Psychical Process in Social Perception

Abstract

The research features the theoretical construct of the psychical process in social perception in line with the integrative approach to human psychology and social interaction. The author believes that psychical processes can be described as an integrative phenomenon of social perception. The psychical process is a multi-level system of mental activity, determined by mutual awareness of people in the process of joint activity and communication. There are three levels of the psychical process in social perception: gnoseological, semiotic, and phenomenological. The gnoseological level is described through the categories "reflection", "representation", "expression", and "experience"; semiotic level is presented by the categories "sign", "value", "meaning", and "relation"; the phenomenological level is indicated by the categories "identification", "apperception", "interpretation", and "portrait". The methodological value of the construct of psychical process realizes the principle of integrity in the learning of human psychology. The author outlines some prospects for future studies of ways and methods of the human psychological qualities and their refraction in the human individual psychology in the course of social interaction. The paper illustrates the prospective use of the construct in interpersonal perception studies.