In psychology and sociology, socionics is a pseudoscientific theory of information processing and personality types. It incorporates Carl Jung's work on Psychological Types with Antoni Kępiński's theory of information metabolism.
In contrast to the generally accepted views in personality psychology on age-related variability of the human psyche, socionics distinguishes 16 psychophysiological types (sociotypes) which it claims go unchanged throughout a person's life. The existence of personality types is extremely controversial in modern personality psychology.
Socionics was developed in the 1970s and 1980s, primarily by the Lithuanian researcher . The name "socionics" is derived from the word "society", because believed that each sociotype has a distinct purpose in society.
The central idea of socionics is that information is intuitively divisible into eight categories, called information elements, which a person's psyche processes using eight psychological functions. Each sociotype has a different correspondence between functions and information elements, which it posits results in different ways of handling information and distinct thinking patterns. One prevalent idea in socionics is the theory of intertype relations, which is based on the interaction of these functions between types.Bukalov A.V. The potential of the individual and the mysteries of human relationships. – Moscow, International Institute of Socionics, PG "Black Squirrel", 2009.
Independent authors point to the insufficient empirical validity of socionics both in its basis and in its further development, as well as the practical absence of studies on socionics outside the former USSR. The Commission on Pseudoscience of the Russian Academy of Sciences has placed socionics among such well-known pseudosciences as astrology and homeopathy.
Purpose
Socionics provides a means of predicting the character of relations and degree of business compatibility, information sharing and psychological compatibility of people before their joining in one collective group, i.e. to solve the "inverse task" of sociometry.
According to Aleksandr Bukalov and Betty Lou Leaver, socionics uses Jungian typology, informational model of psyche, and theory of information metabolism for political and sociological analysis.Bukalov A. at al. Socionics: Review of science. – International Institute of Socionics, Kyiv, 1992Betty Lou Leaver Oxford, Rebecca TITLE Mentoring in Style: Using Style Information To Enhance Mentoring of Foreign Language Teachers.PUB DATE 2000-00-00 NOTE 35p.; In: Mentoring Foreign Language Teaching Assistants, Lecturers, and Adjunct Faculty. Issues in Language Program Direction: A Series in Annual Volumes;
According to J. Horwood, and A. Maw, socionics is a science developed by in the 1970s. and her colleagues worked with Carl Jung's personality typologies to develop personality-based relationship profiles. It was found that the nature and development of interpersonal relationships (both professional and personal) are far from random. Instead, they are based on how well suited each individual's psychological profiles are to one another, allowing to develop 16 'socionic types' predicting and describing the interpersonal relationships between any combination of Jung's personality types.
According to R. Blutner and E. Hochnadel, "socionics is not so much a theory of personalities per se, but much more a theory of type relations providing an analysis of the relationships that arise as a consequence of the interaction of people with different personalities."
Philosopher E. Pletuhina defines socionics as the study about the information interaction of the human psyche with the outside world, between people. She also defines it as the doctrine of psychological types of people and the relationships between them, as well as notes that the particular quality of socionics is that it considers the innate qualities of the human psyche, including the personality type, which cannot be arbitrarily changed without prejudice to the mental and physical health.Е. Г. Плетухина СОЦИОНИКА КАК ОДИН ИЗ ИНСТРУМЕНТОВ ИНДИВИДУАЛЬНОГО ПОДХОДА В ВОСПИТАНИИ//PROBLEMS OF DEVELOPMENT OF A PERSONALITY, Materials of the II international scientific conference on November 15–16, 2014. – Prague : Vědecko vydavatelské centrum "Sociosféra-CZ". http://www.sociosphera.com/files/conference/2014/k-11_15_14.pdf
Philosopher L. Monastyrsky treats socionics as a pre-science. In his view, the main problem with socionics is the lack of objective criteria for determining a person’s socionic type. The socionic categories were not derived empirically, but speculatively, and have not undergone proper scientific validation.
History The basic structure of socionics was established in the 1960s and 1970s by , along with a group of enthusiasts who met in Vilnius, Lithuania. What resulted from their discussions and 's personal investigations was an information model of the psyche and of interpersonal interaction based on Jung's typology but with eight psychic functions rather than four. 's first works on socionics were published between 1978 and 1980.
Socionics as an academic discipline
Through the work of the International Institute of Socionics and other schools of socionics, there are four scientific peer-reviewed journals (on the practical application of the methods of socionics in management, consulting, psychology, pedagogy, education, psychotherapy, and humanities) and an annual International conference on socionics.основная образовательная программа высшего профессионального образования. Направление подготовки 040100 "Социология" . Title can be translated as: Approximate basic educational program of higher education. Direction of training 040100 "Sociology" The Institute gives "popularization and proliferation of socionic knowledge" as one of its goals.
Svetlana V. Ivanova claims that socionics is taught in more than 150 universities in Russia, Ukraine and other CIS and European Union countries.
Areas of research include educational socionics,Суртаева Н. Н., Иванова О. Н.Педагогическая соционика и проблемы конфликтных взаимодействий. — СПб. ИОВ РАО, 2002. . Title can be translated as: Surtaeva N. N., Ivanova O. N. Educational socionics and problems of conflict interactionsФедорова В.К. Использование педагогической соционики в решении конфликтных взаимодействий субъектов образовательного процесса Автореферат дисс. канд. пед. наук. — Омск, 1998. (. Title can be translated as: Fedorova V. K. Using Educational Socionics in resolving conflict interactions in educational process. – Summary of the thesis candidate. ped. sciences. – Omsk, 1998.) sociological socionics,Антошкин В. Н. Оптимизация управления системой коммуникативной деятельности в социальной работе (2004). . Title can be translated as: Antoshkin V. N. Optimization of system management communication activity in social work aviation socionics,Ариничева Ольга Викторовна. Совершенствование методов управления ресурсами системы "экипаж – воздушное судно" путем снижения отрицательного влияния человеческого фактора на безопасность полетов : диссертация ... кандидата технических наук : 05.22.14 / Ариничева Ольга Викторовна; [Место защиты: С.-Пет. гос. ун-т граждан. авиации]. – Санкт-Петербург, 2008. – 256 с. : ил. РГБ ОД, 61:08-5/858 Socionics application in Aviation Типовая учебная программа по дисциплине: "Подготовка авиационного персонала в области человеческого фактора" (. Title can be translated as: Model curriculum for the discipline: Flight Crew Training in the field of human factors) library socionics,Грачев В. И. Библиотечная соционика — новое направление изучения библиотечной жизни // Научные и технические библиотеки. — 1993. — No. 7. — p. 19–20.(. Title can be translated as: Grachev V. I. Library socionics – a new direction of studying the life of the library // Scientific and technical libraries. – 1993. – No. 7. – P.19-20.)Исаева Е.Н. Перспективы соционики в библиотечном менеджменте // Московский государственный университет культуры и искусств. — М., 1999—2008. (. Title can be translated as: Isayeva E. N. Perspectives of Socionics in Library Management // Moscow State University of Culture and Arts. – M., 1999–2008.) technical socionics, linguistic socionics, penitentiary socionics, and socionics in other subject areas.
Socionics is used in education, not only as a tool for teachers to manage the learning process,Гуленко В. В., Тыщенко В. П. Юнг в школе. Соционика — межвозрастной педагогике. — Новосибирск: изд-во Новосибирского университета, 1997. . . Title can be translated as: Gulenko V. V. and Tyshchenko V. P. Socionics to between-age pedagogy. – Novosibirsk: Publishing House of Novosibirsk State University, 1997. but also as a basis for the development and improvement of education and training.Alexandrova N. H., Boyadjieva N., Sapundzhieva K., Kolarova C. D. "Социониката в социалната сфера "- Sofia Univ.izd. St. Kliment Ohridski, 2004. – 149 p. Bogdanova claim that a teacher holding socionic knowledge and technologies can consciously collaborate with others and improve professional efficiency.Богданова І.М. Шляхи вдосконалення професійної підготовки майбутніх учителів // Наукa і освіта. — 2011. — No. 4. — Ch. 1. — p. 34–36. (. Title can be translated as: Bogdanova I. M. The ways to improve the training of future teachers // Science and education. – 2011. – No. 4. – Part 1. – Pp. 34–36.) Targeted use of intertype relations helps intensify the didactic process, increase the motivation of students.Бобков В. В. Дифференцированный подход к обучению : психо-информационная точка зрения. Часть 1 // Электронный научный журнал "Исследовано в России". — 2006. — p. 371—400.(. Title can be translated as: Bobkov V. V. A differentiated approach to teaching: psycho-informational point of view. Part 1 // Electronic Scientific Journal "Investigated in Russia". – 2006. – Pp. 371–400.) Socionics is also used to assess the individual psychological and personal qualities to forecast the success of employee career.Иванов Ю. В. Деловая соционика — М.: Бизнес-школа "Интел-Синтез", 2001. (Библиотека журнала "Управление персоналом"). (. Title can be translated as: Ivanov Ju. V. Business socionics – Moscow Business School "Intel-Synthesis", 2001. (Library of the "Personnel Management" Journal). )
Izmailova and Kiseleva found socionics interesting to be applied in advertisingИзмайлова М. А. Психология рекламной деятельности. Практическое пособие. — М. ИТК "Дашков и К", 2009. . (. Title can be translated as: Izmailova M. A. Psychology of advertising. Practical Guide. – Moscow, 2009.) and marketing, because it allows you to explain the reasons for the behavior of consumers.Киселева Е.С. Роль и значение потребителя в системе маркетинга и способы управления поведением на основе соционики // Известия Томского политехнического университета. — 2008. — No. 6. — Т. 312. — p. 59–64.(. Title can be translated as: Kiseleva E. S. The role and importance of the consumer in the marketing system and ways of control consumer's behavior on the basis of socionics // Proceedings of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. – 2008. – No. 6. – Vol. 312. – p. 59-64.