Free technical library

Experimental psychology. Lecture notes: briefly, the most important

Directory / Lecture notes, cheat sheets

Comments on the article

Table of contents

1. Experimental psychology as an independent science
2. Brief information on the history of the formation of experimental psychology
3. Ethical Principles for Conducting Psychological Research
4. General issues of methodological support of psychological research (General idea of ​​the methodology of science. Scientific research. Basic general scientific research methods. Classification of methods of psychological research)
5. Method of observation (Characteristics of observation as a method of psychological research. Organization of psychological observation. Observation program. Use of observation in psychological and pedagogical research)
6. Verbal-communicative methods (General characteristics of verbal-communicative methods. Conversation. Interview. Questioning. Use of verbal-communicative methods in psychological and pedagogical research)
7. Method of experiment (General characteristics of a psychological experiment. Types of a psychological experiment. The structure of a psychological experiment. Experimental variables and methods for their control. Validity and reliability of the experiment. Experimental samples. Experimental plans. Correlation studies)
8. Psychological measurement (Elements of the theory of psychological measurement. Measuring scales. Testing and theory of measurements)
9. Psychological testing. General characteristics of psychological testing. The emergence and development of the testing method. Classification of psychological tests. Standardization, reliability and validity of the test. Requirements for the development, verification and adaptation of test methods)
10. Data processing of psychological research (General idea of ​​data processing. Primary statistical data processing. Secondary statistical data processing)
11. Interpretation and presentation of the results of psychological research (Interpretation and generalization of research results. Forms of presentation of research results)

Introduction

1. Experimental psychology as an independent science

Application of the experimental method to the study of mental phenomena at the end of the XNUMXth century. played a decisive role in the development of psychology as an independent science and its separation from philosophy. During this period, all scientific psychology was experimental. Subsequently, in connection with the accumulation of psychological knowledge, the scientific fields of psychology were differentiated in accordance with the subject of their study, and experimental psychology began to be understood only as a general designation of various types of research into mental phenomena through experimental methods.

V.V. Nikandrov notes that currently there is a very difficult situation with the definition of the boundaries of experimental psychology and its place in the system of psychological knowledge. It has lost the status of an independent science.[1] This situation was also noted by B.G. Ananiev. He pointed out that, on the one hand, it would seem that there is a fundamental science of the methods of psychological research, the achievements of which can be used by all particular sections of psychology. But, on the other hand, the systematic and inevitable delegation of their "powers" to other disciplines fragmented experimental psychology, and its separate sections began an independent life in the private psychological sciences.[2]

In modern psychological dictionaries and reference books that define the concept of "experimental psychology", as a rule, the relative lack of independence of this scientific discipline is emphasized and there are no indications of its subject. For example, the most authoritative "Psychological Dictionary" gives the following definition:

"Experimental psychology is a general name for areas and sections of psychology in which the method of laboratory experiment is effectively applied."[3]

These trends are even clearer in another definition: "Experimental psychology is a general designation of various types of research into mental phenomena through experimental methods."[4] A similar understanding of experimental psychology exists in foreign psychology. P. Fress defines experimental psychology as follows: "Experimental psychology is the knowledge acquired in psychology through the application of the experimental method."[5] Some definitions speak of the need to develop methods within the framework of experimental psychology: "Experimental psychology - 1) the area of ​​psychological knowledge associated with experimental research of the psyche ... In experimental psychology, methods are developed for organizing and conducting a psychological experiment, as well as methods for processing and analyzing its results ; 2) experimental section of general psychology".[6]

V.N. Druzhinin identifies several approaches to understanding the subject of experimental psychology.

1. Experimental psychology as a truly scientific psychology based on a natural-scientific approach to the study of mental phenomena as opposed to philosophical, introspective psychology and other types of psychological knowledge. Representatives of this approach are W. Wundt, S. Stevens, P. Fress, J. Piaget and others. "This (experimental) method of cognition differs significantly from the method of philosophy, which is based on the obviousness of the provisions and requirements of reflective thinking ... Reasoning in philosophy obey the laws of thought, while in science (experimental psychology) this control is provided by empirical verification.

2. Experimental psychology as a system of methods and techniques implemented in specific studies. Representatives: G.I. Chelpanov, R. Gottsdanker and others. R. Gottsdanker believes that experimental psychology is the science of experimental methods that can be applied in any of the particular subject areas of psychology (the psychology of sensory processes, the psychology of learning, or the psychology of social impact). Therefore, all experimental psychology is methodical.[8]

3. Experimental psychology as a theory of psychological experiment, which is based on the general scientific theory of experiment and primarily includes planning and data processing. Representatives: D. Campbell, F. J. McGuigan and others. D. Campbell notes that one of the most important in psychology is "... issues of planning experiments, creating models of experiments in accordance with the requirements of the validity of scientific knowledge.".[9]

4. Experimental psychology as a field that studies the problems of methods of psychological research in general. Representatives: V.N. Druzhinin, D. Martin, R. Solso, H. Johnson, M. Beal, T.V. Kornilov and others V.N. Druzhinin emphasizes that the subject of experimental psychology is not only the experimental method, but also other types of theoretical and empirical knowledge in psychology.[10]

It is this understanding of experimental psychology that we will adhere to in what follows. It should be noted that with this approach, "experiment" is understood in the broadest sense as any method of psychological research, any empirical method. Despite the fact that the terms "experiment" and "empiricism (empiricism)" are translated from Greek in the same way - experience, their meanings in modern science are different. In the concept of "experiment" experience is considered as a specific method of research under precisely taken into account conditions. In the concept of "empiricism" experience is understood as a total set of accumulated knowledge and skills. Hence, the empirical method is any method of obtaining factual data about reality based on human experience. Thus, if we accept a broad interpretation of the concept of "experiment", then experimental psychology should rather be called "empirical psychology". However, in psychology, the term "empirical psychology" already has its own meaning and its own history, which does not allow it to be reused in a different meaning.

Nevertheless, an increasing number of non-experimental research methods are included in the circle of interests of experimental psychology. And now a certain tradition has developed to understand the experiment as a particular method of empirical knowledge, and experimental psychology - as a set of many empirical methods. Since many (if not most) empirical methods of psychology naturally include measurement procedures and analysis of measurement results, the area of ​​competence of experimental psychology now includes both the theory of measurements and knowledge of the processing (primarily statistical) of empirical data.

