Objective methods. Objective observation method

Methodological basis objective methods of psychology is the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity. This group includes the following methods:

Observation (continuous, selective);

Experiment (laboratory, natural, formative);

Testing (achievements, abilities, professional suitability, etc.);

Analysis of activity products (graphological, content analysis, analysis of drawings, etc.);

Survey (questionnaire, conversation, interview);

Mathematical modeling and statistical analysis.

Observation is the deliberate, systematic and purposeful perception of a person’s external behavior for the purpose of its subsequent analysis and explanation. Observation must be selective, planned and systematic, i.e., based on a clearly defined goal, highlighting a certain fragment of the reality being studied, built on the basis of a plan and carried out over a certain period of time.

Experiment- one of the main methods of psychology. Psychology acquired the status of an independent science thanks to the emergence of experimental methods. S. L. Rubinstein identifies four main features of an experiment: 1) in an experiment, the researcher himself causes the phenomenon he is studying, in contrast to observation, in which the observer cannot actively intervene in the situation; 2) the experimenter can vary, change the conditions for the occurrence and manifestation of the process being studied; 3) in an experiment it is possible to alternately exclude individual conditions (variables) in order to establish natural connections that determine the process being studied; 4) the experiment also allows you to vary the quantitative ratio of conditions and allows mathematical processing of the data obtained in the study.

There are three types of experiment: laboratory, natural and formative.

Laboratory experiment carried out in specially created and controlled conditions, usually using special equipment and devices.

The idea of ​​holding natural experiment belongs to the domestic psychologist A.F. Lazursky (1874–1917). Its essence lies in the fact that the researcher influences the subjects in the usual conditions of their activity. Subjects often have no idea that they are participating in an experiment. For example, a teacher has the opportunity to vary the content, forms, and methods of teaching in parallel classes or student groups and compare the results.

Formative experiment is a research method under the conditions of a specially organized experimental pedagogical process. It is also called a transformative, creative, teaching method or a psychological and pedagogical method of active formation of the psyche. A number of pedagogical techniques are based on it, for example, immersion in a problem, group training. The results of the experiment make it possible to confirm, clarify or reject a previously developed model of influence on an individual or group of people.

Testing– a method of psychological diagnostics that uses standardized questions and tasks (tests) that have a certain scale of values. It is used to recognize or assess states, characteristics, characteristics of a particular person, group of people, a particular mental function, etc. The result of the test is assessed in quantitative terms. Tests have different types of norms and scales of values: age, social, etc. The individual test performance indicator correlates with its norm. There is a special area of ​​psychology - testology, which is the theory of using and creating tests. Currently, the development of a scientifically based psychological test is labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Analysis of activity products comes from the general premise of the connection between internal mental processes and external forms of behavior and activity. By studying the objective products of activity, one can draw conclusions about the psychological characteristics of its subject or subjects. A specific form of the method of analyzing performance results is graphology. Psychologists have found that the characteristics of handwriting are associated with certain psychological properties of the author of the letter; They developed norms and techniques for psychological analysis of handwriting. Content analysis allows you to identify and evaluate specific characteristics of literary, scientific, journalistic texts, and then, based on them, determine psychological characteristics author.

Survey used in psychology in the form of questionnaires and conversations (or interviews). The sources of information in the survey are the written or oral judgments of the individual. To obtain reliable information, special questionnaires are created, the questions in which are arranged in a certain order, grouped into separate blocks, etc. When surveying, the survey is conducted in writing using a questionnaire. The advantage of this method is that a group of people can simultaneously participate in such a survey, and the data obtained during the survey can be statistically processed and analyzed. During the conversation, there is direct interaction between the researcher and the respondent (or interviewee). The most important condition The success of a conversation lies in establishing contact between them and creating a trusting atmosphere of communication. The researcher must win over the interviewee and encourage him to be frank.

Mathematical method It is not used in psychology as an independent method, but is included as an auxiliary means of increasing the reliability, objectivity, and accuracy of the data obtained. Row statistical methods was created specifically to test the quality of psychological tests.

Subjective methods of psychology.

Subjective methods:

The main methods of this group are as follows:

Introspection;

Self-report;

Participant observation;

Empathic listening;

Identification, etc.

Introspection(or self-observation) comes from a fundamental feature of the human psyche - its reflexive nature. Introspection is “looking” into one’s inner experiences, mental state, thoughts, images, desires, etc. However, some work is required to comprehend, understand, classify and interpret them. Not all people are equally capable of this kind of work and in this regard differ in their level of self-awareness and reflection.

Self-report is a verbal or written report on the results of introspection, a person’s descriptions of himself. These can be letters, confessions, autobiographies, diaries.

Participant observation is a specific form of objective observation, in contrast to which the researcher does not simply observe fragments of human behavior from a distance, but actually participates in an experiment, discussion, etc. The observer acts as an equal participant in a joint action with the subject. In this type of observation, the human problem under investigation is studied holistically.

Empathic Listening- this is the researcher’s experience of the same emotional states that the interlocutor experiences through identification with him. The method is based on a person’s ability to empathize with the interlocutor and understand him through this empathy. The use of this method, according to K. Rogers, “...requires a certain skill, and empathic understanding consists of penetration into someone else’s world, the ability to relevantly enter the phenomenological field of another person, inside his personal world...”

At identification the researcher imagines himself in the place of another person, as if mentally embodied in him. Unlike empathy, identification uses intellectual, logical operations: comparison, analysis, reasoning, etc.

Stages of development of psychology.

Stage I - psychology as the science of the soul. This definition of psychology was given more than two thousand years ago. They tried to explain all the incomprehensible phenomena in human life by the presence of a soul.

Stage II – psychology as the science of consciousness. Arises in the 17th century in connection with the development natural sciences. The ability to think, feel, desire was called consciousness. The main method of study was a person's observation of himself and the description of facts.

Stage III – psychology as the science of behavior. Appears in the 20th century: The task of psychology is to observe what can be directly seen, namely: behavior, actions, human reactions (the motives causing actions were not taken into account).

Stage IV – psychology as a science that studies facts, patterns and mechanisms of the psyche. It was formed on the basis of a materialistic view of the world. The basis of modern Russian psychology is the natural understanding of the theory of reflection.

History of psychology as experimental science begins in 1879 in the world's first experimental psychological laboratory, founded by the German psychologist Wilhelm Wundt in Leipzig. Soon, in 1885, V. M. Bekhterev organized a similar laboratory in Russia.

Any science develops dynamically and progressively if it has, on the one hand, creative ideas put forward by scientists, and on the other hand, sufficiently objective, accurate and reliable methods to test these ideas. The role of the method as a way of knowing and studying the phenomena of nature and social life is to, with the help of special techniques (or techniques), penetrate beyond the boundaries of phenomena accessible to direct observation, i.e. penetrate into those internal laws that constitute the essence of the phenomenon being studied.

