Psychological barriers to communication: reasons and how to overcome

What is a psychological barrier

A psychological barrier is a person’s condition that prevents him from performing desired actions and becomes an obstacle to the manifestation of his personality qualities.

For example, even if he wants to, he cannot talk freely in the company of a new person, limiting himself to a short “yes-no.” At the same time, among old acquaintances he is usually open and relaxed.

If a psychological barrier leads to negative experiences, then it is worth thinking about the reasons for their occurrence. This will help you figure out how to overcome this condition.

Causes of psychological barriers

Communication style barrier

Even though this barrier is the easiest to cross, it still causes some problems for people.
And they consist in the fact that people do not understand each other due to different communication styles. For example, it is very difficult for a vegetable seller at the market to communicate with a doctor of mathematical sciences, although they speak the same language. Or it’s hard for a well-mannered, higher educated girl to find a common language with a guy who has three classes of education. You can cross this barrier if you communicate with a person only on business, and the best way is to establish communication simply with a smile. If your interlocutor's communication style is lower than yours, do not try to lower yourself to his level, and if it is higher, do not try to reach his level, from the outside it will look simply ridiculous. By the way, in this case, an ordinary compliment will help to ideally establish communication.

So. Don’t withdraw into yourself and don’t think that communication barriers cannot be crossed. Communicate more, erase boundaries, get rid of fear, and you will succeed!

Types of psychological barriers

The occurrence of difficulties in communication is influenced not only by individual experience, but also by differences in views, temperaments, character traits, personality types and upbringing conditions. Psychological barriers to communication can be divided into several types.

Intellectual

The types of thinking of interlocutors may often not coincide: for example, one person processes information faster than another. This makes communication not very comfortable, which creates a barrier. The level of intelligence also matters: people with high intelligence are unlikely to be interested in communicating with a person of a lower IQ level. An intellectual psychological barrier also arises when discussing professional issues, if people have different competence in this - such a conversation will lead to disappointment or irritation.

Aesthetic

This barrier appears when a person has a dislike for the interlocutor associated with his appearance or manners. You can try not to notice annoying features: a sloppy appearance, unusual facial features, timbre of voice or strong gestures, but attention will still shift from the essence of the conversation to these details.

The “first impression” barrier

This type of psychological barrier is somewhat similar to the previous one. But its essence is that a person experiences inner fear when meeting someone for the first time. This fear is associated with worries that he will not be able to impress and please the interlocutor, and perhaps he will do and say unnecessary things, which will completely alienate those around him.

Therefore, many people, when meeting for the first time, try to remain reserved, silent and lacking initiative - because in this case, an unsuccessful meeting will not cause much harm to self-esteem.

Motivational

If people engaged in one common task have different views and goals on it, then sooner or later this will lead to misunderstanding and the emergence of a psychological barrier. Teamwork obviously won’t work under such conditions.

For example, a family vacation will be ruined if each participant strives to fulfill his own plans: mom wants to go to a popular resort for the sea and sun, dad wants to calmly relax on a fishing trip, and the children even hope to stay at home without parental supervision.

Situational

Every day, every person experiences situations that affect their mood. Even a minor trouble can seriously spoil it. Experiencing negative emotions, it is unlikely that you will be able to build an open and constructive dialogue. A person will perceive all attempts to get him to talk as an invasion of personal space, and therefore will create a psychological barrier to communication.

Moral

This is the most difficult psychological barrier to overcome. Even if both sides are interested in constructive dialogue, they will face disagreements in the process. It is very difficult for an adult to abandon his established views and principles.

But this type of psychological barrier also has a positive side. People who avoid communicating with rude, deceitful, two-faced people protect themselves in this way from contact with unpleasant individuals (for example, marginalized people).

Psychological barrier of installation

If a person has a reason to have a negative attitude towards his interlocutor, then he will try to build a barrier in communication with him using all obvious and hidden methods. And, despite the fact that he himself establishes such communication connections, even if he wants to, changing his attitude may not be easy.