V.V. Nikandrov emphasizes that "if we talk about experimental psychology not only as a set of studies of mental life with the help of experimental methods, but also as a science that develops these methods, then we are faced with problems of theoretical elaboration of research methods."[11] After all, any research method is a practical implementation of the principles of this science. And principles are the fundamental beginning of any theory, concept. Thus, each method needs a general theoretical basis. On the other hand, any method is a system of procedures, operations, action algorithms, formalized rules for collecting, analyzing and processing information. Usually these operations and rules are united by the concept of "methodology". The development of the entire methodological system is a difficult theoretical work, which is carried out within the framework of experimental psychology.

The main tasks of experimental psychology are:

- formulation of methodological and theoretical foundations of research in psychology;

- development of experimental plans and empirical procedures;

- search for methods of analysis, interpretation and verification of the statistical significance of the results of psychological research;

- evaluation of the effectiveness of experimental procedures;

- assessment of the relationship between theoretical provisions and experimental data;

- development of ethical principles of psychological research;

- development of rules for presenting the results of psychological research.

Summing up, we can characterize the modern understanding of the term "experimental psychology" as follows: it is, firstly, a discipline that studies and develops a number of empirical methods of psychological research, and secondly, a generalized designation of research in various areas of psychology using these empirical methods.

In this manual, experimental psychology is understood as an independent scientific discipline that develops the theory and practice of psychological research and has as its main subject of study a system of psychological methods, among which the main attention is paid to empirical methods.

Such an interpretation of experimental psychology resolves the uncertainty of its place in the system of psychological knowledge, giving it the status of an independent science.

2. Brief information from the history of the formation of experimental psychology

Thousands of years of practical knowledge of the human psyche and centuries of philosophical reflection prepared the ground for the formation of psychology as an independent science. It takes place in the XNUMXth century. as a result of the introduction of the experimental method into psychological research. The process of the formation of psychology as an experimental science takes about a century (mid-XNUMXth - mid-XNUMXth centuries), during which the idea of ​​the possibility of measuring mental phenomena was nurtured.

In the first quarter of the XIX century. German philosopher, educator and psychologist I.F. Herbart (1776-1841) proclaimed psychology an independent science, which should be based on metaphysics, experience and mathematics. Despite the fact that Herbart recognized observation as the main psychological method, and not experiment, which, in his opinion, is inherent in physics, the ideas of this scientist had a strong influence on the views of the founders of experimental psychology - G. Fechner and W. Wundt.

German physiologist, physicist, philosopher G.T. Fechner (1801-1887) achieved significant results in all these areas, but went down in history as a psychologist. He sought to prove that mental phenomena can be defined and measured with the same accuracy as physical ones. In his research, he relied on the discovery discovered by his predecessor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Leipzig E.G. Weber (1795-1878) relationship between sensation and stimulus. As a result, Fechner formulated the famous logarithmic law, according to which the magnitude of sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the magnitude of the stimulus.[12] This law is named after him. Exploring the relationship between physical stimulation and mental responses, Fechner laid the foundations for a new scientific discipline - psychophysics, which is the experimental psychology of the time. He carefully developed several experimental methods, three of which were called "classical": the method of minimal changes (or the method of boundaries), the method of the average error (or trimming method) and the method of constant stimuli (or the method of constants). Fechner's main work, Elements of Psychophysics, published in 1860, is rightfully considered the first work on experimental psychology.

A significant contribution to the development of the psychological experiment was made by another German naturalistG. Helmholtz (1821-1894). Using physical methods, he measured the speed of propagation of excitation in the nerve fiber, which marked the beginning of the study of psychomotor reactions. Until now, his works on the psychophysiology of the senses have been reprinted: "Physiological Optics" (1867) and "The Teaching of Auditory Sensations as the Physiological Basis of Music Theory" (1875). His theory of color vision and resonance theory of hearing are still relevant today. Helmholtz's ideas about the role of muscles in sensory cognition were further creatively developed by the great Russian physiologist I.M. Sechenov in his reflex theory.

W. Wundt (1832-1920) was a scientist of broad interests: psychologist, physiologist, philosopher, linguist. He entered the history of psychology as the organizer of the world's first psychological laboratory (Leipzig, 1879), later transformed into the Institute of Experimental Psychology. This was accompanied by the publication of the first official document formalizing psychology as an independent discipline. From the walls of the Leipzig laboratory came such outstanding researchers as E. Kraepelin, O. Külpe, E. Meiman (Germany); G. Hall, J. Cattell, G. Munsterberg, E. Titchener, G. Warren (USA); Ch. Spearman (England); B. Bourdon (France).

Wundt, outlining the prospects for building psychology as an independent science, assumed the development of two directions in it: natural-scientific and cultural-historical. In "Fundamentals of Physiological Psychology" (1874), he points out the need to use a laboratory experiment to divide consciousness into elements, study them and clarify the connections between them. The subject of study in the experiment can be relatively simple phenomena: sensations, perceptions, emotions, memory. However, the area of ​​higher mental functions (thinking, speech, will) is not accessible to experiment and is studied by the cultural-historical method (through the study of myths, customs, language, etc.). An exposition of this method and a program for the corresponding empirical research are given in Wundt's ten-volume work The Psychology of Peoples (1900-1920). The main methodological features of scientific psychology, according to Wundt, are: self-observation and objective control, since without self-observation psychology turns into physiology, and without external control, the data of self-observation are unreliable.

One of Wundt's students E. Titchener (1867-1927) noted that a psychological experiment is not a test of any strength or ability, but a dissection of consciousness, an analysis of a part of the mental mechanism, while psychological experience consists in self-observation under standard conditions. Each experience, in his opinion, is a lesson in self-observation, and the main task of psychology is an experimental study of the structure of consciousness. Thus, a powerful trend in psychology was formed, called "structuralism" or "structural psychology".

Early XNUMXth century It is characterized by the emergence of several independent and sometimes opposing directions (schools) in psychology: behaviorism, gestaltism and functionalism, etc.

Gestalt psychologists (M. Wertheimer, W. Köhler, K. Koffka, and others) criticized Wundt's views on consciousness as a device consisting of certain elements. Functional psychology, based on the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin, instead of studying the elements of consciousness and its structure, was interested in consciousness as a tool for adapting the organism to the environment, that is, its function in human life. The most prominent representatives of functionalism: T. Ribot (France), E. Claparede (Switzerland), R. Woodworth, D. Dewey (USA).