What are the methods used by psychology? For a long period, until the beginning of the 20th century, psychology was defined as the science of the soul, mental phenomena and the laws of mental life that make up the subjective world of man. From the time of Descartes(1546-1650) the soul was presented as something that thinks, like the Self of the subject. Mental phenomena were understood as feelings, ideas, thoughts, desires, i.e. states of subjective consciousness, which were the subject of psychological science of that time. The definition of the content of science also corresponded to the set of its methods. According to the idealistic concept of that time, the main and only way to understand mental life was the subjective method.

1. SUBJECTIVE METHOD

Subjective method consisted in describing the phenomena of consciousness in the process of introspection. This method is called “introspection” (from the Latin introspectare - I look inside, I peer). Method of introspection, starting from works R. Descartes tlJ. Locke(1632-1704) and before V. Wundt(1832-1920), was the support of the doctrine that human consciousness is cognized in a fundamentally different way than the external world, cognizable through the senses. The task of psychology was seen as being to describe the forms of mental life and psychic phenomena. At the same time, the change in states of consciousness was explained by the action of a special force of spiritual substance (primary principle). It was this explanatory position that aroused the greatest criticism, since it excluded an objective, causal explanation of mental processes as products of objective development, as well as raising questions about the origin of the psyche and its objective mechanisms.

Already the founder of positivism O. Comte(1798-1857), justifying the need for an objective method in science, opposed metaphysical theories that explain the observed facts of mental life by the action of special substances. He believed that internal observation gives rise to almost as many conflicting opinions as there are people who believe that they are engaged in it. The main method of psychology, according to Comte, should be “observation outside oneself.” These ideas had a huge influence on the emerging experimental psychology of that period, which was engaged in the study of the psychophysiology of sensations (Müller, Weber, Fechner, T. Jung, Helmholtz, Hering, etc.) and did not turn to the psychology of consciousness. Nevertheless, studies of the soul and consciousness could not completely leave the sphere of interests of psychologists.

IN late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, within the framework of introspective psychology, several theories of the psychology of consciousness were put forward. These include Wundt's theory of the elements of consciousness and Titchener(1857-1927), psychology of acts of consciousness Brentano(1838-1917), “stream of consciousness” theory James(1842-1910), Gestalt psychology Wertheimer(1880-1943), descriptive psychology Dilthey(1833-1911). The difference between these theories was caused mainly by the fact that their creators specifically accepted the main task and subject of psychology. The creators of structural psychology, Wundt and Titchener, considered the study of human “direct experience” to be their main task. The main method for them remained the method of introspection. Realizing its shortcomings, Wundt sought to make introspection more reliable. He was the first to introduce experimental techniques into the organization of targeted self-observation, for which he undertook special training of subjects. They developed a special skill of self-reporting what they were directly aware of at the moment the stimulus was presented.

In contrast to Wundt, the creator of the theory of acts of consciousness, F. Brentano, considered the subject of psychology to be special mental activity, mental actions or acts, and the task of psychology was the reconstruction of the individual’s experiences associated with this. As a result, within the framework of the Würzburg school, the method of introspection was combined with the method of retrospection (from the Latin retro - back, back and spectrare - look), i.e. subsequent reproduction of what the subject previously experienced when solving mental problems.

However, despite theoretical differences and mutual rejection of each other’s ideas, all theories of introspective psychology were united by the fact that they did not study a person actually interacting with the outside world, but only his consciousness. As a result, at the beginning of the 20th century, a crisis emerged in introspective psychology, since it turned out to be powerless in the face of many practical tasks put forward by a developing capitalist society: it was necessary to develop means to control human behavior and increase the productivity of his work, there was a need to determine a person’s abilities for a particular profession, to training, etc. The introspective method was absolutely unsuitable for solving these problems. In addition, the crisis in the psychology of consciousness was also caused by the results of research in the field of neuropathology and psychiatry. Research J. Charcot (1825-1893), P. Janet(1859-1947) and 3. Freud(1856-1939) convincingly proved that in humans, in addition to conscious ones, there are unconscious mental phenomena. Evolutionary teaching also had a strong influence on the new orientation of psychology. C. Darwin(1809-1882), who proved the need to consider mental phenomena in their relationship with environment, and teaching I.P. Pavlova(1849-1936) about conditioned and unconditioned reflexes.

Influenced by the ideas of Pavlov and Darwin, the French psychologist A. Pieron(1881-1964) develops objective psychology and puts forward the thesis that living beings have two fundamental properties- the ability to feel and the ability to act, to contact the environment. These two sides form a unity, i.e. psyche and action are inseparable from each other. From here Pieron concluded that all psychological terms and concepts should be considered from two sides - as externally observable actions and as internal subjective states (mental phenomena, human experiences). Pieron's ideas made it possible to approach the problem of subjective and objective methods of observation differently.

The main research methods in psychology - as in natural science in general - are observation and experiment . In psychology, each of these general methods appears in various forms; There are different types of observation and experiment. Specific research methods of psychology include methods testing, survey, analysis of activity products. Also widely used in psychology methods mathematical modeling, statistical analysis And etc. (Fig. 3).

The observation method is the deliberate, systematic and purposeful perception of a person’s external behavior for the purpose of its subsequent analysis and explanation.. Objective observation in psychology is aimed not at external actions in themselves, but at their psychological content; here the external side of activity is only the initial material of observation, which must receive its psychological interpretation and be comprehended within the framework of a certain theory.

The success of observation and explanation of its results ultimately depends on the state of knowledge in the field under study. Based on a certain understanding of the nature of the phenomenon being studied, a hypothesis is put forward about its dependence on specific factors and their manifestation in external behavior. The hypothesis is tested during observation and can be confirmed, clarified, or refuted. “Objective observation becomes scientifically fruitful insofar as it is associated with the establishment and testing of hypotheses.”

Watching how scientific method must meet a number of requirements. It must be selective, those. proceed from a clearly defined goal, highlight a certain fragment of the reality being studied. Observation must be planned Andsystematic , those. be built on the basis of a plan and carried out on reading a certain period of time. It is important to record the behavior being studied in as much detail as possible, i.e. necessary completeness observations.

The objectivity of the observation method increases if the researcher uses technical means, such as a video recorder. In such an observation, the researcher takes a completely outside position, or even completely removes himself from the situation. It is no coincidence that the ideal version of the observation method in psychology was considered to be observation using a “Gesell mirror”, transmitting light in one direction: the researcher could see everything that was happening while remaining invisible. A similar effect can be achieved using a VCR. In other words, a special task is set to achieve the effect absence of a researcher, make sure that the subjects do not know that they are being observed and behave naturally, as under normal conditions

The fundamental difficulty of objective observation in psychology is associated with unambiguity understanding, interpretation, explanation of external factors of behavior in psychological concepts. The results of observation are significantly affected by the level of experience and qualifications of the observer. In other words, external observation can be objective in relation to the systematic and complete recording of behavioral facts, but subjective in their psychological interpretation. This difficulty can be overcome by using other objective methods of psychology.