Psychological barrier of age

The psychological barrier of age is a frequently encountered situation in everyday communication. This is a misunderstanding between people of different ages who do not understand the actions and thoughts of another generation. This situation can cause many conflicts both in the family and at work.

For example, it is difficult for adults to understand how children live, why they are worried about mere trifles. And older people cannot accept the behavior of young people; they often condemn the younger generation, and they ridicule the old people in return.

Lecture 3. Communication barriers and ways to overcome them

Everyone hears only what they understand. (Johann Wolfgang Goethe)

Concepts and types of communication barriers

Communication barriers are obstacles caused by natural, social and psychological factors that arise during the communication process. In the modern world, in conditions of human interaction, in various fields of activity, difficulties or communication barriers arise.

In the Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language S.I. Ozhegov says: “A barrier is an obstacle placed in the way; an obstacle, an obstacle in the way of something.”

The Psychological Dictionary gives the following interpretation of the concept “barrier”: “a mental state manifested as inadequate passivity (or activity) that prevents the performance of certain actions”; “any obstacle that prevents the body from achieving its goal.”

E. V. Zalyubovskaya gives the following definition: “A communication barrier is an absolute or relative obstacle to effective communication, subjectively experienced or actually present in communication situations, the causes of which are the motivational-operational, individual-psychological, socio-psychological characteristics of those communicating.”

There are many more definitions of the concepts “barrier” and “communication barrier” by different authors. In addition to different definitions of the concept, different authors also identify different types of communication barriers.

Classification of communication barriers

Barriers of misunderstanding

Barriers of misunderstanding are associated with ineffective verbal communication (difficulties in transmitting and understanding information). These include:

1. Semantic barriers are communication obstacles that arise due to misunderstanding of the meaning of symbols used in communications.

When entering into information contact, we use symbols: words, gestures, intonation.

Semantics is the study of the way words are used and the meanings conveyed by words.

Semantic variations often cause misunderstandings, because in many cases the exact meaning assigned to a symbol by the interlocutor is not at all obvious.

A manager telling a subordinate that his report appears “adequate” may mean that it is complete and fit for purpose. However, the subordinate may decode the word “adequate” to mean that the report is mediocre and needs significant improvement.

Semantic barriers arise when ambiguous words or phrases are used if the speaker does not explain their meaning.

Semantic barriers can create communication problems for companies operating internationally. The perception (meaning) of gestures and intonation differs especially strongly among different peoples, but even words may not be translated unambiguously.

2. Nonverbal barriers - associated with the contradiction between the meaning inherent in spoken words and nonverbal signals accompanying the communication process.

Although verbal symbols (words) are the primary means of encoding ideas, we also use nonverbal symbols to convey messages. In direct oral communication, nonverbal transmission occurs simultaneously with verbal communication and can enhance or change the meaning of words. Exchange of glances, facial expressions, posture, intonation are all examples of nonverbal communication.

Psychologists say that verbal means of communication are based on our consciousness, and non-verbal ones, for the most part, are controlled by the subconscious. That is why verbal and non-verbal symbols often contradict each other (in psychology, there is such a concept as “they are incongruent”, i.e. they do not correspond to each other).

3. Phonetic barriers - obstacles created by the characteristics of the speaker’s speech (the presence of speech defects, slurred speech, tongue twister speech, etc.).

4. Stylistic barriers are violations of the relationship between the form of information presentation and its content. The style of presentation of information may be inappropriate, too heavy or light, inappropriate for the situation and intentions of the partner. Rejection can also be caused by the bad verbal habits of the interlocutor (the use of parasitic words and sounds in speech: “that’s the same”, “so to speak”, “well”, “so”, “as if”, “uh”, “m-”) m" etc.).

5. Logical barriers - communication interference that arises as a result of a discrepancy between the logical actions and conclusions of communication partners. Each person sees the communicative situation in his own way, from his own point of view. In addition, the same words in different situations can have completely different meanings.

