and restore emotional stability.

Emotional self-regulation

Emotional self-regulation is divided into several levels: unconscious, conscious volitional and conscious semantic. The self-regulation system is represented by these levels, which are the stages of the formation of regulatory mechanisms in the process of ontogenesis. The prevalence of one level over another is considered as a parameter of the genesis of the integrative-emotional functions of the subject's consciousness.

Certain psychological defense mechanisms provide the unconscious level. These mechanisms work on a subconscious level and are aimed at protecting consciousness from traumatic factors, unpleasant experiences that are interconnected with internal or external conflict situations, states of anxiety and discomfort. Those. it is a certain form of processing traumatic factors, a kind of individual stabilization system, which manifests itself in the elimination or minimization of negative emotions. These mechanisms include: denial and repression, sublimation and rationalization, depreciation, etc.

The conscious-volitional level of emotional self-regulation is aimed at acquiring a comfortable state of the psyche with the help of willpower. Volitional control of external manifestations of emotions can also be attributed to this level. Most of the methods of self-regulation that exist today are related precisely to this level (for example, auto-training, muscle relaxation according to Jacobson, breathing exercises, labor, catharsis, etc.).

At the level of conscious regulation, the conscious will is directed not at solving the conflict of needs and motivations that underlie discomfort, but at changing its objective and individual manifestations. That is, as a result of actions, the causes of such emotional discomfort will not be eliminated. Consequently, the mechanisms of this level are inherently symptomatic. This feature will be common for both conscious and unconscious regulation. The difference between them lies only in the level at which the process takes place: conscious or subconscious. However, there is no clear-cut hard line between them. This is due to the fact that volitional actions for regulation can initially be carried out with the participation of consciousness, and then, gradually becoming automatic, they can also move to the subconscious level.

The conscious-semantic (value) level of emotional self-regulation is a qualitatively new way of resolving problems associated with emotional discomfort. This level of regulation aims to eliminate the underlying causes of such discomfort, to resolve internal conflicts of needs and motivations. This goal is achieved through understanding and rethinking individual values ​​and needs, acquiring new meanings of life. The highest manifestation of semantic regulation is self-regulation at the level of meanings and needs of being.

To implement emotional self-regulation at a conscious-semantic level, one should learn to think clearly, distinguish and describe with the help of words the subtlest shades of individual experiences, comprehend personal needs that underlie emotions and feelings, find meaning in any experiences, even in unpleasant and difficult life circumstances.

Self-regulation activities

In modern education and training, the development of personality self-regulation is one of the most difficult tasks. Self-regulation, which is realized by the individual in the processes of activity and is aimed at bringing the potentials of the subject in accordance with the requirement of such activity, is called self-regulation of activity.

The functional parts that carry out a full-fledged process of self-regulation of activities are the following links.

Goal-setting or the direction of activity adopted by the individual consists in the fulfillment of a general system-forming function. In this link, the entire self-regulation procedure is formed with the aim of achieving the set goal exactly in the form in which it is perceived by the subject.

The next link is the individual model of significant circumstances. This model reflects a complex of certain internal and external circumstances of activity, which the individual himself considers important to take into account for the successful performance of the activity. It carries the function of a kind of source of information, on the basis of which the subject can carry out programming of personal performing actions and actions. It also includes information about the dynamics of circumstances in the processes of activity.

The subject implements the regulatory aspect of building, creating a certain program of performing acts for the implementation of such a link of self-regulation as the program of performing acts. This program is an informational education that determines the nature, order, methods and other characteristics of actions aimed at achieving the set goal in specific conditions, highlighted by the individual himself as significant, as the basis for the program of action that is adopted.

The system of personal parameters for achieving the goal is a functional specific link for the regulation of the psyche. This system carries the functions of clarifying and concretizing the initial forms and content of the goal. A general formulation of a goal is often insufficient for precise, targeted regulation. Therefore, the individual seeks to overcome the initial information vagueness of the goal, while formulating the parameters for evaluating the results that correspond to his individual understanding of the goal.