A significant contribution to experimental psychology was made by another German scientist - G. Ebbinghaus (1850-1909). Under the influence of Fechner's psychophysics, he put forward as the task of psychology the establishment of the fact that a mental phenomenon depends on a certain factor. In this case, a reliable indicator is not the subject's statement about his experiences, but his real achievements in one or another activity proposed by the experimenter. Ebbinghaus' main achievements were in the study of memory and skills. His discoveries include the "Ebbinghaus Curve", showing the dynamics of the process of forgetting.

In Russia THEM. Sechenov (1829-1905) put forward a program for building a new psychology based on the objective method and principle of the development of the psyche. Although Sechenov himself worked as a physiologist and physician, his works and ideas provided a powerful methodological basis for all of psychology. His reflex theory provided an explanatory principle for the phenomena of mental life.

Over time, the instrumental base of experimental psychology expands: a "test experiment" is added to the traditional "research" experiment. If the task of the first was to obtain data on a particular phenomenon or psychological patterns, then the task of the second was to obtain data characterizing a person or a group of people. Thus, the method of testing entered experimental psychology.

An American is considered the ancestor of test methods. J. Cattell (1860-1944), who applied them in the study of a wide range of mental functions (sensory, intellectual, motor, etc.). However, the idea to use the test to study individual differences goes back to the English psychologist and anthropologist F. Galton (1822-1911), who explained these differences by a hereditary factor. Galton laid the foundation for a new direction in science - differential psychology. To substantiate his conclusions, for the first time in scientific practice, he drew on statistical data and in 1877 proposed the method of correlations for processing mass data. However, the tests in his works were not fully formalized (for more on the history of psychological testing, see 7.2).

The introduction of statistical and mathematical methods in psychological research increased the reliability of the results and made it possible to establish hidden dependencies. A mathematician and biologist collaborated with Galton K. Pearson (1857-1936), who developed a special statistical apparatus to test the theory of Charles Darwin. As a result, a method of correlation analysis was carefully developed, which still uses the well-known Pearson coefficient. Later, the British R. Fisher and C. Spearman joined in similar work. Fisher became famous for his invention of the analysis of variance and his work on experiment design. Spearman applied factor analysis of the data. This statistical method has been developed by other researchers and is now widely used as one of the most powerful means of identifying psychological addictions.

The first experimental psychological laboratory in Russia was opened in 1885 at the Clinic of Nervous and Mental Diseases of Kharkov University, then laboratories of "experimental psychology" were set up in St. Petersburg and Dorpat. In 1895, a psychological laboratory was opened at the psychiatric clinic of Moscow University. Unlike these laboratories, where research work was closely connected with medical practice, in Odessa, Professor N.N. Lange created a psychological laboratory at the Faculty of History and Philology.

The most prominent figure in the domestic experimental psychology of the early twentieth century. it could be considered GI Chelpanova (1862-1936). He put forward the concept of "empirical parallelism", which goes back to the psychophysical parallelism of Fechner and Wundt. In studies of the perception of space and time, he perfected the technique of experimentation and obtained rich empirical material. G.I. Chelpanov actively introduced experimental psychological knowledge into the training of experimental psychologists. Since 1909, he taught the course "Experimental Psychology" at Moscow University and at the seminary at the Moscow Psychological Institute. The textbook by G.I. Chelpanov "Introduction to experimental psychology" went through more than one edition.

XNUMXth century - century of rapid development of experimental psychology. However, the emergence of more and more new psychological disciplines led to the "pulling apart" of experimental psychological problems in different sections of psychological science and the blurring of its boundaries as an independent discipline, as already mentioned above.

3. Ethical principles for conducting psychological research

As we already know, psychology develops largely due to the fact that psychologists carry out experimental studies, and then, based on their results, draw conclusions about the work of the human psyche. However, psychology has a certain specificity that makes special demands on research. These requirements, in particular, are related to the fact that the "object" of study in psychology is people. The study of people is fundamentally different from the study of objects of the physical world, but only at the end of the twentieth century. Psychological scientists began to develop a respectful approach to the people who take part in their experiments, that is, they began to think about the ethical standards that psychologists must observe. The development of ethical norms and standards is carried out by professional public organizations that unite psychologists from different countries.

The norms that psychologists must adhere to when conducting psychological research are mainly related to the need to ensure that experimenters have due respect for the people who are the objects of research. Psychologists conducting research have an obligation to protect their participants from harm that may be inflicted on them as a result of the experiment. This means that measures must be taken to ensure that research participants do not experience pain, suffering, and also to exclude any possible negative consequences of a long-term nature. If a psychologist wants to investigate a phenomenon that poses a potential danger to the participants in the experiment, he must apply to his professional organization for permission to conduct research.

These rules apply not only to physical damage, but also to psychological trauma.

Another ethical aspect that researchers should consider is that subjects should, if possible, not be placed in conditions where they are deliberately misled. If temporary deception is necessary, the researcher should apply for permission to do so from the ethics committee of their professional body. Even if deception is admittedly acceptable for a short time, the experimenter is obliged to disclose it to the subjects after the study is completed.

One of the first ethical standards for psychologists was published in 1963 by the American Psychological Association. Since then, this document has been repeatedly amended (see Appendix 1).

The main provisions of the Code of Ethics of the British Society of Psychologists, published in 1990, are very consonant with these standards. It defines the following ethical principles for researchers.

1. Researchers should always consider the ethical and psychological implications for research participants.

2. Researchers are obliged to inform the participants of the experiment about the objectives of the research and obtain their consent, which they give on the basis of full information.

3. Hiding information or misleading research participants is unacceptable. Deliberate deception should be avoided.

4. After the end of the research, a conversation should be held with their participants so that they fully understand the essence of the work done.

5. Researchers should draw the attention of the participants of the experiment to the fact that they have the right to refuse further work at any time.

6. All data received shall be treated as confidential unless prior agreement states otherwise.

7. Researchers have an obligation to protect research participants from physical and psychological harm, both during the conduct of research and resulting from it.

8. Observational research must respect the privacy and psychological well-being of the people being studied.

9. Researchers must exercise caution.

10. Researchers share responsibility for ethical issues and should encourage others to change their minds if necessary.

Most psychology students do psychological research as part of their course of study, and ethical conventions hold just as much force for them as they do for professional psychologists. The Psychology Education Association of Britain has developed a set of standards for students doing psychological research.

When conducting educational research, ask yourself the following questions.

- Should I do this kind of research at all?