6. Communication overload is associated with the difficulty or inability to process and organize a large amount of information.

Currently, more and more professions are appearing where a person is forced to process a very large amount of incoming information. Often such people are not able to respond effectively to all information, and are forced to filter out less significant information and leave only that which they consider important. Unfortunately, the understanding of the importance of information varies from person to person and is not always correct.

Personal barriers

Personal barriers are associated with the psychological incompatibility of interlocutors and with their negative attitudes, which create interference in communication. Personal barriers include:

1. Individual differences in character, temperament, emotional states. They can become a significant obstacle to the effective exchange of information. For example, it is difficult for a melancholic person with increased anxiety to communicate with an impulsive and aggressive choleric person. It is difficult for a person with a petty and quarrelsome character to find common ground in a conversation with an altruist.

2. Ideological barriers – barriers that form when partners have different stereotypes, worldviews, and value orientations; discrepancies in social attitudes.

Personality education largely comes down to the gradual formation of readiness to respond to something properly, in other words, to the formation of attitudes that are useful for the individual and for society. Already in early childhood, parents consciously or unconsciously form behavioral patterns, attitudes: “Don’t cry - you are a man”, “Don’t get dirty - you are a girl”, etc., so the child receives standards, attitudes “good - evil, beautiful - ugly, good - bad." And by the age when a person begins to become aware of himself, in his psyche there is already a mass of entrenched feelings, opinions, views, attitudes that influence both the assimilation of new information and the attitude towards the environment. These often unconscious attitudes act with enormous force on a person, forcing him to perceive and react to the world in the spirit of attitudes learned from childhood.

3. Negative past experience of communicating with a given interlocutor can cause fear of entering into communication and reluctance to experience negative emotions in the process of communication.

The essence of this barrier is reflected in the proverb: “When you get burned on milk, you blow on water.”

4. Barriers of bias lie in the fact that a person, for no apparent good reason, begins to have a negative attitude towards a particular person, which significantly complicates communication. This is usually associated with a negative perception of the appearance or behavior of the interlocutor.

5. Negative attitude barriers. Often such barriers are created by other people. You were told negative information about someone, and a negative attitude develops towards a person about whom you know little, since you have no experience of personal interaction with him.

The formation of a negative attitude is strongly influenced by such preconceived fixed views (“all people are selfish, all teachers are formalists, all sales workers are dishonest people”), and these attitudes will interfere with an objective understanding of the actions of specific people.

In a conversation, a negative attitude can be aimed at:

1) the personality of the interlocutor himself (if someone else had said the same thing, it would have been perceived completely differently);

2) on the essence of the conversation (“I can’t believe it,” “it’s unacceptable to talk like that”);

3) on the circumstances of the conversation (“now is not the time and this is not the place for such discussions”).

If there is a barrier of a negative attitude, a person, entering into communication, demonstrates closeness, wariness, expects negative manifestations from the partner, and looks for a negative veiled meaning in every phrase of the interlocutor.

6. Barriers of expectation of misunderstanding : a person before communication worries whether his partner will understand him correctly. Moreover, here they often proceed from the fact that the partner must understand incorrectly. At the same time, they begin to predict the consequences of this misunderstanding and anticipate unpleasant sensations.

7. Age barriers arise between people of different generations. Older people condemn young people and resist innovations in organizations. Young people get irritated, believe that they are underestimated, their independence is limited, and their career growth is hampered. This is a manifestation of the eternal problem of “fathers and sons.”

8. Barriers of insufficient understanding of the importance of communication arise when interlocutors assess the degree of importance of contact differently. For example, one strives for an effective conversation, the other tries to avoid the conversation and not give answers to questions. For the first, this causes tension, mistrust, and resentment.

