What is operational psychology? This is the name of science, which helps to read signals coming from a person, and skillfully use them. There are special techniques and techniques that are very effective, although not widely publicized. Interesting? Then we read the article.
Essence
What does operational psychology study? This section of science is aimed at controlling your own emotions. This was taught in specialized KGB schools, now it is studied in paid courses and in police schools. It would seem so special in operational psychology? But just think, science allows you to understand the thoughts of the criminal, and subsequently catch him. But the task of the operatives is not only to capture the violators. Law enforcers must have psychological skills in order to talk to a witness, convince him to give truthful testimonies, and so on.
It turns out that every police officer needs operational psychology. The result of the work depends on its application.
Why are crimes committed?
Every phenomenon in our life has a psychological background. Even crimes are committed on the basis of something. Why is this happening? The investigative psychology has long identified two sides of the crime:
- Inner. We are talking about subjective circumstances that cannot be seen or perceived.
- Outside. This includes objective circumstances. They lend themselves to perception and observation.
Psychological circumstances in the operational-search psychology are the goals and motives for committing a crime, moral attitude, both to the result obtained and to unlawful action.
If we talk about objective circumstances, then they can include the place, method, time, tools, subject of encroachment, the actions of the offender and what happened as a result.
For this reason, it is necessary for every investigator to have the psychology skills.
Human action basics
A good cop should take into account, first of all, the absence or presence of a psychological mechanism. Depending on this moment, several types of actions are distinguished. They are divided into the following groups:
- Impulsive. This includes actions that discharge stress or some other state of a person. That is, the person wants to do something and does it regardless of how the act will be perceived and evaluated. this behavior is inherent in people with a pathological condition who, due to mental illness, cannot perform volitional actions.
- Reflex. As a rule, in this case, the action will be a reaction to something. It happens automatically, and therefore is not based on goals and norms.
- Strong-willed. Operational-search psychology characterizes them as actions that are distinguished by consciousness. Simply put, a person is fully aware of what he is going to do. Actions have their goals and motives, which fundamentally distinguishes them from the other three types.
- Instinctive. They are characterized by the fact that the person does not predict the results of actions and is not aware of them.
You already understood what types of actions happen, but which of them has a mechanism? Since only volitional decisions are made consciously, the psychological mechanism can be traced only in this form. More on this.
It is important to understand that under the psychology of the offense is understood only volitional conscious actions of a mentally healthy person. If a person is sick, then the moral components of behavior change greatly. Motives of behavior and social attitudes change, any stimuli enter the diseased brain, and the semantic regulation of behavior is disrupted.
For this reason, it is so important for a policeman to know the psychology of operational investigative activities. An employee must pay attention to the correct or incorrect behavior of a person, his interests and statements. It is noteworthy that the subject can behave quite adequately, but explanations of the motives of behavior will cause doubts in mental health.
How to make contact
The psychology of operational-search activity, like the activity itself, involves contact with people. Usually there is a secret communication of objects and subjects of our interest, and it takes place according to specific psychological laws.
This is where the police officer feels the need to possess the appropriate techniques. After all, the outcome of the case depends on how well he will locate a criminal or witness.
To go further, you need to deal with some definitions, for example, psychological contact. This term refers to the process of maintaining and establishing mutual sympathy between the interlocutors. Contact is considered successfully established if trust and interest have arisen between people.
Why, to whom and for what purpose is this necessary?
Textbooks on operational psychology all, as one, talk about the need to establish moral contact. To understand the nature of this process, it is necessary to understand what stages people go through. So, psychological contact develops in three stages:
- Mutual assessment. This is a first impression. It is at this stage that people decide whether they want to start communicating or not. The next step will be a gradual rapprochement.
- Mutual interest. The interlocutors show that they can be useful, people are interested in the interlocutor and begin to communicate.
- Separation of the couple from others. If a contact is found, then people find a common topic and have an isolated conversation.