The next regulatory link is the control and assessment of real results. It has the function of evaluating the current and final results in relation to the system of success parameters adopted by the individual. This link provides information about the level of compliance or inconsistency between the programmed direction of activity, its intermediate and final results and their present (real) progress of achievement.

The last link in the self-regulation of activities is the decision on corrective actions in the regulatory system.

Psychological self-regulation

Today, in psychological practices and science, such a concept as self-regulation is widely used. But due to the complexity of the concept of self-regulation and due to the fact that the concept of self-regulation is used in completely different fields of science, at the moment there are several variations in interpretations. More often, self-regulation is understood as a procedure that ensures stability and stability of the system, balance and transformation, characterized by the purposefulness of changes by the personality of various mechanisms of psychophysiological functions that are related to the formation of special means of control over activities.

There are such basic meanings that are embedded in the concept of self-regulation.

Psychological self-regulation is one of the most important functions of an individual's consciousness, which psychologists single out along with reflection. After all, it is the interconnection of these functions that ensures the integration of the processes of the psyche, the unity of the psyche and all phenomena of the psyche.

Self-regulation is a special mental phenomenon that optimizes the state of the subject, and implies the presence of certain methods, techniques, methods and techniques. More broadly, self-regulation can be understood in cases where this process combines not only bringing one's state to the desired level, but also all individual control processes at the level of the personality, its meanings, benchmarks, goals, at the level of managing cognitive processes, behavior, actions. , activities, communications.

Self-regulation manifests itself in all mental phenomena that are inherent in an individual. Psychological self-regulation includes the regulation of individual processes of the psyche, such as perception, sensation, thinking, etc., regulation of the individual state or skills in self-management, which have become a property of the subject, features of his character due to self-education and upbringing, regulation of the social behavior of the individual.

Psychological self-regulation is a purposeful transformation of the work of various psychophysiological functions, for the implementation of which it is necessary to develop certain methods of control over activities.

Inadequacy in regulating one's own emotional states, inability to cope with affective moods and stresses is an obstacle to successful professional activity, contributes to disorders of interpersonal relationships in teams and families, interferes with the achievement of goals and the realization of intentions, and leads to a disorder of the individual's health.

Therefore, specific techniques and methods are constantly being developed to help cope with strong emotions and prevent them from turning into affects. The first thing that is recommended is to timely identify and realize an unwanted emotion, analyze its origins, get rid of muscle tension and try to relax, while you need to breathe rhythmically and deeply, attract a previously stored image of a pleasant and positive event in your life, try to look at yourself as if from the side. With the help of endurance, special training, self-control, culture of interpersonal relationships, it is possible to prevent the formation of affect.

The main goal of psychological self-regulation is the formation of certain mental states that contribute to the best use of the psychological and physiological abilities of the individual. Such regulation is understood as a purposeful transformation of individual functions of the psyche and neuropsychic moods in general, which is achieved through a specially created activity of the psyche. This process occurs due to specific brain rearrangements, as a result of which the activity of the body is formed, directing in a concentrated and more rational way the entire potential of the body to resolve the problems that have arisen.

Methods of direct impact on the state of the body can be figuratively divided into two main groups: external and internal.

The reflexological method is referred to the first group of normalization of functional states. It occurs through the influence on biologically active and reflexogenic points, the organization of a competent diet, pharmacology, functional music and light-musical influences, the most powerful method of active influence is the influence of one individual on another through order, hypnosis, persuasion, suggestion, etc.

The reflexological method, in addition to being used in medicine, is also widely used for preventive measures in borderline conditions, to increase working capacity, and to urgently mobilize the body's reserves.

Optimization of the diet is important in the processes of normalization of functional states. So, for example, the lack of essential minerals, vitamins and other substances in the body necessarily leads to a decrease in resistance. As a result, fast fatigue appears, stress reactions occur, etc. Therefore, a balanced diet and the inclusion of mandatory foods in it is one of the most important preventive methods for adverse conditions.

One of the oldest and most widespread methods of influencing the personal state is pharmacotherapy. However, only the most natural drugs should be used as preventive measures.

The combination of functional music with color and light effects is also widely used. Also considered interesting is the method of bibliotherapy - medical reading, proposed by Bekhterev. This method is realized by listening to some fragments of their works of art, for example, poetry.

Self-regulation mechanisms

In almost all methods of self-regulation, two main psychophysiological mechanisms are used: lowering the level of brain wakefulness to a certain degree and maximum concentration of attention on the task being solved.

Wakefulness is active and passive. Active wakefulness occurs when an individual is reading a book or watching a movie. Passive wakefulness is manifested in cases when the subject lies down, closes his eyes, relaxes all muscles, tries not to think about anything on purpose. This state is the first step towards falling asleep. The next stage - a lower level of wakefulness, will be drowsiness, i.e. superficial sleepiness. Further, the subject, as it were, descends the steps into a dark room and falls asleep, plunges into a deep sleep.

According to the results of the studies conducted, it was revealed that the human brain, which is in states of drowsiness and passive wakefulness, acquires one rather important property - it becomes maximally receptive to words, to mental images and ideas interconnected with them.

It follows from this that in order for words characterized by purposefulness and their corresponding mental images and ideas to show a clearly defined effect on individuals, they should be passed through the brain, which is at a reduced stage of wakefulness - in a state that resembles drowsiness. This is the main essence of the first mechanism, which is used in the methods of mental self-regulation.

The second important mechanism of self-regulation is the maximum concentration of attention on the task being solved. The more focused the attention, the higher the success of the activity to which the subject is paying attention at the moment. A person is so arranged that he is not able to simultaneously focus attention on several phenomena or objects. So, for example, it is impossible to listen to the radio and read a book at the same time. Attention can be focused on either the radio or the book. And when attention is directed to the book, the person does not hear the radio, and vice versa. Most often, when trying to do two things at the same time, the quality of doing two things suffers. Therefore, there is no point in doing two things at the same time. However, very few people know how to completely disconnect from interfering factors. In order to learn how to fully own your own attention, you should train several times a day every day, trying to keep your attention on something for a couple of minutes. With such training, in no case should you strain. You need to learn how to maintain concentrated attention, while not straining yourself either physically or psychologically.

Among the fundamental mechanisms of the motivational level of personal self-regulation, which are most effective in critical situations, there are semantic binding and reflection.

The mechanism of self-regulation, in which the formation of a new meaning occurs through its emotional saturation through the combination of neutral content with the semantic and motivational spheres of the personality, is called semantic binding.

Reflection allows an individual to look at himself from the other side, to transform his attitude to something, to rearrange his world, to adapt to a constantly changing reality. Reflection is a way of personality self-development, in contrast to unconscious forms of self-regulation (psychological defense).

So, self-regulation is a systemic process capable of providing an adequate transformation, plasticity of an individual's life activity at any stage. This process is characterized by the purposefulness of the subject's activity, which is realized through the interaction of various phenomena, processes and levels of the psyche. In self-regulating processes, the wholeness and systemic integration of the psyche is determined.

Speaker of the Medical and Psychological Center "PsychoMed"

Self-regulation in biology is one of the most important properties of a living system, which consists in automatically setting and maintaining a certain level of parameters necessary for normal functioning. The essence of the process is that no external influences become governing. The factors driving change are formed within the self-regulating system and contribute to the creation of dynamic equilibrium. The processes arising in this case can be cyclical, dying out and resuming as certain conditions develop or disappear.

Self-regulation: the meaning of a biological term

Any living system, from a cell to a biogeocenosis, is constantly exposed to a variety of external factors. Temperature conditions, humidity change, food runs out or interspecies competition becomes tougher - examples can be cited a lot. Moreover, the viability of any system depends on its ability to maintain the constancy of the internal environment (homeostasis). It is to achieve such a goal that self-regulation exists. The definition of the concept implies that changes in the external environment are not direct factors of influence. They are converted into signals that cause this or that imbalance and lead to the launch of self-regulation mechanisms designed to return the system to a stable state. At each level, such an interaction of factors looks differently, therefore, in order to understand what self-regulation is, let us dwell on them in more detail.

Organizational levels of living matter

Modern natural science adheres to the concept that all natural and social objects are systems. They consist of separate elements constantly interacting according to certain laws. Living objects are no exception to this rule; they are also systems with their own internal hierarchy and multilevel structure. Moreover, this structure has one interesting feature. Each system can simultaneously represent an element of a higher level and be a set (that is, all the same system) of levels of a lower order. For example, a tree is an element of the forest and at the same time a multicellular system.

In order to avoid confusion, it is customary in biology to consider four main levels of organization of living things:

• molecular genetic;
• ontogenetic (organismic - from cell to human);
• population-specific;
• biogeocenotic (ecosystem level).

Self-regulation methods

The processes taking place at each of these levels, outwardly differ in scale, used energy sources and their results, but are similar in essence. They are based on the same methods of self-regulation of systems. First of all, it is a feedback mechanism. It is possible in two versions: positive and negative. Recall that direct communication involves the transfer of information from one element of the system to another, the reverse flows in the opposite direction, from the second to the first. In this case, both of them change the state of the receiving component.

Positive feedback leads to the fact that the processes that the first element reported to the second, are fixed and continue to be carried out. A similar process is at the heart of any growth and development. The second element constantly signals the first to continue the same processes. This violates

Main mechanism

Otherwise it works. It leads to the emergence of new changes, opposite to those that the first element reported to the second. As a result, the processes that upset the equilibrium are eliminated and terminated, and the system becomes stable again. A simple analogy is the operation of an iron: a certain temperature is a signal to turn off. Negative feedback is at the heart of all processes associated with maintaining homeostasis.

Comprehensiveness

Self-regulation in biology is a process that permeates all these levels. Its purpose is to maintain dynamic balance, the constancy of the internal environment. Due to the all-encompassing process, self-regulation is at the center of so many branches of natural science. In biology, these are cytology, physiology of animals and plants, and ecology. Each of the disciplines deals with a different level. Let us consider what self-regulation is, at the main stages of the organization of the living.

Intracellular level

In each cell, chemical mechanisms are mainly used to maintain a stable balance of the internal environment. Among them, the main role in regulation is played by the control of genes on which the production of proteins depends.

The cyclical nature of the processes can be easily traced using the example of enzymatic chains suppressed by the final products. The purpose of the activity of such formations is in the processing of complex substances into simpler ones. In this case, the final product is similar in structure to the first enzyme in the chain. This property plays a key role in maintaining homeostasis. The product binds to the enzyme and suppresses its activity as a result of a strong structural change. This happens only after the concentration of the final substance exceeds the permissible level. As a result, the fermentation process stops, and the finished product is used by the cell for its own needs. After some time, the level of the substance falls below the permissible value. This is a signal to start fermentation: the protein is detached from the enzyme, the suppression of the process stops, and everything starts all over again.

Increasing complexity

Self-regulation in nature is always based on the principle of feedback and generally proceeds according to a similar scenario. However, at each next level, factors appear that complicate the process. The constancy of the internal environment is important for the cell, the preservation of a certain value of the concentration of various substances. At the next level, the self-regulation process is designed to solve many more problems. Therefore, multicellular organisms develop whole systems that support homeostasis. These are secretions, blood circulation and the like. The study of the evolution of the animal and plant world makes it easy to understand how the mechanisms of self-regulation improved as the structure and external conditions became more complex.

Organism level

The constancy of the internal environment is best maintained in mammals. The basis for the development of self-regulation and its implementation is the nervous and humoral systems. Constantly interacting, they control the processes occurring in the body, contribute to the creation and maintenance of dynamic balance. The brain receives signals from nerve fibers present in every part of the body. Information from the endocrine glands also flows here. The interconnection is nervous and often contributes to an almost instantaneous restructuring of the ongoing processes.

Feedback

The operation of the system can be traced to the example of maintaining blood pressure. All changes in this indicator are captured by special receptors located on the vessels. Increase or affect the stretching of the walls of capillaries, veins and arteries. It is to these changes that the receptors respond. The signal is transmitted to the vascular centers, and from them "instructions" are issued on how to correct the vascular tone and cardiac activity. The neurohumoral regulation system is also connected. As a result, the pressure returns to normal. It is easy to see that the well-coordinated work of the regulation system is based on the same feedback mechanism.

At the head of everything

Self-regulation, the definition of certain adjustments in the activity of the body, is the basis of all changes in the body, its reactions to external stimuli. Stress exposure and constant stress can lead to hypertrophy of individual organs. Examples of this are the developed muscles of athletes and the enlarged lungs of freediving enthusiasts. Illness is often a stressful influence. Heart hypertrophy is a common occurrence in people diagnosed with obesity. This is the body's response to the need to increase the load on pumping blood.

Self-regulation mechanisms also underlie the physiological reactions that occur when frightened. A large amount of the hormone adrenaline is released into the bloodstream, which causes a number of changes: an increase in oxygen consumption, an increase in the amount of glucose, an increase in the heart rate and mobilization of the muscular system. At the same time, the overall balance is maintained by extinguishing the activity of other components: digestion slows down, sexual reflexes disappear.

Dynamic balance

It should be noted that homeostasis, at whatever level it is maintained, is not absolute. All parameters of the internal environment are maintained within a certain range of values ​​and are constantly fluctuating. Therefore, they talk about the dynamic equilibrium of the system. At the same time, it is important that the value of a specific parameter does not go beyond the so-called oscillation corridor, otherwise the process may become pathological.

Sustainability and self-regulation of the ecosystem

Biogeocenosis (ecosystem) consists of two interconnected structures: biocenosis and biotope. The first one represents the entire aggregate of living beings of a given area. Biotope - these are the factors of the inanimate environment where the biocenosis lives. Environmental conditions constantly affecting organisms are divided into three groups:

Maintaining homeostasis means the well-being of organisms under conditions of constant exposure to the external environment and changing internal factors. Self-regulation supporting biogeocenosis is primarily based on the system of trophic connections. They represent a relatively closed chain through which energy flows. Producers (plants and chemobacteria) receive it from the Sun or as a result of chemical reactions, create organic matter with its help, which feeds consumers (herbivores, predators, omnivores) of several orders. At the last stage of the cycle, there are decomposers (bacteria, some types of worms), which decompose organic matter into its constituent elements. They are reintroduced into the system as food for producers.

The constancy of the cycle is ensured by the fact that at each level there are several types of living beings. When one of them falls out of the chain, they are replaced with a similar one in their functions.

External influence

Maintaining homeostasis is accompanied by constant external influence. Changing conditions around the ecosystem lead to the need to adjust internal processes. There are several criteria for sustainability:

• high and balanced reproductive potential of individuals;
• adaptation of individual organisms to changing environmental conditions;
• species diversity and branched food chains.

These three conditions help maintain the ecosystem in a state of dynamic equilibrium. Thus, at the level of biogeocenosis, self-regulation in biology is the reproduction of individuals, the preservation of numbers and resistance to environmental factors. Moreover, as in the case of a separate organism, the balance of the system cannot be absolute.

The concept of self-regulation of living systems extends the described patterns to human communities and social institutions. Its principles are widely used in psychology. In fact, this is one of the fundamental theories of modern natural science.