Distorted perception of reality. Typical distortions of people's perception and understanding

- (Latin illusio, from illudere, to play). 1) self-deception, play of the imagination. 2) the fruits of daydreaming. Dictionary of foreign words included in the Russian language. Chudinov A.N., 1910. ILLUSION lat. illusio, from illudere, to play. a) Deception of feelings (see... ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

HALLUCINATIONS- – perceptions that arise without a real object, deceptions of the senses; the patient sees or hears something that does not exist in reality at the moment. Hallucinations are divided by analyzers (visual, tactile, auditory, etc.) and by nature... ...

- (from Latin illusio deception), distorted perception of reality, deception of perception. 1) Illusions as a consequence of the imperfection of the senses; are common to all people (for example, optical illusions). 2) Illusions caused by a special state of mind... encyclopedic Dictionary

ILLUSIONS- – erroneous, incorrect perception is real existing items and phenomena. Especially often, illusions appear against the background of depression with anxiety or fear, as well as with insufficient clarity of perception associated with deterioration in the functioning of organs... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary of Psychology and Pedagogy

illusion- ILLUSION1, and, g Judgment that arose as a result of replacing the real with the imaginary, erroneous perception of objects, phenomena of reality; Syn: delusion. ... there is nothing more ruthless than the collision of children's illusions with adult reality (Yu. Sem.).... ... Dictionary Russian nouns

illusion- and, f. 1) special Distorted perception of reality based on deception of the senses; something apparent. Optical illusions. Visual illusions. The illusion of silence. The movement of the stroller produces a strange illusion: it seems that... the mountain is standing still... and... ... Popular dictionary of the Russian language

And, well. Distorted perception of reality based on deception of the senses; taking the apparent, the imaginary as real. Optical illusions. The illusion of movement. □ Here is a rocky hill that looks like a giant’s head; further on there is a stone woman, as it were... ... Small academic dictionary

See dream, hope, deception, ghost, dispel illusions... Dictionary of Russian synonyms and similar expressions. under. ed. N. Abramova, M.: Russian Dictionaries, 1999. illusion phantom, dream, hope, deception, ghost; smoke, chimera, deception, mistake... Synonym dictionary

- (from the Latin illusio, a game of imagination, deception), a distorted perception of reality, a deception of perception. 1) Illusions as a consequence of the imperfection of the senses; are common to all people (for example, optical illusions). 2) Illusions caused by... ... Modern encyclopedia

- (from Latin illusio deception) distorted perception of reality, deception of perception, 1) illusions as a consequence of imperfection of the senses; are characteristic of all people (for example, optical illusions)2)] Illusions caused by a special state of mind (for example... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Sometimes the solution to the problem is How helps get rid of constant stress, especially while working in large company. To do this, you can use several simple techniques.

Technique 1. Identify areas in which you are competent

If you clearly understand that you are responsible only for the area of ​​​​activity that is covered by your position, it will be easier for you get rid of distorted perception of reality. You are not responsible for the business or strategy, you are only responsible for your area of ​​work. And if some kind of collapse happened, and you did everything that was required of you, this should not throw you into panic. This position will relieve you of unnecessary emotions and help you work with a clear head.

Technique 2. Live for this specific minute

Stop worrying about what happened yesterday, don't worry about what will happen tomorrow. It is because of this that a distorted perception of reality arises. Life is happening right now, and only now do you have the opportunity to both enjoy the moment and change something for the better. Today this is the only reality.

Technique 3. Don’t strive for the ideal - it is the enemy of the good

You need to realize that there are things that can be improved ad infinitum. Moreover, this perfection is not always necessary. But perfectionism in everything leads to a distorted perception of reality. We begin to focus on the process, losing sight of the end goal.

Technique 4. Your job is not your identity.