All these stages are perfectly visible at any group meetings or in a team. But, nevertheless, the scheme works with any communication. For this reason, an employee of the authorities should own it, since in this case he is an active link. For operational-search activities, you can slightly reformulate the scheme itself, then it turns out that the employee must make an acquaintance, then form an interest in the conversation with the opponent, and then establish a trusting relationship.
How to ensure success?
It’s very important for an operative to establish proper contact, because this person has no right to make a mistake. If it was not possible to do this the first time, then it is unlikely to be repeated later. To avoid mistakes, it is necessary to draw up a plan, following which a contact will be found.
First you need to think over an excuse that will help you make an acquaintance. This moment is the most important, because much depends on the first impression. Textbooks on operational psychology advise not to skimp on flattery, compliments, you can put pressure on self-esteem.
It is equally important to take into account psychological mechanisms, as well as people's cravings. Psychologists note that in each case the scheme will be different, because for the most part the tactics of communication depend on whether the interlocutors or not. It is necessary to achieve sympathy, only it will lead to communication. In the event that the first impression was negative, communication may not happen at all.
Further, law enforcement officials must inspire confidence. It will be expressed in the fact that the interlocutors will begin to mentally generalize themselves with the opponent. If it turned out to establish a trusting relationship, then subsequently all the negative factors formed in the human psyche will disappear.
The KGB textbook on operational psychology says that even when psychological contact is established, some kind of barriers may arise in one of the interlocutors. This point may be associated with some personality traits. Obstacles are expressed, as a rule, in the form of distrust and indifference, enmity, satiety, incompatibility. Let's try to understand these manifestations.
Psychology of barriers
Experts have revealed that indifference is inherent in phlegmatic and introverts. Primarily. An indifferent person pays little attention to some vital troubles or troubles. The problem for establishing contact is not indifference itself, but the moment when a person erects a barrier from it. To destroy this wall, you will have to choose the right excuse for dating, or constantly attract attention and maintain interest.
The KGB’s textbook on operational psychology contains many pages of mistrust. As a rule, a barrier of this type is built by very emotional personalities. The most severe boundaries are usually set by those people who have an internal conflict at this moment. Even an outsider can see the imbalance between external behavior and internal experiences. A feature of this type of people is psychological stress and suspicion. Building trust with such individuals is not easy, but that does not mean that it is impossible. It is necessary to constantly focus on their uniqueness, significance and other positive qualities. Flattery will be the main motive in the conversation.
When does the hostility barrier appear? This type of protection is inherent in authoritarian people. They even have their own classification - liberal-soft and incorrigible. The former usually hide behind some kind of phrase, they like the role of democrats, but the latter use all sorts of ways to put pressure on people to achieve their goal. When people of this type defend themselves, they erect barriers that are not that they have a touch of hostility, they shout about it. To find contact with authoritarian people, the employee must apply such techniques that will increase the importance of authority in his own eyes.
Incompatibility barriers can arise based on various factors. Sometimes the reasons force to completely stop communication. But if the interlocutors behave correctly in relation to each other, then even insurmountable incompatibility can be broken. In such cases, much, if not all, depends on the operative. It is his skills and knowledge of psychology that decide whether there will be contact or not.
If people communicate a lot and often, then a barrier of satiety can arise. The same problem arises if an employee of the authorities does not try to build a conversation taking into account the psychological type of the interlocutor. For this reason, all the blame for the failed contact lies directly with the operative.
How to make contact
The formation of operational investigative psychology begins during the training of future employees. The first thing they are taught is proper contact. This is due to the fact that for some people it is very difficult to communicate with strangers. Just in such cases it is necessary to know the whole psychological mechanism.
For an acquaintance to be successful, you need to carefully plan it. In this case, it is necessary to take into account not only the social and psychological type of the interlocutor, but also the interest of the object and the motivation of behavior.
No less important is the pretext for dating. The task of operational investigative psychology is just finding a natural reason for acquaintance. If there is none, then making contact is more difficult.
