The emergence of the concept of "image" is originally associated with your Portfolio. It appeared in the advertising industry in the West in the 50s, after which in the 60s the term was formed in the business sphere as one of the main means of psychological influence on the client. And today I will tell you more about the importance of professional image.

A Little Bit of History

Originally it was used exclusively in commercial advertising to distinguish goods and was endowed with a rather narrow meaning. Into a more active lexicon, the term came from the journalistic sphere in the 1960s, in which it was used to emphasize attention on the image of popular artists. Later the concept became a basic component of the theory and practice of such phenomena as public relations (PR) and became firmly established in public and political life. In the 1970s, the image was considered, using the example of the United States of America, as a tool for manipulating human consciousness.

In contemporary language, the concept of the image has taken root relatively recently, first in political circles, then increasingly spreading to other spheres of human activity. Today this notion is applied not only to politicians and people in general but also to various phenomena, objects, and objects. In "The United States: Advertising and Society", written in 1974, the author describes the image as the main method of psychological influence on the consumer, which is used by the advertiser. Other authors, studying the subject, also considered the image as a way to manipulate the public, the mass consciousness. If we look at the etymology of the word image, we can see that the concept comes from the French word image, which means "image, representation".

Some Details

Thus, the image is understood as an image, that is, the external attractiveness of a person, the construction by a person of his image for others. The word "image" carries a similar semantic meaning and means "a look, appearance, figure, portrait, painted face...". In psychology, an image is "an emotionally colored image of someone or something, formed in the popular consciousness and having the character of a stereotype; the formation of an image is the result of an orientation process.

• An image is created spontaneously, but more often it is the result of specialists' work. An image reflects the social expectations of a particular group.

The Dictionary of Foreign Words gives the following definition of "image": "Image" is an image of a person, object or phenomenon, deliberately created (by mass media, literature, etc.), intended to have an emotional and psychological impact on someone for advertising, popularization, etc. In reference publications, the term "image" is presented in the dictionary "Psychology. Dictionary", which gives the following wording of this concept: an image of someone or something, formed in the mass consciousness and having the character of a stereotype.

Interpretations

Basing on various researches of foreign authors, the term "image" has several interpretations, the essence of which I will briefly describe below:

- representations of personal qualities that are reinforced in the mass consciousness;

- a stylistic dissection of a person's real texture;

- a socio-psychological attitude that predetermines the behavior of people;

- the advertising image of the public persona;

- emotional coloring of a well-established image of someone or something that emerges in the mass consciousness, capable of influencing people's behavior;

- an abstract image alienated from the specific personality of the bearer, containing real and idealized features.

The Importance of Image

Summarizing the clarification of the meaning of the concept "image", I propose the author's definition, in which the image is a purposefully formed emotionally colored image of a person, object, phenomenon, developed in the mass consciousness, endowed with real and ideal features and properties, designed to exert an influence on the behavior of social groups, predetermining their behavior. The most important task of an image is to form a positive attitude toward something or someone, the creation of an attractive image, which in the future disposes to the development of public opinion elements such as loyalty, trust, favor, etc.

The Image Is Endowed with The Following Features That Characterize It:

1) "dynamism" means that its attributes are reformed, according to the transformations in the image bearer or the consciousness of the audience to which it is directed;

2) "informativeness" means that an image carries information about a number of signs, features, and properties, which the object is endowed with;

3) "versatility" refers to the versatility of an image by virtue of the vastness of its target audience;

4) "artificiality" puts the emphasis on its figurativeness, emphasizes idealization of an object in order to create a positive image;

5) "activity" or the ability to influence emotions, actions, behavior, and consciousness of specific people or social groups.

Researchers of the image present it as a set of specific qualities associated with a certain individuality and distinguish personal, social, and symbolic characteristics. Personal characteristics include a person's character, physical and psychological characteristics, personality type, individual characteristics of behavior, etc. Psychologists also emphasize the existence of a quality that allows you to have a special influence on other people, the so-called charm or charisma.

Social characteristics directly depend on the current situation. This is a rather mobile part of the image, which is directly connected with the requirements of reality. Each specific case constructs these characteristics, which can be identified only through a thorough analysis of the current situation. The symbolic characteristics associated with culture and ideology are an invariably stable component of the image. In other words, I can talk about a set of qualities, properties, and characteristics that represent the ideal type.

That’s It!

A positive image and high prestige of the profession of a social work specialist will certainly raise the level of public awareness of the profession and will have a beneficial effect on attracting young personnel to the field of social work, which will solve the existing personnel problem. For the successful formation of a professional image of a social work specialist, you need to take into account the directions, contents, and principles of this activity. Moreover, it is easy to find out new york & company phone number online. Here you can notice all the necessary information about emails and phones. Also, I hope this article was helpful for you and that you understood the topic of the importance of a professional image.