Cultural barriers

Cultural barriers are communication obstacles that arise as a result of cultural differences between the sender and the recipient, ignorance of national customs, traditions, norms and etiquette of communication, and the system of life values. Cultural differences manifest themselves in both verbal and nonverbal communication. These include:

1. National barriers arise between representatives of two different cultures and are manifested, for example, in punctuality, in establishing a distance between communicaters, in demeanor, in the use of different gestures, tone, and volume of voice, accepted as the norm in different countries.

2. Religious barriers are the manifestation in business communication of religious hostility, bias towards people of other religions, and the interpretation of certain human actions on the basis of religious differences.

3. Ethical barriers are the result of a discrepancy between the ethical values and norms of the interlocutors. For example, one partner follows the norms of morality, morality, decency, honesty in communication, while the other shows “uncleanliness,” lies, and manipulates.

4. Aesthetic barriers - manifest themselves in a discrepancy between the interlocutors’ tastes, manners, and views on the aesthetic component.

There is no arguing about tastes: tastes are the reason for quarreling, arguing and quarreling (Gilbert Chesterton).

Organizational barriers

Organizational barriers are communication interference caused by the characteristics of any organization: the number of links and levels of management, the type of relationships between them, the distribution of rights, duties and responsibilities in the management system. Among the organizational communication barriers there are:

1. Excessive centralization in the management system, which leads to information overload of the center and poor awareness of structural units.

2. Excessive differentiation of departments, as a result of which employees become isolated in solving the problems of their own department and the exchange of information between them is sharply limited. This is fraught with narrow-mindedness and imperfect decisions. Often, excessive differentiation is the cause of conflicts between employees of different structural units, because they do not see a common goal and cannot establish effective interaction.

3. Uncertainty of responsibilities and rights, which leads to a situation where no one in the organization is responsible for anything, and communications become either too formal or conflicting.

4. Reluctance to share information. Possession of information is one of the sources of power. Those who have exclusive information have the opportunity to use it to influence other people. Often such owners do not want to share it, they store it in order to use it at the right time. Those who have complete information can convey only a small part of it, the use of which does not make it possible to make the optimal decision.

Social barriers

Social barriers are communication obstacles that arise due to a mismatch of social values, attitudes, and confrontation of social roles:

1. Cognitive barriers arise due to differences in knowledge about the subject of communication, different levels of professional competence; barriers caused by underdevelopment of abstract thinking, memory, and perception skills.

2. Differences in status can also be a barrier to communication. A person at a lower level of the hierarchy may perceive differences in status as threats, which interferes with and even interrupts communication (the person is afraid to express his opinion, ask a question, not wanting to look incompetent).

3. Professional barriers can arise between representatives of different professions who have a negative attitude or speak poorly of the professional qualities of the interlocutor. In some cases, these barriers manifest themselves as emphasizing the importance of one’s own profession and understating the importance of other professions for solving certain production problems.

4. Educational barriers are barriers of informational discrepancy between the positions of the subjects of communication, arising due to differences in the social experience of partners, due to differences in educational levels.

Physical barriers

Physical barriers are objective obstacles that arise in the material environment of communications:

1. Spatial barriers arise in the case of inconvenient placement of furniture and office equipment in rooms that interfere with effective communication; irrational distance between people during communications; the presence of many distracting details in the interior (bright paintings, photographs, decorative elements).

2. Time barriers are caused by a lack of time allocated for communication. The desire to quickly end a conversation leads to inattentive listening, curtailing feedback, and the impossibility of empathy and deep understanding of information. Time barriers can also include problems that arise during negotiations between partners living in different time zones (especially if the difference is large). In this case, even if the time of communication is not limited, the body of one of the partners often struggles with sleep, which also does not contribute to concentration on the subject of the conversation.

3. Technical barriers are caused by temporary communication difficulties associated with malfunction of technical means (computer, telephone, microphone, interference during a conference call); as well as distracting noise that temporarily drowns out the speaker’s voice.