Especially if your job involves requiring others to perform certain functions. This causes a wave of negativity in your direction, which in itself leads to severe stress. Therefore, to prevent a distorted perception of reality from swallowing you whole, separate yourself from your functional responsibilities. Determine for yourself what you do based on the requirements of the profession, and in what cases you act based on your own emotions. This helps a lot with this psychological technique, when you are at work mentally putting on work clothes, towards which all the negativity will be directed. And at the end of the working day you just need to take it off and shake it off.

Technique 5: Change the scale of the event

In order not to exaggerate the significance of troubles and get rid of distorted perception of reality, imagine a rating scale from 0 to 10, where 10 is truly a disaster in life. Measure all events that occur on this scale. And you will see that most problems will not be such a big disaster.

Technique 6. Launching the zebra principle

Don't take failure as a punishment and success as a matter of course. This is a distorted perception of reality. In life, these two poles are always mixed up. Therefore, accept successes and failures with gratitude. And try to draw experience from the latter.

Technique 7. Include positive images

Implement this well-known technique in your life - every day thank Fate, the Almighty, Space or the Universe for the good things that happened to you today. In addition, give thanks for what you want to happen to you, but in the present tense, as if you already have it. This is an example of a productive distorted perception of reality.

Technique 8. Look at yourself from the outside

Remember something that bothered you a long time ago. How do you perceive this now? You can look at any situation that is happening to you now in the same way. How will you perceive it in a year, three, five?

Technique 9. Call a friend

Not just to cry your eyes out. When we speak, we put all our emotions that cloud our brain into words, thereby leveling them. And when we free ourselves from emotions, the distorted perception of reality goes away. Then we can find correct solution in the situation. On the contrary, you can imagine that a friend calls you and tells you your situation. What advice would you give him?

We all know that being good to everyone is impossible, but some people never stop striving for it. The important thing to remember is that you should act professionally, confidently, and not be afraid of ruining your relationship with someone. Rely only on the opinions of those people who are important to you. And then you will have to suffer less from the problem.

Rice. 13.3. Many conflicts are a small “rational grain” of truly incompatible goals, immersed in a much larger “tangle” of distorted perception
In previous chapters we have already talked about the origin of such distortions of perception. A pro-self bias leads individuals and groups to take pride in their good deeds and absolve themselves of responsibility for bad deeds, denying others the right to do the same. The tendency towards self-justification exacerbates people's tendency to deny the harmful consequences of those bad actions that cannot be disavowed, and thanks to the fundamental attribution error, each side sees the other side's unfriendliness as a reflection of its hostile dispositions. The consequence of this is a situation in which a person filters information and interprets it in accordance with his prejudices. In groups, there is often a polarization of these tendencies toward self-benefiting and self-justifying tendencies. One of the symptoms of groupthink is the perception of one's own group as moral and strong, and the opponent's group as immoral and weak. Act of terrorism, which most people consider manifestations of baseness and cruelty, for others it is a “holy war.” Indeed, mere membership in a group is enough to “trigger” the mechanism of predisposition in favor of one’s group. And formed negative stereotypes often turn out to be tenacious even when reality contradicts them.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the conflicting parties form distorted images of each other, and we should not be mistaken about this. Paradoxically, even types of distorted perception are predictable.

More on the topic Distorted perception:

1. Lesson 3.5 STUDY OF ADAPTATION OF VISUAL PERCEPTION TO DISTORTIONS OF RETINALS IMAGES (SENSORY DISTORTION METHOD
2. 5.2. Data on time perception while awake. Distortion of time perception in hypnosis, post-hypnotic period, autogenic immersion
3. Distortions in the perception of the most important motivational structures

Illusions are distorted perceptions that do not convey true information about the “outer world,” that is, as defined by philosophers, about everything that is outside the body.

Our behavior is based on the assumption that our perceptions are accurate. If a person believes that he is an alien from Jupiter who is being pursued by the CIA, then he behaves intelligently in accordance with this idea. Perception is the process of interpreting the external world in such a way that allows us to act in it.

Whose truth is true?