- What method of research is most acceptable from the point of view of ethics?

- Am I competent enough to conduct this study?

- Did I inform the subjects of everything they needed to know before they took part in the study?

- Do these people volunteer to participate in the study?

- How will I ensure the anonymity and confidentiality of all participants in the experiment?

- How will I ensure the professionalism of the research, as well as the protection of the rights of those who take part in it?

These ethical questions are fundamental to the planning of psychological research and should be asked at the outset.

At present, there are several authoritative public organizations of psychologists in Russia. This is primarily the Russian Psychological Society (the successor to the Society of Psychologists of the USSR), as well as public organizations of educational psychologists, internal affairs bodies, etc. Each of these public organizations creates ethical codes that define the norms and rules of professional activity.

The Code of Ethics of the Russian Psychological Society (RPS), adopted at the III Congress of the RPS in 2003, provides for the norms and rules for the scientific and practical activities of psychologists, defines the requirements for a psychologist, the norms of the relationship between a psychologist, a customer of a psychologist and a client, norms of social and scientific behavior psychologist. This document also formulated the main ethical principles and rules for the activities of a psychologist: the principle of not causing harm to the client (the rule of mutual respect between the psychologist and the client, the rule of safety for the client of the methods used, the rule of preventing dangerous actions of the customer regarding the client); the principle of psychologist's competence (the rule of cooperation between the psychologist and the customer, the rule of professional communication between the psychologist and the client, the rule of the validity of the results of the psychologist's research); the principle of the impartiality of a psychologist (the rule of the adequacy of the methods used by the psychologist, the rule of the scientific nature of the results of the psychologist's research, the rule of the balance of information transmitted to the customer by the psychologist); the principle of confidentiality of the psychologist's activities (the rule for coding information of a psychological nature, the rule for controlled storage of information of a psychological nature, the rule for the correct use of research results); the principle of informed consent.

Thus, anyone who plans to conduct psychological research should carefully consider the methods, approaches that are supposed to be used. There are many different methods of conducting psychological research, and all of them pose ethical problems to one degree or another.

Topic 1. General issues of methodological support of psychological research

1.1. General idea of ​​the methodology of science

Since the existence of psychology as an independent science is now generally recognized, the same requirements apply to it as to other scientific fields. So what is science?

Science is a sphere of human activity, the result of which is new knowledge about reality that meets the criterion of truth.[13] The practical value of scientific knowledge is the higher, the closer it is to the truth. A scientist, a researcher is a professional who builds his activity according to the criterion "truth - falsity". The result of scientific activity can be a description of reality, an explanation of the causes of processes and phenomena, which are expressed in the form of a text, block diagram, graph, formula, etc. The ideal of scientific research is the discovery of laws - a theoretical explanation of reality. All scientific results according to the degree of generalization can be placed on the following scale: a single fact, an empirical generalization, a model, a pattern, a law, a theory.

The term "science" refers to the entire body of knowledge obtained by the scientific method. Science as a body of knowledge is characterized by completeness, reliability, systematicity.

Science as a sphere of human activity is primarily characterized by method. In the history of psychology, different schools have developed different methods of research. So, the psychology of consciousness professed self-observation, behaviorism - external observation and experiment, Freudianism - psychoanalysis, etc.

In the most general sense method - this is the path of scientific research or a way of knowing any reality. The scientific method is a set of techniques or operations that a researcher performs when studying an object.

The method in unity with the subject of science constitutes a scientific approach to the studied reality. (Psychology of consciousness + + introspection = subjectivist approach to the study of mental phenomena, behaviorism + observation = objectivist approach.)

Scientific approach expressed in methodological principles, i.e., guidelines that organize the direction and nature of the study. One or another scientific approach and methodological principles are implemented in specific research methods. research method - this is a form of organization of a certain way of cognition (observation, experiment, survey, etc.). The research method is specified in research methods. Method corresponds to the specific goals and objectives of the study, contains a description of the object and procedures for studying, ways of fixing and processing the data obtained. Based on one research method, many methods can be created.

Psychology does not have an unambiguous set of research methods. Existing methods receive their interpretation within the framework of a particular scientific school. Some methods are used only within a certain scientific school, others are used in different schools.

The doctrine of the method of science is a special area of ​​scientific knowledge - methodology. Methodology is a system of principles and ways of organizing theoretical and practical activities to obtain a true result.

V.P. Zinchenko and S.D. Smirnov distinguishes the following levels of methodology:[14] the levels of philosophical, general scientific, concrete scientific methodology and the level of research methods and techniques. Philosophical methodology characterizes the general ideological position as the interpretative basis of science. General scientific methodology determines the principles of building scientific knowledge. Specific scientific methodology serves to implement the principles of construction and functioning of a specific science. At the level of methodology and research technique, the principles of constructing and conducting scientific research are concretized.

Fundamental for the methodology of psychology is the distinction within its framework of the natural-scientific and humanitarian approaches in explaining and understanding a person. In methodological terms, this distinction is of fundamental importance, since each of these approaches is a specific understanding of the ideals and norms of research, based on certain worldviews, methods of obtaining, interpreting and using knowledge.

The natural-scientific paradigm in psychology professes two fundamental principles: 1) the value of objective and subject knowledge (the intrinsic value of objective truth); 2) the value of novelty, the constant increment of objective knowledge about the world (as a result of research). Scientific knowledge is built through observation and experimentation. The researcher takes the position of an external disinterested, impartial subject. The central place is given to the inductive method: the generalization of a large number of similar observations. The amount of accumulated empirical material determines the solidity of the conclusion. The content of knowledge has the same meaning for all.

The criterion of the truth of natural scientific knowledge is the testability and reproducibility of the results of scientific research. The natural-scientific paradigm is focused on identifying common dependencies and laws, types, summing individual facts under a common dependency. When constructing typologies, classifications, laws, mathematical methods of processing the obtained data are widely used. Another criterion for the truth of natural scientific knowledge is the use of its results in practice. The study of human psychology from the standpoint of the natural-scientific approach cannot claim to be complete knowledge about him, since in this case his spiritual essence is ignored.