The variety of communication barriers indicates that almost every person experiences serious difficulties in certain situations of a business conversation. There are no universal recipes for overcoming communication barriers. However, certain tips for overcoming them are presented in the literature.

Symptoms of a psychological barrier

Psychological barriers to communication manifest themselves in different ways, but they are all consequences of experienced trauma and psychological characteristics of the individual.

Most often, psychological barriers to communication manifest themselves as:

biased attitude towards the interlocutor, doubt in all his words;
unnatural manifestations of sexuality;
stiffness in movements, quiet voice;
decreased sensitivity;
internal tension;
unreasonable attempts to defend oneself and defend an opinion, even when no one questions it;
detachment, lack of interest in relation to the other party;
confusion of thoughts, tongue-tiedness;
different understanding of the object of conversation with the interlocutor;
pretense in behavior, intonation and gestures;
feeling of shame.

Causes and types of obstacles from a psychological point of view

From a scientific point of view, a psychological barrier is an internal barrier of a psychological nature that makes it difficult to establish trusting relationships between people. The following types of psychological barriers are distinguished: communication, individual, socio-psychological.

The most common communication barriers are of two types: communication and semantic. The first type occurs when a person directly interacts with an interlocutor, and the second type occurs when one word denotes events that have different meanings. Semantic barriers are much less common; they are usually easily smoothed over by simply clarifying concepts.

Communication barriers are the most common source of confrontation between interlocutors, since differences in communication style, manners, attitudes, well-being, and desires can make two good friends irreconcilable rivals. In turn, communication barriers are divided into several types:

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Barriers: differences in attitudes imply that the participants in the conversation have completely different goals.
Barriers to limiting communication functions - narrowing communications to a minimum level with a subsequent reduction in semantic content.
Barriers of negative attitudes - these include reasons related to the individual’s personal attitudes, his perception of his interlocutors, mood, and communication goals.
Barrier of negative experience - usually concerns a certain contingent of people with whom a person was not able to build optimal communication.
Barriers of fear of making mistakes. A common barrier, its causes are irrational fears associated with unpleasant memories. This problem also arises in sex and is expressed by a kind of “coldness” between loving people.
Barriers of perception or “mirroring”. In life, this looks like “monkeyism” and immediately repels the interlocutor.
Barriers of lack of contact - refer to the so-called ignoring by interlocutors, often appear in a small group in relation to its new member.

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Individual barriers are associated with internal psychological comfort, the presence of complexes, and inadequate self-esteem. The cause of socio-psychological difficulties may be cultural and aesthetic differences - for example, behavior at the table, ceremonies of exchanging greetings, and so on.

Poor knowledge of the language also has a negative impact, as it makes it difficult for communication partners to perceive the essence of the conversation or distorts its meaning. Communication problems caused by different social status are most often encountered by managers joining an already established team.

Ways to overcome psychological barriers

If you understand that you have symptoms of psychological barriers and they interfere with establishing contacts with your interlocutor, then you need to work on yourself. If you ignore this problem, then soon other manifestations will be added to: lack of initiative, willingness to give in in everything, inability to express and defend one’s opinion.

To overcome psychological barriers, you need to work on the following aspects.

Learn to listen to yourself and identify your feelings. At a moment when something is confusing, it is worth slowing down and asking yourself the question: “How am I feeling now?” Then further communication will become a little easier.
Try active therapy: individual or group trainings. With a specialist who is able to objectively assess the situation from the outside, it will be much easier to find and eliminate the root cause of psychological pressures. The main types of therapy include: dancing, rhythmic motor gymnastics, art classes, bodily therapy, practicing practical communication skills (asking for directions, taking a turn, calling customer support, etc.)
Practice universal phrases that can be used to eliminate an awkward pause in a conversation. It’s good if they are not closely related to a specific topic.
Train yourself to ask questions to your interlocutor. By doing this, you will not only support the conversation, but also show your interest in the conversation, and also learn more information about the subject of the conversation. It’s good if these are open questions that require a detailed answer, and not a dry “yes-no”.
Engage in self-development and broadening your horizons. This way you will raise your self-esteem and learn a lot of new things to start a conversation about. For example, you can subscribe to interesting personalities, public pages and channels on social networks. This will help you obtain new information spontaneously, rather than by searching for it on special resources.