Perceptions become illusions when someone else believes they do not accurately reflect reality. If “someone outside” is the surrounding society, we often talk about “mental illness”. When "someone outside" is our co-worker or spouse, we call the problem a "conflict." Most people consider majority rule to be the criterion for what external reality actually is. The rule is: “If a majority says something is true, then it is true.” However, this way of perceiving reality is not perfect at all. Most Europeans believed the Earth was flat until explorers in the 15th century discovered that we could reach the East by sailing to the West.

In typical conflicts between people, there are only two versions of the truth - yours and mine. And often it is completely unclear whose option is more correct. Enlisting the rule of the majority (“everyone agrees with me, ask anyone”) as an ally rarely convinces the Other to recognize the correctness of our position. Persistence in conflict not only allows us to achieve our goal of annoying the Other, it also infringes on our own interests. By damaging our interests, we destroy ourselves.

Illusions are universal, everyone has them. Therefore, we cannot claim that they are the result of the presence of psychological problems in the Other. They are normal as part of our biological inheritance mechanism. We're just wired that way.

Three types of illusions most clearly show how we harm ourselves in conditions of interpersonal conflict:

1. The Illusion of "Win-Lose".

2. Illusion" bad man".

3. The illusion of the “stumbling block”.

The Illusion of "Win-Lose"

Our needs are completely incompatible, only one of us can win.

Some authors encourage us to recognize the fact that conflict provides an excellent opportunity for creative problem solving, cooperation, and personal growth. My profession is conflict resolution and I am considered an expert in this field. But I must confess to you that I personally find it difficult to boast of these virtues when I am involved in conflict. At first, I react to most conflicts as win or lose situations. My Other and I argue for different positions, and I believe that the incompatibility of our demands means that the outcome will inevitably benefit one of us. I feel like only one of us can be right, only one can get what he wants and the other has to lose. And only at the cost of enormous effort can I imagine that none of us should lose, that a mutually beneficial solution should be sought. Until that moment, I simply did not consider such an outcome possible. The illusion is that an outcome in which one wins and the other loses is perceived as inevitable, when in fact there is often an alternative mutually beneficial solution.

I don't think I'm unique in my strange blindness. I also don't believe that overcoming the Win-Lose illusion is easy. I'm afraid that a clear vision of a win-win solution is beyond the reach of most of us. I am also sure that the intention to educate the world's population to see the possibility of such a solution in interpersonal conflicts is futile. But not everything is so gloomy. Perhaps the illusion of Win-Lose will continually blind us in our daily attempts to overcome differences with others. Fortunately, however, successfully using the 4-Step Method to improve relationships does not require that you or your Other be able to avoid this perceptual deception.

The "Bad Man" Illusion

Our conflict is a direct result of your incompetence, rudeness, stupidity or other shortcomings; it can only be resolved if you acknowledge them and correct them.

If differences are overcome with difficulty, that is, with the help of False Reflexes, a certain attitude towards the Other becomes stronger over time and seems absolutely undeniable. We begin to think that he is somehow bad, immoral, depraved, evil. In moments of greatest generosity, we may assume that the Other's behavior indicates his madness and worry, believing that he is not fully responsible for his actions. By considering the conflict as a direct consequence of the personal shortcomings of the Other, we abdicate responsibility for our contribution to the creation of the problem. We reassure ourselves by believing that the other person is to blame, and we are just an innocent and unfortunate victim.

Two way street

Let us note a funny feature of the Bad Man illusion: it is almost always mutual in nature. Each participant in the conflict is sure that the other has a full range of personal shortcomings. The reciprocity of this illusion indicates that assumptions about the madness or perversity of one of the participants in the conflict are not necessarily true. The belief that the source of our conflict lies in negative qualities The other is a distortion of reality. The reason is his difference from us, not his depravity. Even if we insist that the Other is bad, this value judgment still does not lead to a solution to the problem. Since he is probably sure of the opposite and estimates us as low as we do him, he will not accept our conclusions and will not agree with our assessments. Negotiations based on mutual illusions of the Bad Man lead to a dead end.

