A psychological barrier is a condition in which a person cannot fully realize his needs. You have to constantly deal with this concept, since the life activity of the individual involves communication with others. A relaxed, easy relationship develops with some people. Interaction with another category of people around is difficult (for example, a boss is a subordinate, a teacher is a student, a parent is a child). In this situation, one has to look for reasonable compromises in order to motivate oneself to further communication. How to cope with their emotions and overcome internal obstacles, psychologists decided to suggest.
What is a psychological barrier?
A psychological barrier is a specific state of an individual that prevents him from realizing his plans and taking an active position. Each person faces a similar situation in life, since he creates it himself on a subconscious level. The inability to step over oneself, clearly express one’s desires or defend one’s point of view is considered a normal condition if this happens extremely rarely. It is not always necessary to deal with adequate people, and circumstances are different. But the constant fear of communication, the fear of engaging with another person (ask a question, comment on something, etc.) is a huge problem. This suggests that the individual is in constant stress, he is constrained, limited in his actions and reasoning. In this situation, it is recommended to urgently look for the cause of this condition.
Types of communication subjects
Psychological barriers to interaction arise as a result of differences in people's temperaments. When two personalities meet with different types of the nervous system, a reaction to the environment and a manner of upbringing, an indescribable barrier will necessarily arise that will harm their communication. Psychologists recommend figuring out what type the person himself and his interlocutor belong to. This definition will help to properly build a further dialogue or make a decision to stop communication.
Dominant type
This individual initiates communication without thinking about its expediency. A person is proud that he starts a conversation, does not give an opportunity to speak out to others, and suppresses the activity of partners with his pressure. The dialogue is accompanied by an increase in voice, constant interruption, repeated repetition of information. Psychological barriers to communication in the system of boss - subordinate often arise precisely in these cases, since the boss is a priori a dominant subject for his employee. In dealing with such a person, it is recommended to stay calm, loyally defending your point of view.
Slave Type
This subject is the exact opposite of the dominant. He is rarely the first to enter into a conversation, is afraid to express his point of view, makes concessions, never interrupts the interlocutor. If by chance something went wrong in the conversation, the driven type is very worried about this situation, tries to apologize, give in, and suffers remorse for a long time. With such people it is necessary to be delicate, to stimulate his ability to demonstrate his own point of view.
Mobile type
This person becomes the initiator of any conversation, sets the pace of communication, constantly expressing his point of view and interrupting the interlocutor. He easily switches from one topic to another, with difficulty concentrating his attention on one thing. Therefore, it is not worthwhile to discuss serious topics with a mobile subject for a long time and require him to carefully analyze the essence of the conversation.
Reagent type
This type of person is slow and incredulous. He enters into conversation only when he takes a closer look and appreciates his interlocutor. This type slowly and in detail formulates their thoughts, does not allow themselves to interrupt and insert comments. Communicating with him, it is recommended to avoid haste and inattention. For people with a more active temperament, this communication is difficult, therefore, to overcome the psychological barrier, you must first develop interaction tactics (if this interaction is important).
Extrovert type
A person of this type is the most suitable interlocutor, since he adapts to the partner. This type sets the topic for conversation, tactfully expresses his point of view, does not interrupt his counterpart, respects him, shows sincere sympathy. Communicating with him is easy, because the conversation immediately takes on a positive vector.
Introverted Type
This subject is hard on contact, too shy and not disposed to voicing his thoughts. He avoids external dialogs and is set up for auto-communication. Dialogue with him is possible exclusively in a tête-à-tête mode, this is the only way to give him the opportunity to talk. If you are planning intensive communication with such a person, you should gradually introduce him into a conversation with a large number of people.
Psychological obstacles
The psychological barrier is the obstacles in communication that arise as a result of the interaction of people with different temperaments and outlooks on life. Each one has his own subjective opinion regarding certain events in life. But the views do not always coincide, and this is a fundamental obstacle to establishing contact. The main types of psychological barriers are:
- Aesthetic. They arise in a situation when a person is not comfortable with the look of his interlocutor. His hairstyle, clothing style, manner of communication, gestures, facial expressions, etc. annoy him.
- Intelligent. These obstacles accompany the communication of two people with different types of temperaments. For example, an optimist and a pessimist are unlikely to find common ground in a conversation, since each of them perceives the situation in their own way. A barrier can be a level of competency when one person is annoyed by a lack of awareness of a particular issue. The level of spiritual development also plays a huge role, since each of their interlocutors has different priorities in life.