The essence of the concept of “barrier”

Speech represents information and is a way of instilling it.

There is also a counter psychological activity - counter-suggestion, when a person defends himself against the effects of another person’s speech by erecting unique protective structures - barriers to communication.

The problem of “barriers” to communication is determined by a number of factors and, above all, by the expansion of the sphere of influence of the system of “person-to-person” relationships.

Difficult relationships hinder the effective development of activities in such professions as pedagogy, business, engineering, etc. Solving the problem of “barriers” will increase the effectiveness of communication and the effectiveness of joint activities.

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Definition 2

A communication barrier is a psychological obstacle to the exchange of information between partners, the signal of which is negative emotional experiences.

Barriers to communicative influence are created by socio-psychological mechanisms. Their original understanding was proposed by the Soviet scientist B.F. Porshnev, concluding that speech is a method of suggestion. He believed that any speaking person suggests something to another. Of course, every speaker suggests something, but not every verbal suggestion will be accepted as such. When there is a need for protection from outside influences, barriers appear unconsciously.

Psychological barriers protect the individual from increasing mental tension, on the one hand, and on the other hand, they neutralize the sphere that stimulates the emotional activity of the individual.

Communication barriers that arise when people interact may depend on their character, speech characteristics, views, and manner of communication.

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Conflicts that arise in the personal and professional spheres are often the result of ignorance of effective communication techniques or the inability to use them.

How to eliminate the psychological barrier in communication

If you feel tension in a conversation with your interlocutor, then you can try to eliminate this psychological barrier in universal ways.

Communicate in a similar language

Use in conversation those phrases and expressions that are familiar to your interlocutor. Try to “mirror” his speech: repeat the tempo, intonation, construction of phrases (but this should not look forced).

Listen to the other person

Learn to listen to other people, don't interrupt them. This will not only show respect for them, but will also help you establish a deeper emotional connection.

Maintain chain of command

In a conversation, you should not put yourself above your interlocutors or, conversely, humiliate yourself in front of them. This behavior will only make you think about unpleasant thoughts that are not worth wasting your time and energy on.

Learn to find compromises

Having a clear position and strong moral principles is wonderful. But if you mindlessly insist on your own and do not agree to make concessions in order to competently resolve issues and disagreements, then you can give the impression of an infantile or absurd person. It is unlikely that anyone is drawn to communicate with such people.

Be positive

A positive attitude makes it easier to cope with any troubles and overcome psychological barriers. And an appropriate joke in a conversation can radically turn it in your favor. A person who knows how to treat everything with humor gives the impression of an intellectually developed person prone to introspection.

Minimize contact with unpleasant people

If possible, it is better to end the conversation with an irritated or aggressive person as quickly as possible. Being in this state, he is not ready for constructive dialogue.

How to overcome communication difficulties

Modern literature gives many answers to the question of how to overcome the psychological barrier in communication, but in practice it is very difficult to solve this problem without the help of a specialist. Corrective work will help overcome obstacles only if it affects not only superficial manifestations, but also deep-seated problems.

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Conflictology examines communication barriers and ways to overcome them from the point of view of disruption of the communication chain, therefore it uses group discussion techniques or innovative games in its work. During the game, participants become involved in each other's emotional experiences, learn to show empathy and understanding, and also try on new social roles.

Particular attention is paid to non-verbal communication, self-massage techniques to relieve personality spasms and exercises to develop facial muscles

Classes in special groups are most effective, but take a lot of time. If you realize that you have a psychological barrier in communication, how to overcome it yourself, without resorting to the help of specialists? Experts suggest using the following tips: