Introspection is the analysis of feelings, emotions tormenting us or the causes of our various behaviors. Basically anyone can make introspection - but how can this be done? What can introspection be used for and what would give us a closer look at our own psyche? Read about introspection!

Introspectionis a term that comes from the Latin word "introspectio" - it can be translated as "looking in". This is what introspection is all about - it is an independent analysis of our own emotions, experiences and all other feelings that are in our psyche.

One of the first people to take an interest in introspection was Wilhelm Wundt, a philosopher and psychologist of German origin. A man de alt with introspection essentially when the foundations of modern psychology were being laid, that is, at the end of the 19th century. Initially, introspection was considered an exceptionally promising psychological tool, but over time, the method has been subjected to more and more criticism, until today - in modern times - introspection has generally lost its importance. Nevertheless, there are voices that introspection is a useful tool, for example, in psychotherapy. But who is right and what does introspection look like?

Introspection: what is it?

The purpose of introspection is to take a closer look at various spheres of our psyche, about which we do not necessarily even think about every day. When examining our own psyche, we should consider what emotions are tormenting us and why. For example, feeling an exceptional degree of anger towards a loved one, we can wonder where this degree of feelings came from - is it due to our hypersensitivity, or has a loved one really disappointed us?

During introspection, various psychological aspects can be analyzed, such as:

  • feelings that torment us;
  • decisions we have made or plan to make;
  • our behaviors and various factors that make us act in this and no other way;
  • our needs;
  • relationships with other people - both with the people closest to us, as well as with colleagues or with completely different people.

Generalit can be assumed that the purpose of introspection is actually insight into oneself and analyzing one's own psyche. The only question is: how can you introspect?

How to introspect? Techniques

Basically, you can introspect yourself anywhere and at any time - it is possible to look at your own psyche even now while reading this text. The easiest way is to just sit back and think about your own emotions - why am I in a worse mood today, if everything was fine all week? What made me wander around the house all day long instead of enjoying my weekend freedom, and I don't feel like having any entertainment? Why did yesterday's conversation with a girl turn into a serious quarrel - we both exaggerated, or maybe one of the parties played a greater part in this dispute?

We can conduct introspection in "our own head", but not only. You can inspect your own psyche in many different ways. As an example, you can write about your emotions, feelings and impressions - for this you can use both a pen and a sheet of paper, and start running a personal blog. You can also - although it's considered bizarre by standard - talk … to yourself. Sometimes it's just easier to say certain points and then analyze them.

Introspection: use in modern psychotherapy

It is definitely not, however, that introspection has been completely banned from the psychological world. It is still used, for example, in psychotherapy, what's more, using the insight into one's own psyche can bring extremely beneficial results. Thanks to introspection, the patient can analyze what drives his behavior (e.g. susceptibility to generating conflicts in a relationship) and then - in the case of using psychotherapy, with the therapist's help - appropriately modify his thinking and make the problem appear much less frequently.

In general, it can be said that introspection can be a valuable tool for every human being. On a daily basis, we usually do not have time to think about why we are really upset by something, why we feel insecure in certain situations (e.g. among friends of our partner), or why we are stuck in an unsatisfactory relationship. Taking a few moments of insight into ourselves can not only allow us to understand our feelings, emotions and decisions, but also make us change our approach to various aspects of life and make us feel that we are finally acting in harmony with ourselves.

Worth knowing

Introspection: criticism

In the early periods, when the term of introspection had just appeared, this method was considered to be an exceptionally valuable psychological tool - it would make it possible to accurately analyze various mental states occurring in humans. A number of different terms have been distinguished around introspection, one of the more interesting of which was extraspection. This term was used to describe the ability to analyze people's feelings based on their behavior and how we feel when we display similar behavior. For example - if someone is quiet and tearful, then - similarly to us in such a situation - he would be sad, while when someone is irritable and anxious, he would experience anger.

However, both the extraspection and the introspection itself met with considerable criticism from the scientific community. It was emphasized that these methods are extremely subjective - after all, emotions and feelings, even if we call them the same, can be experienced completely differently by the two of us. This was the main "charge" towards introspection and it was supposed to convince people that it is difficult to consider this method a reliable and objective research tool in psychology.

About the authorBow. Tomasz NęckiA graduate of the medical faculty at the Medical University of Poznań. An admirer of the Polish sea (most willingly strolling along its shores with headphones in his ears), cats and books. In working with patients, he focuses on always listening to them and spending as much time as they need.

Category:

Psychology