- Motivational. Motivational barrier - these are different goals and aspirations of the interlocutors. A simple laboratory assistant, deprived of healthy ambitions and working for a modest salary, is unlikely to understand an inventor who seeks discoveries that are the meaning of his whole life.
- Moral. People brought up in different social conditions, whose traditions and views are radically different, will not be able to quickly find a common language. A psychological barrier to people's activities can also arise due to differences in religious beliefs.
- Installation. This obstacle arises in a person who is a priori negatively tuned to his interlocutor. This can happen as a result of negative communication experience or based on feedback from other people. Even the most truthful and reliable information from the lips of the opponent is perceived negatively, with the subtext of internal protest.
- Negative emotions. The reasons for the psychological barrier can be: poor physical health, bad mood, nervousness, resentment, anger, etc.
Communicative barriers
If there is no vocabulary match between partners, communication barriers arise. A psychological barrier will be present as a result of the dialogue of foreigners, as it is associated with the difficulties of translation. The main types of communication obstacles are also:
- Sematic. The barrier arises as a result of different perceptions of the interlocutors of the same concept. Complications arise when microcultures come in contact with the use of jargons and slangs that are understandable exclusively to their carriers. People do not clearly express their position, this leads to an incorrect perception of information by the interlocutor. Misunderstandings arise in which each partner adheres to his own truth and no longer wants to communicate in the previous mode.
- Brain teaser. The barrier arises from the inability of a person to voice his thoughts clearly and distinctly. Jumping from topic to topic, inconsistency in the narrative, and the combination of terms that are negative in meaning, often lead to a violation of the causal relationship of the dialogue. The interlocutor simply does not understand what he was trying to convey to him vis-a-vis. He draws his conclusions, which turn out to be erroneous, and substitutes concepts.
- Phonetic. The psychological barrier is a poorly set speech technique in the narrator. A person does not pronounce letters, stutters, slurred or speaks too quietly, “swallows” words or syllables, speaks very quickly, etc. This makes information perception very difficult and becomes an obstacle to communication.
Perceptual barrier
Very often, the social status of the interlocutors becomes an obstacle in communication. People of different walks of life rarely perceive each other adequately, since the possibilities of each of them are radically different. In this case, we are talking about a socio-psychological barrier, which is extremely difficult or almost impossible to overcome. Being at the highest level of the social ladder, a person considers below his dignity to communicate with a simple ordinary loser in life. He is biased and irritated about the lower status and does not hide his neglect. And he, in turn, is trying not to question the actions and decisions of his “idol” in any way, forgetting his self-esteem and lowering his self-esteem.
Relationship problems boss-subordinate
Very often there are psychological barriers to communication in the system of boss-subordinate. This problem is very relevant for modern life, since the optimization of the socio-psychological atmosphere in the team depends on proper management. And this significantly affects the ability to achieve production goals or enterprise. The tasks of the leader include solving managerial problems and opportunities for self-improvement and success achievement of his employees. The boss must build relationships so that the subordinate understands what the boss wants from him, and accept his position. Conflict situations arise in the process of issuing administrative information, which is not always provided in the proper form. The boss may abuse his power and take excessive measures.
The psychological barriers of the boss-subordinate become the main obstacle to the quality performance of work by an employee. When a person feels excessive pressure, prejudice and a defiant neglect of his interests, his productivity decreases sharply. The subordinate is in constant stress, which affects not only his performance at work, but also his health. Very often, unhealthy relationships in the team cause personal tragedies and bankruptcy of entire enterprises.
How to overcome the barrier?
Psychologists advise how to overcome the psychological barrier in any relationship. To do this, you must:
- Do not be afraid to ask questions, ask questions, and clarify. Getting the right information is the first step towards harmonious interaction in all aspects.
- Try to communicate “in one language” with the interlocutor, using his usual expressions.
- If tension arises during the conversation, you should go to the category of “passive listener”, this will help the dialogue to reach a more calm level.
- To be able to respect the point of view of the interlocutor, to learn to empathize, to be indulgent to his shortcomings.
- Do not expect brilliant results from the interlocutor, so as not to be disappointed later. It should be remembered that conversations can radically differ from real opportunities.
- Upon receipt of information, a distinction should be made between emotions and facts. Only in this way can an objective understanding of what is happening be achieved.
- Always respect subordination, do not allow yourself familiarity, build a dialogue "on equal terms."
It is enough to follow some rules of communication in order to forget about internal barriers forever. To do this, you need to have a sense of self-esteem, sincerely respect the person you are talking to and never tense the emotional atmosphere when communicating.