It is important to understand that the pretext may give an occasion to continue the conversation, or maybe not. In such situations, the personal qualities of the operative are very important. For example, a person who has wit, resourcefulness or originality will be able to easily continue communication even with an unsuccessfully chosen pretext. This technique has a name - "indirect impulse of the person." It consists in the fact that the employee expresses some controversial point of view or makes a witty remark that cannot be answered. Thus, the object is interested in the conversation and continues it.
In the psychology of operational-search measures, there is such a thing as a “method of universal interest”, which also gives good results at the stage of making an acquaintance. Usually it is used at various matches, tournaments, excursions and other events that are distinguished by a large crowd of people. In these places, as a rule, groups begin to gather to discuss an event. That is, people on the basis of the same or opposite opinions come into contact with each other.
Reception of "imaginary loss of things" also works very well. The operative can pretend that he lost or forgot some of the things. Moreover, the behavior should be constructed in such a way that the object of interest drew attention. If the latter succumbed and became interested in the plight of the employee and even pointed out a thing, then we can assume that the conversation began. Experienced law enforcement operatives note that in such a situation, a person does not understand whether they intentionally get to know him or not.
One way or another, there are a lot of tricks to start making contact, but they can also be divided into two groups — when an employee gets to know each other and when an object of interest gets to know each other. Choose a method from a particular group should be in accordance with the personality of the person of interest.
Psychology of an operational employee requires that he be able to have to himself, and therefore could make the right first impression. What is it based on? Let's consider in more detail.
How important is the first impression?
Anyone makes an opinion about other people at the first meeting. Studies have shown that the initial impression is affected by:
- The appearance of the interlocutor.
- Gestures, facial expressions, gait.
- Speech and voice.
It is no coincidence that such a scheme was chosen. After all, first of all, each person pays attention to how someone looks. For example, people subconsciously perceive a tall person as self-confident, and consider a complete one to be those who indulge in weaknesses. Some people look older than their years, while others are younger. All this, of course, affects perception. An operational employee is required to monitor not only himself, but also the emotional background of the interlocutor. If a person is depressed or annoyed, it is unlikely to be able to establish contact with him.
How you move, talk and walk, each person notes. It is a mistake to assume that these moments are of no interest to anyone. On the contrary, it is on their basis that this or that opinion is formed about people. For example, in many psychological books it is written that strong-willed people have a square chin and society continues to think so. Or another example - men with heavy eyebrows, greasy dark skin and a pronounced mouth are perceived by others as brawlers with a pronounced vanity.
No less important is the timbre of the voice when meeting people and speech. The operational psychology of the FSB just teaches how to talk properly, and also to control the sounds of speech. The fact is that the voice expresses the whole range of feelings and, moreover, can be simply unpleasant. We can say that this is a method of influencing people, which the investigator can control himself. At the same time, with the help of voice, the interlocutor receives the installation already at an early stage of dating.
How to interest?
The task of operational psychology is, first of all, the interest of the interlocutor in further communication. Science itself calls the manifestation of human cognitive needs in the form of any emotions. Simply put, an interested person wants to know the other person, and is looking for ways to get closer. When making contact, this moment is very important, because it is mutual interest that allows you to continue and deepen communication.
To make it clearer, we give an example. A person is at some collective event and wants to share his opinion about what is happening. Among all the people, he selects several subjects with whom, in his opinion, he could talk about this. At the same time, a definite opinion has developed about each of the selected people. For example, he considered the first impudent, the second too smart, and the third simply unpleasant in appearance. In the end, he will choose what will provide positive emotions, and efforts will be spent on it to a minimum.
Usually people come together who have the same views on things or the situation as a whole. Most often, they are more willing to make contact with those who are ready to listen more than to express their point of view. If the operative gives this to the object of interest, then communication will be established.
Fundamentals of Psychology
Unfortunately, many law enforcement officials forget about the psychology of operational investigative investigations. As a result, communication with the object of interest is often not possible to establish. It is not right. The operative should put all his strength into eliminating all gaps in psychology.
But even if an employee knows all the tricks and nuances of proper communication, it is not a fact that the contact will be established professionally and easily. In addition to theory, it is also necessary to practice. Only then will professional activity begin to bear fruit.