In pedagogical practice, the teacher rarely uses the method of external observation in its pure form. Pedagogical activity excludes an outside position, the position of an impartial, objective and disinterested observer. At the same time, in the process of activity, the teacher notices certain features of the behavior of schoolchildren, and by external manifestations judges the psychological reasons, the emotional state, the peculiarities of perception and understanding of the material, difficulties, etc. The desire to record the psychological characteristics of students during activities, try to comprehend them, and use them in their work leads to the formation of an important professional quality in a teacher - observation skills .

Experimental method is the main method of explanatory psychology. Let us recall that psychology acquired the status of an independent science simultaneously with the experimental method. The main task of a psychological experiment, like observation, is to make the essential features of the internal mental process accessible to objective external perception. But experiment differs from observation in a number of features.

S.L. Rubinstein identifies four main features of the experiment. Firstly, in an experiment the researcher himself causes the phenomenon he is studying in contrast to observation, in which the observer cannot actively intervene in the situation. Secondly, the experimenter can vary, change flow conditions and manifestations of the process being studied. Third, possible in experiment alternate exclusion of individual conditions (variables) in order to establish natural connections that determine the process being studied. Fourthly, the experiment also allows you to vary the quantitative ratio of the conditions, allows mathematical processing of data obtained in the study .

There are three types of psychological experiments: laboratory, natural and formative (psychological-pedagogical).

Laboratory psychological experiment occurs under specially created and controlled conditions, usually using special equipment and devices. The initial object of a laboratory experiment in psychology was elementary mental processes: sensations, perceptions, reaction speed. A distinctive feature of the experiment in the laboratory is strict adherence to the research conditions and the accuracy of the data obtained. Cognitive psychology, which studies human cognitive processes, has achieved great perfection in the use of laboratory experiments. Cognitive processes have constituted a major area of ​​laboratory research in human psychology.

The scientific objectivity and practical significance of the data obtained in a laboratory experiment is reduced artificiality created conditions. This is due both to the remoteness of the problems solved in the experiment from the real life conditions of the subject, and to the impossibility of recording the nature of the experimenter’s influence on the subject during the study. Therefore, the problem arises of transferring data obtained in the laboratory to real conditions of human life. In other words, Does the experimental situation simulate the essential conditions of human life? This question always remains open in laboratory psychological research. The use of a laboratory experiment in real teaching activities, due to its artificiality, abstractness, and labor intensity, is actually not practiced.

Natural psychology experiment removes the noted limitations of the laboratory experiment. The idea of ​​conducting a psychological experiment in natural conditions human life activity belongs to the domestic psychologist A.F. Lazursky. The natural experiment grew out of teaching practice; here it gained recognition and widespread use.

A.F. Lazursky (1874-1917) - Russian doctor and psychologist; developed “characterology” - the psychological concept of individual differences and built a system of classification of personalities (“General and Experimental Psychology”, 1912).

Its main difference lies in the combination of experimental research with the naturalness of the conditions. The researcher’s influence on the subjects, based on a preliminary assumption (hypothesis) about his character, is carried out in the usual conditions of activity or behavior. Subjects participating in a natural experiment are unaware that they are being tested.

Pedagogical practice provides great opportunities for the use of natural experiment. Real pedagogical activity is carried out, as a rule, in several parallels and is cyclical. The teacher can vary the content, methods, forms, and techniques of teaching in different classes and study the nature of the influence of these changes on the characteristics of students’ assimilation of the material, on the pace of progress in studying the subject, on the characteristics of understanding, memorization, emotional attitude of students to what they are studying, etc.

An experiment in natural conditions of the pedagogical process is combined with observation of the progress and results of its course. The combination of experiment and observation under teaching conditions gives good results for the psychological study of schoolchildren.

The famous psychologist S.L. Rubinstein wrote: “We study the child by teaching him. For this purpose, we do not abandon experimentation in favor of observing the pedagogical process, but introduce elements of pedagogical influence into the experiment itself, building the study according to the type of experimental lesson. When teaching a child, we do not strive to fix the stage or level at which the child is, but to help him move from this stage to the next higher stage. In this advancement, we are studying the patterns of development of the child’s psyche.”

It can be assumed that the use of natural experiment opportunities by teachers contributes to the rapid growth of their professional skills, the formation of pedagogical thinking, and fosters a creative attitude towards their activities. Well-known innovative teachers in our country - Sh.A. Amonashvili, I.P. Volkov, I.P. Ivanov, E.N. Ilyin, S.N. Lysenkova, V.F. Shatalov and others - have achieved significant success in teaching and educating schoolchildren through creative experimentation in everyday work conditions.

Formative experiment - This is a method for studying the mental development of children in the conditions of a specially organized experimental pedagogical process. The essence of this experiment is manifested in its names: transformative, creative, educational, educational, psychological-pedagogical, method of active formation of the psyche, genetic modeling.

The researcher is not limited to studying the existing forms of the psyche, recording and explaining the mental development achieved by students, which is typical for a ascertaining (laboratory) experiment. Based on a preliminary theoretical analysis of the patterns of mental development of children of a certain age or the conditions and nature of the formation of the most important human abilities, a hypothetical model of the formation of the studied abilities is constructed in specially designed conditions, as a rule, in experimental classes or schools.

The implementation of the developed model is carefully monitored and assessed by specialists of various profiles - teachers, psychologists, methodologists, doctors, etc. During the experiment, patterns, mechanisms, dynamics, and trends in the mental development of schoolchildren are revealed. The results of the experiment make it possible to confirm, clarify or refute the previously developed model of the development of the ability being studied.

In the formative experiment myself the pedagogical process becomes experimental. In psychological experimental research, new forms of the teaching and educational process are searched for and designed, a kind of “cultivation” of productive forms of cooperation between teachers and schoolchildren is carried out, and at the same time, promising paths of mental development are studied at a certain age stage.

P.Ya.Galperin (1902-1988) - domestic psychologist, student of L.S. Vygotsky; creator of the theory of the gradual formation of mental actions.

In the formative experiment, patterns of development of cognitive abilities in preschoolers were established (research by P.Ya. Galperin, L.F. Obukhova, G.I. Minskaya, N.N. Poddyakov, L.A. Venger, A.V. Zaporozhets and others ), features and conditions of the transition from preschool to school childhood (research by E.E. Shuleshko and others), the possibility and feasibility of developing junior schoolchildren the foundations of scientific and theoretical thinking and the determining significance for this content and teaching methods (research by V.V. Davydov, D.B. Elkonin and others). Formative experiment has become the main method of domestic educational psychology. Its advantages are its focus on student development in the educational process, the theoretical validity of the experimental model for organizing this process, and the duration of the study, which guarantees the validity and reliability of the data obtained.

D.B. Elkonin (1904-1984) - domestic psychologist, student of L.S. Vygotsky; creator of the psychological theory of children's play and periodization of mental development in childhood.

An important advantage of the formative experiment is a new type of scientificity in pedagogical practice - design and software , whose focus is not so much the study of what is, what has developed and exists, but rather the construction, creation, “growing” of the possible, the future, the promising. An indispensable condition for the deployment of a formative psychological and pedagogical experiment is anticipation of possible consequences, responsibility of researchers for the course and results of the experiment , for the subjects participating in it.

Objective methods of psychology also include testing, used for purposes psychological diagnostics , to recognize or assess states, characteristics, characteristics of a particular person, group of people, a particular mental function, etc. In this regard a test is like an experiment. They are also united by the fact that both methods represent a system of tasks offered by the researcher to the subject. The true relationship between experiment and test is that test grows out of experiment , created on its basis.

Testing is a method of psychological diagnostics that uses standardized questions and tasks (tests) that have a certain scale of values.

The methodological basis of objective methods of psychology is the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity. This group includes the following methods:

Observation (continuous, selective);

Experiment (laboratory, natural, formative);

Testing (achievements, abilities, professional suitability, etc.);

Analysis of activity products (graphological, content analysis, analysis of drawings, etc.);

Survey (questionnaire, conversation, interview);

Mathematical modeling and statistical analysis.

Stage 1 (5th century BC) - the subject of study was the soul. Ideas about the soul were both idealistic and materialistic. The idealist Plato, for example, considered the soul immaterial, invisible, incorruptible, and the materialists Heraclitus and Democritus considered it a particle of nature, an atom of fire, that is, material. Further, as a result of the struggle between these two directions, idealism became the basis of religion, and materialism was prohibited (until the 17th century). During this period, the soul began to be viewed as something independent of the body, as a special entity. The duality of the soul - dualism (lat. dialia - dual) in its most developed form was presented in the teachings of Rene Descartes (1596-1650).
The 2nd stage (XVII century) was marked by the rapid development of the natural sciences and consciousness became the subject of psychology. It was understood as the ability to feel, desire, think. The material world was not studied. The method of studying consciousness has become introspection, that is, introspection, self-awareness, and scientific direction became known as introspective psychology. The representative of this trend was the English scientist John Locke (1632-1704). Within the framework of introspective psychology, the first experimental psychological laboratory was created in 1879 in Leipzig by Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920). This event marked the emergence of the experimental method in psychology, and 1879 became the year of the birth of scientific psychology. The onset of criticism of introspection (the inability to simultaneously perform an action and analyze it; ignoring the unconscious, etc.) prepared the transition to the next stage.
Stage 3 (19th century) - in connection with advances in medicine, experiments on animals, etc., behavior becomes the subject of psychology (American scientist John Watson (1878-1958), etc.). A powerful scientific direction in American psychology emerged, which was called behaviorism. Behavior was explained by the nature of the stimulus that causes the reaction (behavior): (S - R) stimulus - reaction. At this time, a number of attempts appear to explain behavior not by stimuli, but by other factors. This is how the basic psychological concepts emerge:
- Gestalt psychology - Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967), Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) (subject of study - features of perception);
- psychoanalysis and neo-Freudianism - Sigmund Freud (1856-1939), Carl Gustav Jung (1875 -1961), Alfred Adler (1870-1937) (subject of study - the unconscious);
- cognitive psychology- Ulrich Naiser, Jerome Simon Bruner (subject of study - cognitive processes);
- genetic psychology - Jean Piaget (1896-1980) (subject - development of thinking).
The foundations of domestic scientific psychology were also laid at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. The formation of “reflexology” is taking place - Vladimir Mikhailovich Bekhterev (1857-1927), Boris Gerasimovich Ananyev (1829-1905).
The 4th stage (XX century) is marked by the emergence in domestic psychology of a dialectical-materialist concept, which was based on the philosophical theory of reflection (the subject of study is the psyche) - Pavel Petrovich Blonsky (1884-1941), Konstantin Nikolaevich Kornilov (1879-1957). One of the most important directions that emerged in the 20-30s was the “cultural-historical theory” developed by Lev Semenovich Vygotsky (1896-1934), then the psychological theory of activity associated with the name of Alexei Nikolaevich Leontiev (1903-1979 ) (subject - mental activity).
Humanistic psychology appears in the West - Carl Rogers (1902-1987), Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) (subject - personality traits). In the 60s of the XX century. A new direction is attracting attention - transpersonal psychology (Stanislav Grof), which studies the ultimate capabilities of the human psyche.
Integration currently underway different directions. Psychologists use concepts and methods of one direction or another, depending on the characteristics of the problems and tasks being solved. There is no single idea about the subject of psychology.

Modern psychological science consists of a number of relatively independent scientific disciplines, or industries that form its structure (Table 1.3).

Table 1.3. Contents of individual psychological disciplines

Name of discipline	What does he study?
General psychology	Theoretical basis psychology, defines the basic concepts of this science (psychology cognitive processes and personality psychology)
Psychophysiology	A science that arose at the intersection of two sciences - psychology and physiology. She explores the relationship between mental phenomena and their bodily manifestations
Age-related psychology	Features of changes in the psyche as a person develops and matures
Pedagogical psychology	Patterns of training and education
Medical psychology	The psyche of a sick person, as well as the characteristics of borderline states between health and illness
Social Psychology	studies the psychological mechanisms of the influence of society (communities) on human behavior and consciousness, studies the interaction of people in groups, teams, the position of the individual in them, problems of leadership and subordination
Psychodiagnostics	Develops methods that make it possible to study the human psyche, and to do this as validly and reliably as possible
Psychotherapy	Engaged in searching for and improving methods of treating people using psychological methods, without the use of pharmacological drugs

There are also branches of psychology associated with certain areas of human activity: military psychology, sports psychology, engineering psychology, legal psychology, space psychology, etc.

Comparative psychology studies the patterns of mental development in phylogenesis.

Age-related psychology studies the patterns of human mental development in ontogenesis, the main stages of its development, critical and sensitive periods. In developmental psychology, the following are distinguished: childhood psychology, adolescence psychology, youth psychology, adulthood psychology (acmeology), psychology of aging and old age (gerontopsychology).

Differential psychology explores individual psychological differences between people. These may be differences in temperament, character, abilities, cognitive styles, behavioral motivation, etc. The main tasks are to develop norms and standards in accordance with a person’s age and gender.

Pedagogical psychology studies the psychological foundations of training and education. It is closely related to developmental and differential psychology, since one of its important tasks is the individualization of training in accordance with the age and individual characteristics of the students. The most important task of educational psychology is the formation of a harmonious personality based on a combination of mental, moral, aesthetic, physical education, and the formation of an outlook.

Engineering psychology develops principles of coordination technical devices(machines, devices, etc.) with the characteristics of mental processes, functions and properties of a person, trying to ensure maximum reliability and efficiency of monitoring and control systems and reduce the cost of human labor. The issue becomes especially acute when a person has to work in conditions emotional stress, increased responsibility, lack of time or information.

Labor psychology studies the psychological foundations and structure of work activity, its dynamics and regulatory mechanisms. This discipline examines the psychological factors of efficiency and quality of work. Labor psychology identifies professionally important personality traits in relation to different professions, solves problems professional selection and vocational training.

Social Psychology studies the psychological mechanisms of the influence of society (communities) on human behavior and consciousness, studies the interaction of people in groups, teams, the individual’s position in them, problems of leadership and subordination. Important issues social psychology is the study of psychological mechanisms of formation public opinion, problems of mass communications. IN last years in line with the social psychological research Problems of ethical communities, national traditions and behavioral stereotypes began to be actively developed.

Legal psychology- a branch of psychology that studies the relationship between man and law. Its main problems are the study of the personality of the criminal, the formation of the motivation for the crime, and the psychological foundations of the re-education of offenders. Legal psychology also studies the psychology of the victim, the psychology of testimony, and the psychological aspects of the investigation.

Clinical psychology- a broad-profile specialty that is intersectoral in nature and involved in solving a set of problems in the healthcare system, public education and social assistance to the population. The work of a clinical psychologist is aimed at increasing a person’s psychological resources and adaptive capabilities, harmonizing mental development, protecting health, preventing and overcoming illnesses, and psychological rehabilitation. (For more information, see the section “Clinical Psychology”).

Principle determinism, causation mental activity.
There are no causeless phenomena in the world. This also applies to the psyche. Any mental act of an animal or a person has its own reason. The mental activity of people is determined by the social conditions of their life, the characteristics of their upbringing and activities. Scientific psychology is not limited to a simple description of mental phenomena, it necessarily looks for the reasons for their occurrence. The method of introspection, which empirical psychology of the 19th century. considered the main thing, it helped science very little, since it did not allow us to reveal the objective causes of people’s mental activity.

The principle of mental development.
Human mental activity cannot be fully understood if it is studied statically, without movement and development. Thus, it is impossible to understand the behavior of an adult without taking into account his life history. It is also impossible to explain the peculiarities of the human psyche by ignoring the prehistory of human consciousness - the psyche of animals. Scientific psychology understands development not only in quantitative, but also in qualitative terms. Thus, the mental activity of a student is qualitatively different from the mental activity of a child preschool age. A student not only knows more and has more skills and abilities than a child. His knowledge, skills, experiences, actions, relationships with people are different from those of a preschooler. General psychology, studying the psyche mainly of adults, uses data obtained by child psychology to prove a number of positions, for example, data on the development of individual mental processes in a child - sensations, perceptions, etc. One of the methods general psychology- biographical - allows you to study a person’s personality in its development.

The principle of the leading role of activity in the development of the psyche.
The human psyche, being a subjective reflection of the objective world, develops in the process of active interaction between a person and other people, in various types his activities, starting from the simplest games of a child and ending with the creative work of an adult. Outside of human activity there can be no development of his psyche - the most important component of activity. Therefore, among the methods of psychology there should be methods that allow a comprehensive psychological analysis of a person’s performance of various mental and practical tasks characteristic of a particular activity (game, educational, labor, organizational, etc.).

The principle of the unity of human mental activity.
The human psyche, his subjective world, is a single, indivisible whole, a product of the systemic activity of the brain, in which a psychologist, only for the purpose of research, to a certain extent artificially distinguishes various mental processes, states and properties. When studying individual manifestations of the psyche and consciousness, the researcher must remember the whole, the individual, see the mutual connections and dependencies between perception, thinking, memory, feelings, interests, attitudes of a person and specifically study them. The principle of unity of consciousness is especially important to observe in a laboratory experiment, when, due to the peculiarities of this method, the psychologist is distracted from many aspects of the personality of the person he is studying, except for the one that he is studying.

The principle of objectivity in the study of the psyche.
The most important requirement of any science is the objectivity of the research and its accuracy. This means that the scientist should not bring anything of his own into the phenomena being studied, but should study them as they really are. But is it possible to objectively study the subjective world of man? Is it possible to learn about the thoughts, feelings, desires of other people? Many psychologists consider the subjective world of a person to be unknowable or knowable only to the extent that the subject himself can judge it. Scientific psychology believes that the mental life of people (and animals) is as knowable as all phenomena of reality. A person’s experiences, his thoughts and desires can be judged by his actions, the content and nature of his speech, the results (products) of his activities, i.e. objectively. Russian psychology uses several methods for objective research of the human psyche; the main ones are observation and experiment.

The principle of concreteness in the study of the psyche.
A person lives and develops in the specific conditions of family, school, production, etc. He establishes very specific relationships with people, which significantly influences behavior and mental development this man. The principle of specificity requires the psychologist to choose research methods that would allow him to study a person’s personality in specific, defined conditions of his life. Compliance with this principle is mandatory when studying the holistic behavior of an individual, for example when

The psyche and the human body (and animals) are inextricably linked, and this is confirmed by the fact that without the brain it cannot exist, because it is the brain’s ability to receive various information about the environment, it forms a reaction to this data - our behavior. The work of the psyche occurs only during active human activity, during which it can be adjusted: improved, become more complex. It directly depends on the brain: the more complex it is, the higher the mental abilities. That is why there is such a big difference between the psyche of an animal and a person: many sensations, feelings, emotions that are accessible to people remain unattainable for animals.

The direct connection between the psyche and the brain allows us to determine that the psyche and the body are interdependent: for example, when a person receives a signal about a threat (and the level of danger and what needs to be done at that moment is determined with the help of the psyche and depends on its structure), then the level adrenaline in the blood rises, the heartbeat quickens and the person is ready for rapid mobilization. Those. Here the direct influence of the psyche on processes in the human body is manifested. But the body and its condition also influence the psyche with the help of the brain: for example, a lack of B vitamins can put a person into a state of depression, when he will give negative assessments of the phenomena around him, which are actually neutral.

reflection function, promoting knowledge of the surrounding world;

The function is regulatory, giving the opportunity to regulate one’s actions and behavior.

function of maintaining the integrity of the body (Maklakov).

The functions are interconnected and are elements of the integrative function of the psyche, which is to ensure the adaptation of a living organism to environmental conditions.

Stages of mental development: Leontiev A.N. – 3 stages

The stage of the elementary sensitive (sensory) psyche - reflects one property of an object or phenomenon that directly affects the senses (a bee flies to the smell).

The stage of the perceptual psyche – reflects an object or phenomenon in a set of properties in the form of an image.

Stage of intellectual behavior ( elementary thinking) – the animal mentally establishes connections between objects in a given situation, but cannot reflect the situation in concepts.

Fabry, omitted the 3rd stage and proposed introducing levels (lowest, highest, highest) at the 1st and 2nd stages:

Stages and levels of mental reflection, its characteristics	Features of behavior associated with this stage and level	Types of living beings that have reached this level of development
I. Stage of elementary sensory psyche
A. Lowest level. Primitive elements of sensitivity. Developed irritability	A. Clear reactions to biologically significant properties of the environment through changes in speed and direction of movement. Elementary forms of movement. Weak plasticity of behavior. Unformed ability to respond to biologically neutral, devoid of vital significance properties of the environment. Weak, unfocused motor activity	A. Protozoa. Many lower multicellular organisms living in aquatic environments
B. Highest level. The presence of sensations. The appearance of the most important organ of manipulation - the jaws. Ability to form elementary conditioned reflexes	B. Clear reactions to biological neutral stimuli. Developed motor activity (crawling, digging in the ground, swimming with exit from the water to land). The ability to avoid environmental conditions, get away from them, and actively search for positive stimuli. Individual experience and learning play a small role. Rigid innate programs are of primary importance in behavior.	B. Higher (annelid) worms, gastropods (snails), some other invertebrates
II. Perceptual psyche stage
A. Low level. Reflection of external reality in the form of images of objects. Integration, unification of influencing properties into a holistic image of a thing. The main organ of manipulation is the jaws	A. Formation of motor skills. Rigid, genetically programmed components predominate. Motor abilities are very complex and varied (diving, crawling, walking, running, jumping, climbing, flying, etc.). Active search positive stimuli, avoidance of negative (harmful) ones, developed protective behavior	A. Fish and other lower vertebrates, as well as (to some extent) some higher invertebrates (arthropods and cephalopods). Insects.
B. Highest level. Elementary forms of thinking (problem solving). Developing a certain “picture of the world”	B. Highly developed instinctive forms of behavior. Learning ability	B. Higher vertebrates (birds and some mammals)
IN. Highest level. Identification of a special, orientation-research, preparatory phase in practical activities. The ability to solve the same problem using different methods. Transferring the once found principle for solving a problem to new conditions. Creation and use of primitive tools. The ability to understand the surrounding reality, regardless of existing biological needs. Direct consideration and consideration of cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena in practical actions (insight)	B. Identification of specialized organs of manipulation: paws and arms. Development research forms behavior with extensive use of previously acquired knowledge, skills and abilities	B. Monkeys, some other higher vertebrates (dogs, dolphins)

Mental processes- this is the form of existence of the psyche. After all, the psyche is not static, like a frozen photograph. It is formed during the interaction of the individual with the environment and, therefore, should be considered in dynamics, in action, in development. Mental processes are included in more complex species mental activity.

There are three classes mental processes:
- cognitive, or cognitive, providing a reflection of the surrounding world (sensations, perceptions, ideas, attention, memory, thinking, imagination);
- emotional-volitional, or processes of mental regulation, providing features of behavior and activity (sensory experiences, volitional efforts, motivation, goal setting, control processes, decision making);
- communicative, ensuring the interaction of people both when performing joint actions and in situations interpersonal communication(non-verbal and verbal communication).

Mental states characterize the functioning of the psyche at the current moment in time according to the criteria of performance, intensity, speed, quality, etc. In the structure of personality, this is a more static and stable characteristic of the psyche compared to mental processes.

Mental conditions differ in a number of characteristics. In particular, on:
- level and form of emotionality (emotional: shame, sadness, aggressiveness, joy, etc.);
- level of intensity (activation);
- level of psychophysiological resource (tonic);
- level of mental stress (tension);
- duration of the state (temporary);
- sign of condition (favorable, unfavorable).

Mental properties of a person are stable and constantly manifested characteristics of a person that determine the characteristics of his behavior and activities. Properties are inherent in a person throughout a large period of his life or even his entire life.

Between mental processes, states and properties there is a close relationship. For example, the properties of temperament or character largely predetermine a particular mental state in a particular situation. And in general, this relationship is much more complex than we imagine it at this stage of human development. Very important, one might say fantastic, phenomena and patterns are still waiting to be discovered here. In the meantime, we can only say that the psyche is the result of the “tireless labor” of the cosmos, which is still mysterious to humanity. It is included in a single chain of macrocosmic processes, solar system and planet Earth. The psyche is influenced, for example, by the solar system with the insidiousness of its “flares”, accompanied by increased excitability of people.

All this suggests that the study of the psyche cannot be separated from the knowledge of processes in near (immediate) and distant (world) space. The relevance of this position increases due to the fact that man increasingly fences himself off from this space by creating a “second” nature, leaving the “first”, natural one, only for the purposes of recreation.

Concepts of consciousness and activity- key categories of psychological science. The systematic development of this principle in Soviet psychology began in the 30s (S.L. Rubinshtein, A.NLeontyev, B.Gananyev, B.M.Teplov, etc.).

SL. Rubinstein was the first to put forward the position of the unity of consciousness and activity, behavior. He wrote that “activity and consciousness are not two aspects facing in different directions. They form an organic whole - not identity, but unity."

Although at that time this principle was not yet correlated with the principle of development, nevertheless it immediately acquired important methodological significance. It stated that there can be no activity without consciousness and no consciousness without activities - Topics This protected the position of the possibility of studying consciousness through activity and opened the way for an objective study of the psyche and consciousness: from activity and its products to the mental processes revealed in it. Thus, the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity becomes the basis of all objective methods of psychology.