In protracted conflicts, our hostile and even self-destructive behavior leads to the fact that ideas about the Bad Person become similar to the truth. When we are stressed, we may behave abnormally and do bad things. Thus, the illusion becomes a prophecy that has come true. But even when we behave rudely or senselessly, we believe that our “bad” behavior is provoked by Another. We insist that such actions are atypical for us, while the origins of the Other's behavior lie in the depths of his personality. It is too difficult for us to view the behavior of the Other with understanding.

Thus, the Illusion of the Bad Man is the false idea that the behavior of the Other is explained by the depravity or morbidity of his nature. His behavior is not interpreted as a natural reaction to the conflict between us (as is most often the case). Even when the correctness of our vision is supported by the rule of the majority (for example, a psychiatrist's diagnosis), illusion still plays a role. It causes us to exaggerate disagreements, to believe that “bad” behaviors can be justified and situationally determined. At the same time, we forgive ourselves everything, but we are unable to forgive anything to the Other.

In the 1980s, Ayatollah Khomeini seemed like a bad man to many Americans. At the same time, he was believed to have supported terrorism and hostage-taking, planted mines in the Persian Gulf in violation of international maritime law, and killed and persecuted his fellow citizens who did not share his beliefs. Isn’t it true, one cannot but agree that the Ayatollah was either a villain, or a madman, or both at the same time.

It's funny that the Ayatollah called the USA nothing less than "The Great Satan", the source of evil in the world. Americans who believe in democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and Satan? How can it be?

Although this is not very consistent with the neutral position of the mediator, I still suspect that Ayatollah Khomeini acted quite reasonably and acceptable within the framework of his system of values ​​​​and ideas about the world. I suspect that he was capable of pity and was not "sick" at all. The Iran-US conflict of the eighties thus represents a mutual illusion that the other is a fiend, that is, the illusion of the Bad Man on an international scale.

The 4-Step Method, designed to achieve agreement between people and not between countries, is certainly not suitable for resolving the Iran-US conflict. However, it seems that foreign policy cessation of contacts (Withdrawal from communication) with Iran or other Others on Globe interferes with any possibility of conflict resolution. Likewise, the False Reflex to End a Relationship achieves the same effect in conflicts between people.

Is the illusion of the Bad Man a fatal feature of human nature that makes it impossible to constructively overcome disagreements? Fortunately, using the 4-Step Method does not require us or Others to free ourselves from this perception trap.

The illusion of the "stumbling block"

Our differences are irreconcilable, agreement is impossible.

When we have disagreements with our boss, wife, or employee, and reconciliation or cooperation is necessary for further existence, especially annoying distortions in the perception of reality arise. It often seems that the differences between us are so enormous, his character so devoid of virtue, hers so evil, our principles so incompatible, that reconciliation is impossible. “Stumbling blocks” absolutely block further development. Faced with the hopelessness of such a dead end, we are forced to choose between two False Reflexes: minimizing and completely avoiding communication (Withdrawal from communication) or mobilizing our resources to break the resistance of the Other (Power Play). Tragically, limiting all options to these two ineffective options can lead to escalation of conflict and even divorce, dismissal from work, etc. Why do we exaggerate the difficulties, fixating on the impossibility of reconciling our differences? Why don't we see an opportunity to get around the Stumbling Block? Sometimes it seems that the only thing one can agree on is that agreement is impossible.

In fact, there is almost always a workaround. It is very rare that the underlying interests of each participant are truly opposed. Even in cases where these interests are incompatible, the search for a reasonable compromise can lead each participant on a path more effective than continuing the conflict. Banners in Ufa

Knowledge of the surrounding world and oneself begins with the perception by our senses of everything that surrounds a person and is himself. We look out the window of our house at the yellowing leaves. And instantly an image appears in the mind, and then the judgment that it is autumn. We see our unshaven face in the mirror, and the thought immediately appears that we need to get ourselves in order.