The humanitarian paradigm is focused on individuality, addressed to the spiritual world of a person, his personal values ​​and meanings. A single event has its own value. For humanitarian knowledge, it is important to comprehend individual facts as such. Humanitarian knowledge includes a value attitude to the reality under study; the object of knowledge is evaluated from the standpoint of moral, cultural, religious and aesthetic norms. The content of humanitarian knowledge is connected with questions of the meaning of human existence. Humanitarian knowledge is the unity of truth and value, fact and meaning, existence and proper. Unlike natural science, in the humanities there can be different points of view on one problem. Understanding of social phenomena, products of culture, of man himself is historically changeable. Humanitarian knowledge can never be final and the only true one.

Understanding, which is one of the ways of humanitarian knowledge, implies an active, biased, interested attitude of the subject of knowledge, his getting used to the reality under study. Understanding is not only knowledge, but also complicity, empathy, sympathy for another. An integral moment of understanding is the personal experience of the researcher, his moral and worldview attitudes, value orientations, attitude to the knowable.

The humanities use a subjective approach in cognition. With this approach, a person is perceived by the researcher as an active subject of communication. The study takes the form of a dialogue between two subjects. During the dialogue communication between the researcher and the subject, a change occurs, the development of the subjects of communication. This is related to the limitation in the use of quantitative methods in the study of the humanitarian sphere.

In psychology, the distinction between the two paradigms was already outlined at the end of the 1833th century, when the German philosopher W. Dilthey (1911-XNUMX) singled out descriptive and understanding psychology. Russian psychology has always been dominated by an orientation toward objectivity and experiment. Soviet psychology developed as an academic natural science discipline. In recent years, humanistic psychology has begun to take shape in Russia within the framework of psychological practice.

What approach can be considered the most adequate for studying such a complex phenomenon as the human psyche? From a philosophical and ideological point of view, a person is an immeasurable being, which means that it is impossible to finally know him. From a psychological point of view, a person is a multidimensional being, that is, he has manifestations of different levels. Various methods are adequate for various manifestations of a person. Natural scientific methods in psychology should and can be used, but one should always remember about their limitations in the knowledge of the higher levels of human reality. Consequently, the natural-science and humanitarian paradigms in psychology have the right to receive knowledge about a person, to their methods and methods of research.

1.2 Scientific research

The purpose of science is to establish the truth, and the way to comprehend it is scientific research. Research, unlike spontaneous forms of cognition of the surrounding world, is based on methodology (or a system of principles), method (method of organization) and methodology (research technique). Its implementation involves a number of mandatory steps (setting the goal of the study, choosing the means of research, fixing and presenting the result, etc.).

There are empirical and theoretical studies. Theoretical research is based on some theoretical generalizations, on the basis of which new theoretical conclusions are formulated. Empirical studies do not have a theoretical basis, they only allow to accumulate initial scientific facts. As a rule, most of the research is theoretical and empirical in nature. At the same time, on the basis of the approach, theory, and principles known in science, new knowledge is being accumulated.

Research on them character subdivided into fundamental and applied, monodisciplinary and interdisciplinary, analytical and complex. (Fundamental research is aimed at understanding reality without taking into account the practical effect of applying knowledge. Applied research is carried out in order to obtain knowledge that should be used to solve a specific practical problem. Monodisciplinary research is carried out within a separate science, in this case psychology. Interdisciplinary research requires participation of specialists from various fields and are carried out at the intersection of several scientific disciplines.This group includes clinical genetic research, research in the field of psychophysiology, neuropsychology, etc.

The analytical study is aimed at identifying one, the most significant, in the opinion of the researcher, aspect of reality. A comprehensive study focuses on covering the maximum possible number of significant parameters of the reality under study. As a rule, complex studies are carried out using a system of methods and techniques.

On purpose of the All scientific research can be divided into several types: exploratory, critical, clarifying and reproducing. Exploratory studies are carried out if the stated problem has not been previously posed by anyone or an attempt is made to solve it with a new method in the study. Scientific work of this kind is aimed at obtaining fundamentally new results in a little-studied area.

Critical research is carried out in order to refute existing theories, models, laws, or to test which of two alternative hypotheses more accurately predicts reality. Critical research is carried out in those areas where a rich theoretical and empirical knowledge has been accumulated and there are proven methods for conducting experiments.

Clarifying studies are aimed at establishing the scope of theories or empirical patterns. This is the most common type of research in modern psychology. Usually the available scientific results are checked in new conditions, the object or technique is modified. Thus, researchers obtain data on which area of ​​reality the previously obtained knowledge extends.

A replicating study relies on an exact repetition of a predecessor study to determine the validity, reliability, and objectivity of the results obtained. In accordance with the natural science approach in psychology, the results of any study must be confirmed in the course of a similar experiment conducted by a specialist with the appropriate qualifications. Reproducing research is the basis of all science. Therefore, the method and methodology of the study should be presented in such a way that the performer of the repeated study does not have difficulties with their adequate reproduction.

The most well-established in psychology are the following types of psychological research: review-analytical, review-critical, theoretical, empirical descriptive, empirical explanatory, methodical, experimental.

A review and analytical study involves the selection and study of literature on the research topic, followed by a systematic presentation and analysis of the material worked out, designed to fully present and evaluate research on the chosen topic. The tasks of the review and analytical study are to determine, according to the available literature data: 1) the general state of the problem; 2) highlight questions that have already been answered; 3) find controversial and unresolved issues.

The information material accumulated as a result of studying the literature is presented in the form of a scientific abstract, which, in addition to an overview of the studies carried out and a summary of their results, contains a detailed analysis of the available data.

A review and analytical study has a number of requirements:[15]

- correlation of the content of the analyzed literature with the chosen topic;

- completeness of the list of studied literature;

- depth of study of primary literary sources in the content of the abstract;

- systematic presentation of available literature data;

- consistency and literacy of the text of the abstract, accuracy of design, compliance with bibliographic requirements.

At the end of the abstract, conclusions are drawn regarding the state of affairs on the problem under study. As an appendix, a list of references is usually given.

A review-critical study differs from a review-analytical one in that, along with the review, it contains a reasoned criticism of what has already been done on the problem, and the corresponding conclusions. Critical analysis can be carried out either in the main text or in a special section of the abstract and contain the author's reflections on what is described in it.

The theoretical study, in addition to a review and critical analysis of the literature, contains the author's theoretical proposals aimed at solving the problem. Additional requirements are imposed on theoretical research, which primarily relate to the accuracy of the definition of the concepts used; logic, consistency of reasoning.

Empirical (experimental) research is based not on literary data, not on concepts, but on real reliable facts. Empirical research (in this case, it is opposed to experimental research) does not imply the creation of an artificial situation to identify and collect the necessary facts. This type of research simply observes, records, describes, and analyzes what happens in life without the personal intervention of the researcher. Empirical research can be descriptive and explanatory. In a descriptive empirical study, some new facts concerning little-studied objects or phenomena are obtained and described empirically. Explanatory empirical research includes not only the collection and analysis, but also the explanation of the facts obtained. Such an explanation contains the identification of causes and cause-and-effect relationships between facts, in which the unknown is explained through the known.

The main goal of methodological research is to develop, substantiate and test in practice according to the criteria of validity, reliability, accuracy and unambiguity of a new psychodiagnostic or correctional and developmental methodology.

Experimental research is the most time-consuming and complex type of research, but at the same time it is the most accurate and scientifically useful. In an experiment, some artificial (experimental) situation is always created, the causes of the phenomena under study are singled out, the consequences of the actions of these causes are strictly controlled and evaluated, and statistical relationships between the studied and other phenomena are revealed. To conduct an experimental study, the following requirements must be met:

1) a clear statement of the problem, topic, goals and objectives of the study, the hypotheses tested in it;

2) the establishment of criteria and signs by which it will be possible to judge how successful the experiment was, whether the hypotheses proposed in it were confirmed or not;

3) precise definition of the object and subject of research;

4) selection and development of valid and reliable methods for psychodiagnostics of the states of the object and object under study before and after the experiment;

5) the use of consistent logic to prove that the experiment was successful;

6) determining the appropriate form for presenting the results of the experiment;

7) description of the area of ​​scientific and practical application of the results of the experiment, formulation of practical conclusions and recommendations arising from the above experiment.

Stages of scientific research. Scientific research includes a number of stages. At each stage, a specific task is solved. The study begins with the formulation of a scientific problem. Based on their scientific interests, each researcher determines the main unresolved issues in this area. At this stage, the research topic and general research goal are formulated, the object and subject of research are determined. It is possible to put forward a preliminary hypothesis. (See below for more on the concept of a scientific problem.)

At the next stage, a theoretical analysis of the problem is carried out. Its content is to analyze the available information on the problem under study. It may turn out that the problem posed has already been solved or there are similar studies that have not led to a final result. If a scientist doubts the results obtained earlier, he reproduces the study according to the methodology proposed by his predecessors, and then analyzes the methods and techniques that they used to solve this or similar problems. As a result, an author's model of the phenomenon under study is formed, and the scientific problem is clarified.

Based on the previous stages, it becomes possible to formulate research hypotheses. This is an important and responsible stage of work, at which the general goal of the study is concretized into a system of tasks.

The next step is research planning. At this stage, a research program is being built, methods and specific methods for its implementation are selected. This is the most creative moment of the study, since the choice of the object depends on the author - a group of people with whom the experiment will be conducted or who will be monitored. The place and time of the study are chosen, the order of experimental influences is determined, and methods for controlling interference that affect the result of the study are developed.

Conducting research according to the plan is the next step. In the course of a real study, deviations from the plan always occur, which must be taken into account when interpreting the results and re-conducting the experiment. At this stage, the results are also recorded.

Analysis and interpretation of the data obtained are carried out after the implementation of the planned research plan. At this stage, the primary data analysis, their mathematical processing, and interpretation are carried out. Initial hypotheses are tested for validity. New facts are generalized or regularities are formulated. Theories are refined or discarded as unusable.

Formulation of conclusions is the final stage of the study. Based on the refined theory, new conclusions and predictions are made.

As V.N. Druzhinin, the theory of natural scientific research is based on a number of obvious assumptions.[16]

1. Time is continuous, directed from the past to the future. Events are irreversible. The effect cannot be before the cause.

2. The space in which the events take place is isotropic. The process in one of the regions of space occurs in the same way as in any other region.

3. Events in the world occur regardless of our knowledge of them. The world is real and objective. Therefore, the scientific result obtained by the researcher must be invariant with respect to space, time, type of objects and type of subjects of research, i.e., objective.

These requirements refer to the ideal study and its ideal outcome. In reality, different moments of time are not identical, the development of the world is irreversible. The space is not isotropic. No two identical objects can be included in an equivalence class. All people are unique, each has its own destiny. Moreover, the researchers are unique. Therefore, it is impossible to fully adequately reproduce the study in other conditions. The personal traits of the experimenter affect the course of the study, his relationship with the subjects, the accuracy of registration and the features of data interpretation.

Real research cannot fully correspond to the ideal one. However, the scientific method should give a result as close as possible to the ideal. To reduce the influence of deviations of an ideal study from a real one, special methods of experiment planning and data processing are used. The correspondence between a real study and an ideal one is called internal validity. Correspondence of real research to the studied objective reality is called external validity. Finally, the relation of ideal research to reality is theoretical or predictive validity (see 4.5 for more on these concepts).

Theory in scientific research. Theory is the highest form of scientific knowledge. It is an ordered system of knowledge and ideas about a part of reality. The elements of the theory are logically related to each other. Its content is derived according to certain rules from some initial set of judgments and concepts. Theories in psychology are created with the aim of revealing the essence, patterns and forecast of the interaction of mental phenomena with each other and with objective reality.

There are many forms of theoretical knowledge: laws, classifications and typologies, models, schemes, hypotheses, etc. As V.N. Druzhinin, each theory includes the following main components: 1) the original empirical basis (facts, empirical patterns); 2) basis - a set of primary conditional assumptions (axioms, postulates, hypotheses) that describe the idealized object of the theory; 3) the logic of the theory - a set of rules of inference that are valid within the framework of the theory; 4) the set of statements derived in the theory, which constitute the basic theoretical knowledge.[17]

The empirical basis of the theory is formed as a result of the interpretation of experimental and observational data. Postulates and assumptions are the result of rational processing, products of intuition, not reducible to empirical grounds. Postulates serve to explain the empirical foundations of a theory.

The rules of inference are not defined within the framework of this theory, they are derivatives of a higher level theory. Theoretical knowledge is a sign-symbolic model of a part of reality. The laws formed in theory do not describe reality, but an idealized object.

There are the following types of theories: descriptive, theories by analogy, quantitative. Descriptive theories involve describing and naming phenomena without explaining the reasons for their occurrence. Theories by analogy explain the relationship between the phenomena under study by analogy with those already known. Quantitative theories express quantitative and statistical confirmation of the relationship between phenomena.