The development of the psyche in phylogenesis is the qualitative changes in the psyche that occur within the framework of the evolutionary development of living beings, due to the complication of their interaction with the environment.
Philosophers' views on who has a psyche:
- Pan-psychism (psychism is inherent in everything)
- Anthropopsychism (psyche only in humans) - Descartes
- Biopsychism (the psyche of all living things, including plants) - Wundt
- Neuropsychism (psyche only in those who have a nervous system) - Darwin
- Brainpsychism (psyche only in those who have a brain) - K.K. Platonov
- Sensopsychism (only those who have a psyche have sensory system– the ability to respond to vitally insignificant environmental stimuli) (Leontyev)
With the emergence of life on Earth, large molecules appeared that had the hallmark of life, that is, they absorbed nutrients and got rid of decay products. This property is called irritability - the body’s reaction to biologically significant properties of the environment that are directly involved in metabolic processes.
Irritability is not mental, irritability is a biological reaction.
The psyche arises when sensitivity appears - the body’s reaction to biologically insignificant (abiotic, biologically neutral) properties of the environment.
With the disappearance of the immediate environment of nutrients, a living organism arose a need to detect them at a distance, and thus the beginnings of sensitivity arose, that is, the psyche as the ability to signal the body about positive and negative reactions.
Stages of development of the psyche:
1) Tropisms (taxis had them, i.e. the first single-celled creatures) - level of irritability
phototropism (to light)
thermotropism (temperature)
chemotropisms (on the physical biological environment)
topotropism (due to mechanical influences)
2) Reflexes - point automatic reactions to irritation of certain receptors or sensory organs.
3) Instincts are innate, immutable forms behavior that is the same in individuals of the same type.
4) Learning – acquiring life experience through trial and error.
5) Intellectual behavior - solving life problems without preliminary trial and error through insight (insight). (See Keller “On experiments in the study of great apes”)

Basic concepts of functional brain asymmetry

Functional asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres is the morphophysiological characteristics of cerebral structures that determine the dominance of the hemisphere when processing information of a certain type. It manifests itself in the difference in functional loads performed by the symmetrical parts of the hemispheres.

At the same time, a lack of stability in the asymmetry of the human cerebral hemispheres has been established. With unilateral lesions, the opposite hemisphere, forming new connections between the projection fields, is able to take over the performance of lost functions. Functional asymmetry is considered as the ability of a person’s cerebral adaptation to changing conditions in normal and pathological conditions.

Features of asymmetry of the cerebral hemispheres

The distribution of functional responsibilities between the hemispheres is genetically determined. However, under the influence of social factors it undergoes changes, functional asymmetry brain; briefly describing the work of the hemispheres regarding simple functions(the work of the sense organs and striated skeletal muscles), scientists consider it as conditionally equipotential. The symmetrical sections of the hemispheres provide movement and specific sensitivity equally. However, such averaging does not apply to higher cortical functions, emotions, activation and adaptation processes. Neurophysiologists classify interhemispheric asymmetry of the brain into:

· anatomical (expressed in the morphological heterogeneity of the hemispheres);

· biochemical (manifested by differences in cellular reactions, content of neurotransmitters);

· psychophysiological (motor, sensory, cognitive-emotional).

Functional interhemispheric asymmetry of the brain ensures that the left hemisphere is responsible for analyzing verbal information, and the right hemisphere is responsible for processing spatial and figurative patterns. The dominant part is considered to be the part that provides the function of phasis (speech), control of the most frequently used hand. For most people (right-handed), the left hemisphere is dominant. In left-handers, the right hemisphere is dominant. There is a small group of people with the same ability to dexterously use their right and left hands. This feature is called ambidexterity. It can be either congenital or acquired.

People with a predominant influence of the right hemisphere are prone to contemplation, memories and subtle deep sensitivity. The mental processes of the right hemisphere are carried out by the initial mechanism of synthesis followed by analysis. The right hemisphere predominates when it is necessary to think concretely and perform emotional activities. The right hemisphere provides: musical hearing, emotional coloring speeches; holistic perception of images; spatial-intuitive information processing. concrete thinking, visual perception and recognition.

The left hemisphere specializes in the mechanisms of inductive intellectual activity (the initial process of analysis followed by the synthesis of information). It is dominant for abstract, symbolic thinking. The left hemisphere determines: operating with logical and abstract concepts; consistent mental activity; local perception of images; verbal-symbolic functions; establishing similarities and identities.

Group of methods objective psychology is most in demand when organizing psychological research. The main methods of the group are rightfully recognized as observation and experiment. Auxiliary research methods include: testing, survey, analysis of activity products. Methods of mathematical modeling and statistical analysis have also found wide application in psychology.

The observation method is the deliberate, systematic and purposeful perception of a person’s external behavior for the purpose of its subsequent analysis and explanation.

Observation is an independent method, but most often it is used in combination with some other method. For example, observation can be a complement to experiment. The essence of observation is to notice all the little things, to monitor the implementation certain activities, the development of the situation, systematize and group the facts.

Depending on the position of the researcher in relation to the subject being studied, a distinction is made between included and non-involved observation.

Participant observation is the perception of a phenomenon from the inside, when the researcher becomes a member of the organization for the duration of observation. Non-participant observation is observation from the outside.

There are also exploratory and standardized observations. In exploratory observation, the task is to detect, highlight, and unambiguously describe the signs of observation. After identifying the features, they are analyzed. In a standardized observation, a set of signs is already specified in the instructions.

For example, let's say you're looking at school anxiety. What are its obvious signs? One of the most striking signs is ordinary trembling. In a state of anxious excitement, not only the hands, but also the muscles tremble. vocal cords, which gives the voice a characteristic uneven intonation. Another sign of anxiety is redness or paleness of the face (the so-called vascular, or vasomotor, reaction). A person who is worried often has hesitations in speech: a syntactic and intonation error in pronouncing a phrase or a slip of the tongue.

Let us denote the weight of each feature. So, let’s agree that we will award 3 points for pronounced tremors, 2 points for pronounced vasomotor function (vzm), and 1 point for a single speech hesitation (speech hesitation). Then a fragment of a typical observation protocol will look like this:

Thus, at this observation period, Petrov received 7 points on the “exam anxiety” scale, and Sidorov received 6 points. 46

Often in practice, based on the false idea that observation is the simplest method, observers resort to spontaneous and unorganized observation under the motto “We need to take a closer look, maybe we’ll see something.” Such unorganized observation is unscientific. With a correct, scientific approach to observation, it is characterized by a number of features that make it effective:

• 1. Presence of purpose and subject of observation. We must answer the question of what we are watching and for what purpose.
• 2. The presence of a procedural observation scheme that is the same for all objects of observation. It is advisable to plan to observe no more than seven objects simultaneously in one session.
• 3. Presence of signs of observation.

One of the main disadvantages of observation is the subjective perception of the one who organizes the observation. How to avoid subjectivity in observation? For this purpose, observation is usually carried out by at least two independent observers. In this case, either all observers simultaneously perform “live” observation or view video recordings. Errors due to fluctuations in attention, misinterpretation of instructions on any basis, made by one expert, will be corrected in agreement with the results of other experts.

Experiment (from Latin - test, experience) is a method of cognition with the help of which phenomena of reality are studied under controlled and controlled conditions.

Modern science uses various types of experiments. Among the huge number of experiments of various types, two of the most famous and widespread can be identified: natural (field) and laboratory experiments.

