Psycholinguistic Features of Some Concepts of Extreme Psychology

Abstract

Purpose. In modern academic science, various concepts are used that characterize situations that cause negative consequences for human life, but there is no unified view of scientists on their interdependence, coherence, and relationship. That is why it is important to perform a psycholinguistic analysis of the above concepts of extreme psychology. Methodology. In the psychological literature, the following concepts are used: «extreme psychology» (V. Lebedev, V. Lefterov, O. Timchenko, M. Magomet-Eminov, L. Perelighina, others), «psychology of activity in special conditions» (B. Lomov, Yu. Zabrodin, E. Potapchuk, V. Osyodlo, V. Lefterov, others), «crisis psychology» (F. Vasylyuk, E. Bytyutka, others), «safety psychology» (I. Prikhodko, I. Baeva), «risk psychology» (T. Kornylova), «extreme psychopedagogy», (O. Stolyarenko), «extreme professional training» (M. Kozyar). Representatives of the activity approach consider extreme psychology from the point of view of the specifics of activity in extreme conditions; representatives of the personal approach operate with the concepts of «crisis psychology», «difficult life situations», «trauma», consider extreme psychology from the point of view of the consequences of an extreme situation for the individual and the specifics of their treatment; the new direction «safety psychology» is considered, where an extreme situation is interpreted as the result of an active interaction of the individual and the environment, and safety is a state of protection of a person and the environment; an important aspect is the study of risk and risky situations. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that, based on the etymological analysis of concepts used in extreme psychology, their psychological significance is highlighted, psycholinguistic analysis is carried out. Conclusions. The terminological and etymological analysis of the studied concepts gives grounds for determining their common feature, since they are all associated with negative events and their consequences, harm to life, misfortunes, misfortune. However, they also have differences: danger (possibility of misfortune), risk (perceived possibility of failure), threat (possibility of unpleasantness), stress (tension), crisis (turning point, aggravation), catastrophe (severe shocks), trauma (damage to health i), accident (damage), extraordinary (unforeseen), extreme (limit), special (unique), emergency (urgent). So, when we talk about situations that can potentially negatively affect people’s lives, that is, those that have not yet happened, it is appropriate to use the terms – special, dangerous, risky, threatening, stressful situations. And in those cases when we talk about what has already happened or is happening now, we need to use the words – crisis, catastrophic, extraordinary, extreme, emergency, emergency.

Keywords: extreme psychology; psychology of activity in special conditions; psychology of security; crisis; trauma; risk; stress.