According to the method of construction, axiomatic and hypothetical-deductive theories are distinguished. Axiomatic theories are built on a system of axioms that are necessary and sufficient, but not provable within the framework of the theory. Hypothetical-deductive theories are based on assumptions that have an empirical, inductive basis.

There are qualitative, formalized and formal theories. Qualitative theories in psychology include theories constructed without the involvement of a mathematical apparatus. These are, for example, the concept of motivation by A. Maslow, the theory of cognitive dissonance by L. Festinger, etc. The structure of formalized theories uses a mathematical apparatus. These include the theory of motivation by K. Levin, the theory of personality constructs by J. Kelly, and others. A formal theory is, for example, the stochastic theory of the test by D. Rush, which is widely used in scaling the results of psychological and pedagogical testing.

Theories differ in their empirical basis and predictive power. A theory is created not only to describe the reality that served as the basis for its construction - the significance of a theory is determined by what phenomena of reality and with what accuracy it can predict. The weakest are the "ad hoc" theories (for this case), which allow explaining only those phenomena and patterns for which they were developed.

The accumulation of new empirical results that contradict the predictions of the theory does not lead to its rejection, but rather encourages the improvement of the theory. As a rule, at a certain time there is not one, but two or more theories that equally successfully explain the experimental results (within the limits of experimental error).

P. Feyerabend put forward the principles of "stubbornness" and methodological "anarchism". The first of them means that one should not immediately abandon the old theory, it is necessary, within reasonable limits, to ignore even facts that clearly contradict it. The second principle is that theoretical anarchism is more humane and progressive than its law and order alternatives. The only principle that does not hinder progress is called "everything is permissible".[18] The author considers these principles to be constructive, bringing great benefits to the development of science.

scientific problem. The formulation of the problem, as mentioned above, is the beginning of scientific research. A problem is a question or a set of questions that objectively arises in the course of the development of knowledge, the solution of which is of significant practical or theoretical interest.[19]

The scientific problem is formulated in terms of the relevant scientific field, scientific terms and concepts. Then the problem is operationalized, i.e., the scientific concepts used in its formulation are logically built and defined through a system of specific concepts. The statement of the problem implicitly (implicitly) contains the formulation of a hypothesis, i.e., assumptions about how to solve it. In the course of solving the problem, it is envisaged to obtain new knowledge, while the result is considered as new, theoretically and practically significant.

In science, with the evolutionary development of scientific knowledge, the source of problems can be the lack of information to describe or explain reality. With the revolutionary development of science, a scientific problem arises as a consequence of a contradiction in scientific knowledge.

Problems are divided into real and pseudo-problems. Pseudo-problems seem significant, but in reality they turn out to be of little substance. In addition, a class of rhetorical, unsolvable problems is distinguished. (The proof of the undecidability of the problem is one of the options for solving it.)

Hypothesis - this is a scientific assumption arising from the theory about the existence of a phenomenon, the reason for its occurrence, or about the presence and nature of the relationship between two or more phenomena, which has not yet been confirmed or refuted.

The hallmarks of a productive hypothesis are adequacy, veracity, and testability. The adequacy of the hypothesis lies in the correspondence of the research theory to its goals and objectives, as well as in correlation with the reality under study. The veracity of a hypothesis lies in the fact that it is based on real and scientifically substantiated facts and contains the logic of common sense. The possibility of testing a hypothesis acts in two principles: falsifiability and verifiability. The principle of falsifiability lies in the fact that during the experiment the hypothesis can be refuted. This principle is absolute, since the refutation of a theory is always final. The principle of verifiability is that during the experiment the hypothesis is confirmed. This principle is relative, since there is always a possibility of refutation of the hypothesis in the next study.

In the methodology of science, there are theoretical hypotheses and hypotheses - empirical assumptions that are subject to experimental verification. Theoretical hypotheses are put forward to eliminate internal contradictions in the theory or to overcome discrepancies between theory and experimental results and are a tool for improving theoretical knowledge. Hypotheses - empirical assumptions are put forward to solve the problem by the method of experimental research. Therefore, they are also called experimental hypotheses.

There are three levels of experimental hypotheses according to their origin.

1. Theoretically substantiated hypotheses - based on theories or models of reality and are forecasts, consequences of these theories or models. Hypotheses at this level serve to test the consequences of a particular theory or model.

2. Scientific experimental hypotheses - put forward to confirm or refute certain theories, laws, previously discovered patterns or causal relationships between phenomena. Their difference from the hypotheses of the first level is that they are not based on existing theories.

3. Empirical hypotheses - put forward without regard to any theory, model, i.e. formulated for a given case. After experimental verification, such a hypothesis turns into a fact.

The peculiarity of any experimental hypotheses is that they are operationalizable, i.e. formulated in terms of a specific experimental procedure. You can always conduct an experiment to directly verify them.

On content experimental hypotheses can be divided into three types: about the presence of a phenomenon (type A hypotheses); about the connection between phenomena (hypotheses of type B); about a causal relationship between phenomena (hypotheses of type B). Type A hypothesis testing is an attempt to establish the truth. Type B hypotheses are tested in the course of a measurement (correlation) study. The result of correlation studies is the establishment of a linear or non-linear relationship between processes or a statement of the absence of a relationship.

Proper experimental hypotheses are usually considered only hypotheses of type B (causal). An experimental hypothesis usually includes an independent variable, a dependent variable, the relationship between them, and levels of additional variables.

R. Gottsdanker identifies the following variants of experimental hypotheses:

- the main hypothesis is the "concretization of the guess" of the researcher about the influence of the independent variable on the dependent one;

- counter-hypothesis - a hypothesis alternative to the main assumption; arises automatically and consists in the opposite relationship of the independent and dependent variables;

- competing experimental hypothesis - the assumption that there is no influence of the independent variable on the dependent;

- exact experimental hypothesis - an assumption about the relationship between a single independent variable and a dependent variable in a laboratory experiment;

- experimental hypothesis about the maximum (or minimum) value - the assumption at what level of the independent variable the dependent variable takes on the maximum (or minimum) value;

- experimental hypothesis about absolute and proportional relationships - an exact assumption about the nature of the gradual (quantitative) change in the dependent variable with a gradual (quantitative) change in the independent; verified in a multilevel experiment;

- experimental hypothesis with one ratio - the assumption of a relationship between one independent and one dependent variable. To test an experimental hypothesis with one relation, a factorial experiment (factorial design) can also be used, but the second independent variable is the control;

- combined experimental hypothesis - an assumption about the relationship between a certain combination (combination) of two (or more) independent variables, on the one hand, and a dependent variable, on the other; verified only in a factorial experiment.[20]

It is important to distinguish between scientific and statistical hypotheses. Scientific hypotheses are formulated as a proposed solution to a problem. A statistical hypothesis is a statement formulated in the language of mathematical statistics. Any scientific hypothesis requires translation into the language of statistics. The conclusion about the experimental effect can be made both on the basis of establishing a significant relationship between changes in the independent and dependent variable, and on the basis of establishing significant differences in the level of the dependent variable in the experimental and control conditions. The choice of certain statistical criteria is determined by a reasonable assumption of causal dependence.

