From the author: Intrapersonal conflict N.N. Vasiliev. Here is a dictionary entry from the book "Lexicon of Social Work: A Study Guide". The dry, laconic, scientific style of the article is determined by the requirements of the publishing house. Conflict is the most acute way of resolving significant contradictions that arise in the process of interaction, which consists in the opposition of the subjects of the conflict and is accompanied by negative emotions. Intrapersonal conflict is caused by contradictions between tendencies or authorities existing in the personality of one person. There are cognitive and motivational intrapersonal conflicts.1. Motivational intrapersonal conflicts are conflicts between opposing motivational tendencies. The study of motivational intrapersonal conflicts is characteristic of the psychodynamic direction in personology, psychology and psychotherapy. The psychodynamic model of personality states that a person’s motivation contains initially conflicting forces, and thoughts, emotions and behavior are the result of their interaction. Psychodynamics is the process of personality functioning and development that draws energy from the conflict between various conscious and unconscious forces. Intrapersonal conflict is considered here as a motivating force for personality development; however, an unsuccessfully resolved conflict can be a source of psychological maladaptation and pathology.1.1. Classical psychoanalysis (S. Freud) sees dynamics as the result of a collision of innate instinctual forces: opposing instincts collide (Eros and Thanatos); instincts collide with the demands of the environment or the superego (internalized prohibitions, regulations and standards); instincts clash with ego intentions; the need for immediate satisfaction of instinctive impulses collides with the reality principle.1.2. Representatives of the neo-Freudian (interpersonal) psychodynamic approach (G. Sullivan, K. Horney, E. Fromm, etc.) believe that humans do not have programmed instincts. Every person has, on the one hand, a basic need for security, acceptance and approval, and on the other, a natural tendency towards growth, which is always associated with risk. Personal development is determined by the quality of its interaction with significant adults (especially in childhood). The main intrapersonal conflict is the contradiction between the natural tendency to grow and the need for security and approval. If parents do not encourage autonomous growth and do not provide security, then the child may develop severe neurotic disorders.1.3. Representatives of the existential approach (I. Yalom and others) believe that psychodynamics is based on an intrapersonal conflict caused by the individual’s confrontation with the givens of existence. The givens of existence are certain final factors that are an integral part of human existence in the world. The main givens are death (the possibility of non-existence), freedom (the ability and necessity to build life in accordance with one’s own choice), existential isolation (the presence of boundaries between people, the impossibility of complete intimacy) and the meaninglessness of existence (the need to independently seek the meaning of life). The main intrapersonal conflicts here are associated with the individual’s protest against the givens of existence, and personal growth is in overcoming the conflict through reconciliation.1.4. Motivational intrapersonal conflicts are also described by other areas of personology: the behavioristic approach (K. Hull, J. Dollard, N. Miller), field theory (K. Levin), etc. Here, an intrapersonal motivational conflict is considered as a collision of oppositely directed motivational tendencies, suggesting the need to make a choice. Three groups of choice conflicts are considered: proximity conflicts (the presence of a choice from several equally attractive alternatives); avoidance conflicts (the inevitability of choosing from several equally unacceptable alternatives), approach-avoidance conflicts(the need to make a choice from several alternatives, each of which has advantages and disadvantages). The difficulty of choice in such situations is complicated by the fact that it leads to the emergence of cognitive dissonance.2. Cognitive intrapersonal conflicts are caused by the presence in the subject’s consciousness of at least two beliefs, each of which claims to be reliable, but cannot be true unless the second is false. Cognitive conflict causes cognitive dissonance (see). Particular attention in psychology is paid to a person’s system of beliefs about himself - the self-concept. A person’s ideas about himself seem convincing to him, regardless of whether they are based on subjective opinion or objective facts. In any case, the self-concept is a reality for a person, on the basis of which he builds his behavior and relationships. The self-concept is a static, conservative formation. Its immutability allows a person to feel “like himself” in various situations. Meanwhile, beliefs related to the self-concept may contradict other beliefs of the individual, causing cognitive intrapersonal conflicts, which serve as a source of personality changes, its growth and development, but can also lead to psychological maladjustment. Representatives of various psychological schools and directions described a number of such conflicts. 2.1. The first type of conflict is associated with the fact that the beliefs contained in the self-concept may be contradictory, for example, due to the fact that in different situations we can behave differently; in different contact groups we play different roles, are guided by different standards and demonstrate different behavioral patterns. A person may accept these differences as his own flexibility, but in some cases they lead to a blurring of his identity. 2.2. K. Rogers showed that the conflict between the self-concept and direct experience can cause psychological and mental pathology. In addition to conceptualized ideas about oneself, at each individual moment in time, a person has a current self-image, which has a sensory basis. When a person has beliefs about himself but feels that they are incorrect, his self-concept is incongruent with life experience. If, instead of changing it, he, with the help of psychological defenses, artificially suppresses the connection with experience, personality disadaptation may occur. Such a person loses touch with reality, his perception becomes extremely selective, he ignores facts that do not fit into his system of ideas, and does not notice his feelings.2.3. Another conflict that can cause psychological maladjustment is the contradiction between the self-concept and the self-ideal. Ideas about the ideal, according to the psychodynamic concept of S. Freud, arise in early childhood through the internalization of idealized parental images. Subsequently, a person regulates his own behavior by correlating his real actions, feelings and desires with standard qualities. When reality does not coincide with the ideal, an intrapersonal conflict arises, causing anxiety and guilt. This conflict can be successfully utilized or repressed into the unconscious, from where it has a negative impact on behavior and experience.2.4. The fourth group of conflicts leading to personal development or maladjustment lies in the area of ​​comparison of the self-concept with “I-as-others-see-me.” The last set of beliefs was studied by the representative of symbolic interactionism J. Mead and was called by him “Mirror Self”. The mirror self arises in a person in the process of interaction with the primary groups of which he is a member. Members of the primary group provide a person with feedback, on the basis of which he forms ideas about how others perceive him. The discrepancy between self-perception and group perception gives rise to dissonance, which can also be removed by bringing the Self-concept and the mirror Self into correspondence. Unsuccessful resolution.