Perception- this is the sum of sensations + representation. Perception is mental process reflection of objects as a whole and the formation of a holistic image. Perception ends with recognition.
Feeling- this is a reflection of individual properties of objects in the surrounding world when exposed to the senses (cold, wet, hard, etc.).
Performance is a mental image of an object based on memories.

Sensory impairment

Quantitative changes in sensations:
anesthesia(lack of sensitivity);
hypoesthesia(decreased sensitivity);
hypersthesia(increased sensitivity).

Qualitative changes in sensations:
paresthesia(distortion of sensitivity);
senestopathy (complex disorders).

Hypersthesia occurs in asthenic syndrome, anxiety, delirium, and in pregnant women (to smells).
Hypoesthesia and anesthesia occur in depression, states of switched off consciousness, catatonic syndrome, hysterical (conversion) disorders, deep hypnosis, and a state of strong affect.

Senestopathies

Senestopathies- complex perception disorders characterized by:
1. Painful sensations inside the body.
2. Of a painful nature.
3. Difficult to describe: spasm, pressure, heat, burning, cold, bursting, pulsation, peeling, tearing, distension, stretching, twisting, tightening, friction, trembling, etc.
4. With migration throughout the body or of uncertain localization.
5. Seeing therapists, low cure rate.

“It’s like a bubble is bursting in my head”, “my intestines feel like they’re being twisted”, “my stomach feels like it’s being scratched by a kitten.”

Senestopathies occur in depression, neurotic disorders, schizophrenia, and organic diseases of the brain.

Illusions

Illusions- this is a distorted perception in which real phenomena or objects are perceived by a person in a changed, erroneous form.
“The coat on the hanger looks like a scary tramp.”

Illusions vary depending on the senses: visual, auditory (including verbal), olfactory, gustatory, tactile, general sense hallucinations (visceral and muscular).

Illusions differ in the mechanism of formation:
Physiological illusions arise in all people due to the peculiarities of the activity of the senses and perception. For example, illusionists “saw” a girl in half, a spoon in water appears to be broken, etc.
Illusions of inattention occur due to lack of attention or in conditions that impede perception (noise, lack of lighting, etc.). For example, instead of one word, another word that is similar in sound is heard (for example, at a party when loud music is playing nearby).
Affective illusions (affectogenic) arise against the background of affect (pronounced emotional reaction) fear, anxiety. An anxious and suspicious person walking at a late time in an unfamiliar place hears the steps of a pursuer behind him, sees people lurking in the shadows of trees, etc.
Pareidolic illusions- visual illusions of bizarre and fantastic content that arise when perceiving complex configurations of lines and patterns on various surfaces.

“Kovrin stopped in amazement. On the horizon, like a whirlwind or tornado, a tall black pillar rose from the ground to the sky. His contours were unclear, but at the very first moment one could understand that he did not stand still, but was moving with terrible speed, moving exactly here, right at Kovrin... A monk in black clothes, with a gray head and black eyebrows crossed at chest arms, rushed past...” A.P. Chekhov, story “The Black Monk”.

Illusions of inattention and affectogenic illusions may be normal.
Pareidolic illusions occur in delirious states, organic psychoses, drug addiction, and poisoning with psychomimetics.

Hallucinations

Hallucinations- perception without an object, the perception of something that actually does not exist.

There are many classifications of hallucinations
A. By degree of difficulty:
. Elementary - the simplest phenomena (flashes of light, clicks, knocking, “calls”, etc.)
. Simple - occur only in one of the analyzers (for example, only the imaginary smell of lavender is felt)
. Complex (complex) - appear in several analyzers at once (for example, the patient sees the “devil”, hears his words, feels his touch)
. Scene-like - the entire environment changes, for example, the patient seems to be in a completely different place. Indicates the development of clouding of consciousness.

B. By analyzers:
. Visual
elementary - photopsia (visual images devoid of a specific form in the form of spots, flashes, “sparks”, contours, glare)
macro- and microptic - hallucinatory images of small or large size;
. Auditory
elementary - acoasms (calls, unclear noises, clicks, knocking);
in the form of speech - verbal:
mono- and polyvocal - one or more voices, respectively;
by content: condemning, threatening, praising, commenting, imperative.
. Visceral- a feeling of the presence in one’s own body of some objects, animals, worms, etc.
. Tactile- perception of any objects on the surface of the body (on the skin or mucous membranes, inside them or under them).
. Flavoring- the appearance of a taste (usually unpleasant) in the oral cavity without any real stimulus, food intake.
. Olfactory- the appearance of a smell without a real stimulus.

B. According to special conditions of occurrence
In some cases, hallucinations only occur under certain conditions.
. Hypnagogic- when falling asleep, hypnopompic - when waking up. States of transition from sleep to wakefulness and vice versa facilitate the occurrence of hallucinations in conditions that predispose to their development (in the initial stages of alcoholic delirium, against the background of emotional stress).
. Functional (reflex)- arise against the background of another stimulus, but unlike illusions they do not replace it and do not mix with it (hears a stereotypical repetition of one curse against the background of the noise of the refrigerator, the noise of the refrigerator is perceived separately, but when the refrigerator becomes silent, the curses also disappear).
. For sensory deprivation(hallucinations of Charles Bonnet - occur in those who have lost their sight).
. Psychogenic (caused)- after a traumatic situation, during hypnosis or during tests for readiness for hallucinations (symptoms of a blank page, a switched off phone, etc.).

D. According to the characteristics of perception

There are true hallucinations and pseudohallucinations.

Hallucinations occur in psychosis (alcoholism, schizophrenia, epilepsy, organic brain lesions, drug addiction) , the use of psychotomimetics and cataracts (Charles-Bonnet hallucinations).

Hallucinosis(hallucinatory syndrome) is an influx of abundant hallucinations against the background of clear consciousness, lasting from 1-2 weeks to several years. Hallucinosis may be accompanied by affective disorders (anxiety, fear), as well as delusional ideas.

Psychosensory disorders

Psychosensory disorders- this is a distorted perception of phenomena and objects.
Psychosensory disorders differ from illusions in the adequacy of perception: the patient knows that he sees a chair, albeit with crooked legs. With an illusion, one thing is mistaken for another (instead of a chair there is a huge spider).
Metamorphopsia, macropsia, micropsia.
Autometamorphopsia is a change and distortion of various parts of one’s own body.

A patient suffering from cerebral vasculitis saw cars the size of ladybug, and the houses standing on the same street are the size of Matchbox. At the same time, she clearly understood that this could not be, but she experienced a feeling of strong surprise and anxiety at these phenomena.

Psychosensory disorders occur with temporal lobe epilepsy, encephalitis, encephalopathy, intoxication, and eye diseases.

Depersonalization-derealization syndrome

Depersonalization- violation of the reality of self-perception.
Happens:
1. Vital - the patient’s very sense of life disappears.
2. Autopsychic - alienation of the mental functions of one’s self (thoughts are not mine, I hear my speech as if from the outside, my past is as if not mine, I don’t understand whether I want to sleep or not, painful mental anesthesia also belongs to the range of these disorders) .
3. Somatopsychic - alienation or disappearance of one’s body or its parts. But at the same time, there are no changes in the proportions or sizes of the body, patients simply do not feel it or parts of it - “it seems like I don’t have legs,” patients cannot understand whether they are hungry or not, whether there is a urge to urinate or not, etc. .
Derealization- violation of the reality of perception of the environment.
"The world is like a picture."
Related derealization phenomena are considered symptoms such as already seen (déjà vu), already experienced (déjà vu), already experienced, already heard (déjà entendu), and never seen.
Depersonalization-derealization syndrome occurs in psychoses (for example, schizophrenia) and in healthy people, with lack of sleep, prolonged stress, fatigue, overexertion.