The idea of ​​conducting a natural experiment belongs to the domestic psychologist A.F. Lazursky. A natural experiment is carried out in natural conditions of human life. People participating in a natural experiment are unaware that they are being tested.

A laboratory experiment is carried out under specially created and controlled conditions, usually using special equipment and instruments. A distinctive feature of laboratory experiments is strict adherence to research conditions and the accuracy of the data obtained. The scientific objectivity and practical significance of the data obtained in a laboratory experiment is reduced by artificiality created conditions. Therefore, the problem arises of transferring data obtained in the laboratory to real conditions of human life. In other words: does the experimental situation simulate real life person? This question always remains open.

Planning and organization of the experiment.

The planning and organization of the experiment have a decisive influence on the quality of the results obtained. An experimental design is a design that asks the researcher to perform certain procedures and not others.

When designing and conducting an experiment, two or more factors or variables are compared. The condition (factor) that is changed and controlled by the researcher is called an independent variable. A condition whose change is studied (observed) in connection with changes in an independent variable is called a dependent variable.

For the normal course of the experiment, its purity and correctness of the results, it is important to identify independent and dependent variables and exclude the influence of any other factors. Most psychological experiments cannot be carried out in "sterile" laboratory conditions, therefore, the presence of uncontrolled, random factors cannot be excluded. It is also necessary to take into account distortions that may arise during the experiment due to the influence of the experimenter himself.

If the experimental plan is completed successfully and appropriate measurements are taken, the researcher begins to process the data obtained. This involves presenting the results in the form of tables, graphs, diagrams, diagrams, drawings, which allow one to interpret the collected data, analyze and identify certain dependencies, draw conclusions, and develop recommendations.

Thus, a scientific experiment involves the following eight stages:

• 1. Goal setting and problem definition.
• 2. Analysis of available information, conditions, theoretical models and applied methods that can solve the identified problem.

H. Formulating a hypothesis.

• 4. Planning and organization of the experiment.
• 5. Analysis and generalization of the results obtained.
• 6. Testing the initial hypothesis based on the results obtained and the final formulation of new facts or relationships.
• 7. Explanation of the problem and forecasting its further development.
• 8. Writing a research report.

None of the above steps, from problem formulation to report writing, should be underestimated.

The peculiarity of this method is that the source of information is a verbal message, the judgment of the interviewee. There are different types of survey:

• 1) survey - a set of questions or items ordered by content and form;
• 2) interview - oral conversation, face-to-face survey;
• 3) conversation - an exchange of opinions, a conversation between a psychologist and a respondent.

The quality of a survey largely depends on the extent to which respondents are able and willing to answer the questions asked sincerely. There are often cases when people refuse to give or deliberately distort their assessment of certain events and find it difficult to answer questions about the motives of their behavior.

It is very important how the questions are written. When preparing the questionnaire, you must proceed from the following rules for formulating questions:

• 1. the question must correspond to the goals and objectives of the study;
• 2. each question must be logically separate;

H. The wording of the question should be clear to all respondents, so highly technical terms should be avoided. Questions should be appropriate to the level of development of respondents, including the level of the least prepared;

• 4. you should not ask too long questions;
• 5. one should strive to ensure that the questions stimulate respondents to actively participate in the survey and increase their interest in the problem under study;
• 6. The question should not suggest an answer. It should be formulated neutrally;
• 7. A balance of possible positive and negative answers must be maintained. Otherwise, you can instill in the respondent the direction of the answers.

To more compactly arrange questions in a questionnaire, they are often presented in tabular form, although working with tables causes difficulties for some people.

Assessing the survey method as a whole, it can be noted that it is a means of primary orientation and preliminary reconnaissance. The data obtained from the survey outlines directions for further study of personality.

Interviews and conversations are a more “psychological” form of questioning than questioning, since in this case there is interaction between people. The most important condition for a successful conversation is to establish contact between the researcher and the respondent and to create a trusting atmosphere of communication. The researcher must win over the interviewee and encourage him to be frank.

Testing is a method that uses standardized questions and tasks that have a certain scale of values.

For a long time, tests were viewed critically in our country. After the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On pedological perversions in the Narkompros system” (1936), tests were banned in the USSR. The tests were criticized for their weak theoretical validity, for ignoring individual characteristics of a person, etc. It is now recognized that individual test methods should be criticized, but not the test method as such.

Developing a scientifically valid test is labor-intensive and time-consuming. Using tests in practical work requires special training. Unprofessional use of tests can cause harm to an individual due to a false interpretation of its data.

Performance analysis method, or projective method

Based on the symbolic transfer of the content of the inner world to the outer world.

In drawings, handwriting, plasticine crafts, playing with toys, choosing clothes, interior items, etc. a person seems to be replaying the impressions that he receives in life. Such activities are especially necessary for preschoolers. If some strong impressions are not played out, not drawn, i.e. not responded to, but suppressed, repressed into the sphere of the subconscious, they can turn into an inexplicable system of fears and anxieties, into a source of internal conflict.

The use of projective methods requires serious psychological preparation. In order to make informed conclusions about a person’s emotional state and his personal characteristics based on the analysis of drawings and handwriting features, a highly professional specialist is required.

Methods of mathematical statistics.

Mathematical methods in psychology are used as a means of increasing the reliability, objectivity, and accuracy of the knowledge obtained. These methods are mainly used at the stage of hypothesis formulation and substantiation, as well as when processing the data obtained in the study.

Mathematical methods are used in psychology not as independent methods, but are included as auxiliary ones at a certain stage of the experiment. These methods become necessary when in an experiment the researcher works simultaneously with several variables, with a set of hypotheses that involve the involvement of a large array of empirical data in the study.

A number of formal characteristics have quantitative certainty. However, most psychological phenomena, processes, and properties do not have such quantitative certainty. Often it is important for the researcher to determine not only their presence or absence, but the intensity of the manifestation. To do this, the researcher specifically attributes quantitative indicators to qualitative characteristics. This procedure is called classification or measurement.

The measurement tool is a scale that should organize the data. With the help of pre-developed scales, everything, even the most complex psychological phenomena, can be measured.

Psychologists traditionally use such methods of mathematical analysis as simple and combinational groupings, calculation of average values, regression, correlation, variance, factor and cluster analysis. We can safely say that modern psychology cannot do without methods developed in mathematics and statistics.

So, modern psychology uses a wide arsenal of methods. When choosing a specific method, it is important to determine the priority of the issue under study. The methods themselves are neither good nor bad, but they can be more or less useful in answering the questions posed. The method or combination of methods used must be selected so as to test the validity of the hypothesis or theory for a specific situation. The researcher must have accurate information about the variables and facts under study, their grouping, choose a research method and master it, study possible errors that arise due to objective and subjective reasons.

Table 1.