Communication technique
The course of operational psychology contains various techniques for establishing and continuing contact. What it is? They are understood as receptions and communicative actions that satisfy certain socially valuable needs.
Many factors affect which side will prevail in communication - interactive, communicative, perceptual. Why do you need to decide? Yes, if only because each side needs a specific set of tools. That is, during the study of communication techniques in different situations, one or the other elements prevail. There are, of course, universal methods that are used, including in the psychology of operational investigative activities. These include a sense of humor, friendliness, tact and so on. It turns out that the investigator must develop precisely these qualities in himself, and then delve into the psychological nuances.
It is also important to distinguish between the techniques used for communication, in certain situations. For example, in a business conversation one technique is used, but in an informal one it is another.
We devoted a lot of time to the points regarding how to establish communication, but it is equally important to know the methods of influencing the person of interest. Let's consider it in more detail.
How to influence the object of interest?
In investigative psychology, a whole section is devoted to this issue. We will also consider what methods exist for influencing a person. Experts distinguish several ways:
- Suggestion.
- Infection.
- Imitation.
- Conviction.
Some methods can be used by a person without realizing it, while others become a balanced way of acting. Let's consider each of them in more detail.
Suggestion
This method involves influencing the emotional background of a person, because of which he begins to act in the right direction for the interlocutor. Suggestion is the conviction of the person to do as dictated to her with the help of verbal instruments.
For a person to succumb to suggestion, it is necessary for the opponent to correspond to his own words. For example, if a person teaches another's life, then he should look so as to arouse at first glance a desire to imitate and respect. If the dirty alcoholic does the same, then such messages, except a smile, will not cause anything.
The KGB operational psychology suggests that suggestion only works when thoughts are heard in a confident voice. Sometimes, it depends on the tone how successful the outcome will be.
No less important is how much we inspire a person. The most malleable are children under 13 years old, as well as insecure people.
The best way to inspire something is to use a method when a person combines suggestive information with familiar and pleasant information.
Infection
This is the oldest method of exposure. This method involves the transfer of emotional state from one person to another. Nevertheless, they know and remember the feeling when they were in a good mood, until an upset acquaintance came. And now you are already upset and depressed with him. This is called infection. So simple.
Panic is the most effective way to get infected. He works only in a crowd. How does this happen? If a certain number of people are in equally unpleasant conditions, and someone begins to panic, then this condition is transmitted to the majority. This does not mean that infection works only on negative emotions. Laughter, fun, and more can also be conveyed in this way.
Conviction
It is considered the most effective and at the same time harmless method of exposure. It is based on facts that are understandable through a logical chain of thought. It is important to take into account the intellectual level of development of the interlocutor. This moment is decisive, because it is impossible to prove something to a person who is inferior to you in mental development. The rule works the other way. It is foolish to try to explain something to a person who is much smarter than you. Funny, isn't it?
How does it work? When a person receives the first information, he seeks explanations for it. It is at this moment that everything depends on how much the operative can convince him. It is very important not to deceive the interlocutor. Whatever the person suggested, he will still feel a lie. In such a situation, one cannot count on further trust.
It is also important to comply with the attitude of the opponent and have the same standard of living.
Imitation
The psychology of operational activity includes such a method of influence as imitation. What does it consist of? The whole idea is that if a person has achieved something in life and has become successful, then other people subconsciously begin to imitate him.
To provoke an individual to copy, you must always maintain the standard of living that was so interesting to him from the beginning. That is, the object of imitation should always be bright, memorable, cause admiration.
RAM
In conclusion, I want to talk about RAM in psychology. This is practically the same as short-term memory. This is not to say that they are completely identical, but at least their time frames are not different.
What does this mean for operatives? Everything is simple. An object of interest first of all remembers some information of interest to it, but at the same time it is not stored in memory for a long time. That is, in order to establish contact with a person of interest, you need to try to leave yourself in his memory.
It just so simply explains that it is - random access memory in psychology.
I want to say that for successful work in law enforcement agencies one should not neglect various knowledge of psychology. After all, it is from these nuances that work with people consists.