When assessing the significance of differences during the organization of the experiment, the number of hypotheses is limited to two: main and alternative, which is embodied in the procedure of statistical data interpretation. This procedure is reduced to the evaluation of similarities and differences. When testing statistical hypotheses, two concepts are used: H1 (the hypothesis of difference), and Ho (the hypothesis of similarity). Confirmation of the first hypothesis (H1) indicates the correctness of the statistical statement about the significance of differences, and confirmation of the Ho hypothesis indicates the absence of differences.

Since several psychological parameters are recorded in each psychological experiment, numerous statistical hypotheses are tested. Each parameter is characterized by several statistical measures: central tendency, variability, distribution. In addition, it is possible to calculate measures of parameter association and evaluate the significance of these associations.

Thus, the experimental hypothesis serves to organize the experiment, and the statistical one - to organize the procedure for comparing the recorded parameters. In other words, a statistical hypothesis is needed at the stage of mathematical interpretation of empirical research data. A large number of statistical hypotheses is necessary to confirm or, more precisely, to refute the main experimental hypothesis. The experimental hypothesis is primary, the statistical one is secondary.

Hypotheses that are not refuted in the experiment turn into components of theoretical knowledge about reality: facts, regularities, laws.

Thus, as a result of considering the significance of the hypothesis for the theory, it can be argued that the theory cannot be directly verified in the experiment. Theoretical statements are universal; hypotheses are formulated on their basis. As a rule, hypotheses can be formulated in the form of two alternatives. The theory is refuted if the hypotheses derived from it are not confirmed in the experiment. The conclusions that the result of the experiment allows to draw are asymmetric: a hypothesis can be rejected, but it can never be finally accepted. Any hypothesis is open for further testing.

1.3. Basic general scientific research methods

All methods of modern science can be divided into theoretical and empirical. When conducting a theoretical study, a scientist does not deal with reality itself, but with its mental representation - the representation in the mind of images, formulas, spatial-dynamic models, schemes, descriptions, etc. Thus, a theoretical study is carried out "in the mind." The theorist uses the rules of deductive reasoning (from the general to the particular), developed by Aristotle.

Empirical research is carried out to test the correctness of theoretical conclusions. The researcher interacts with the object itself. The experimenter works with the help of induction methods (from particular to general). Mathematical statistics is a modern version of inductive inference. General scientific empirical methods include observation, experiment, measurement. Observation is often the only method for a number of natural sciences (a classic example is astronomy, where all research is carried out using this method, and discoveries are made on the basis of improving observation techniques).

Observation plays a large role in the sciences related to behavior (in particular, in ethology). Observation is associated with an ideographic approach to the study of reality. Proponents of this approach consider it the only possible one in the study of unique objects. The ideographic approach requires observation and fixation of single phenomena and events. It is widely used in historical disciplines.

The ideographic approach is opposed by the nomothetic approach - a study that reveals the general laws of development, existence and interaction of objects. Observation is a method on the basis of which it is possible to implement both ideographic and nomothetic approaches to the cognition of reality.

Thus, observation is a purposeful, organized and in a special way fixed perception of the object under study. The limitation of the method of observation lies in the fact that the researcher cannot know the characteristics of the object hidden from direct perception. For this, experiment and measurement are used. An experiment is a special type of research aimed at testing scientific and applied hypotheses - assumptions of a probabilistic nature that require strict logic of proof based on reliable facts established in empirical research. In an experiment, some artificial or experimental situation is always created, the causes of the phenomena being studied are singled out, the consequences of the actions of these causes are strictly controlled and evaluated, and statistical relationships between the studied and other phenomena are clarified.

The experiment makes it possible to reproduce the phenomena of reality in specially created conditions and thereby reveal the cause-and-effect relationships between the phenomenon and the features of external conditions. During the experiment, the researcher always observes the behavior of the object and measures its state.

The measurement is carried out both in natural and artificially created conditions. The difference between measurement and experiment is that the researcher does not seek to influence the object, but registers its characteristics as they are "objectively". Unlike observation, measurement is device-mediated. When measuring, it is impossible to identify cause-and-effect relationships, but it is possible to establish relationships between the levels of different parameters of objects. So the measurement turns into a correlation study.

Thus, measurement is an empirical method of revealing the properties or states of an object by organizing the interaction of an object with a measuring device. Psychological measurement is a very difficult task for a researcher. Quite rarely, a device (chronoscope, etc.) acts as a measuring instrument, more often it is a measuring technique (test) or another person (expert).

The modeling method differs both from the theoretical method, which gives generalized knowledge, and from the empirical one. When modeling, the researcher uses the method of analogies (inference from particular to particular). Modeling is used when it is impossible to conduct an experimental study of an object (the Universe, the Solar system, a person as an object of initial medical or pharmacological research, etc.). To study the elementary forms of learning (conditioned reflex, operant), biological models are used - rats, rabbits, monkeys. There are physical and sign-symbolic modeling. The "physical" model is studied experimentally, the sign-symbolic one, as a rule, is implemented in the form of a computer program.

1.4. Classification of psychological research methods

Approaches of domestic psychologists to the problem of classification of methods of psychology. S.L. Rubinstein[21] singled out observation and experiment as the main psychological methods. He divided observation into external and internal (self-observation), experiment - into laboratory, natural, psychological-pedagogical and auxiliary experimental method - physiological experiment in its main modification (method of conditioned reflexes). In addition, Rubinstein singled out methods of study - a method of studying the products of activity, a conversation and a questionnaire. He paid special attention to conversation in various versions (psychoanalytic conversation by Z. Freud, clinical conversation in genetic psychology by J. Piaget, psychological and pedagogical conversation). On a different plane, Rubinstein considered the comparative method (especially the comparison of data from normal and pathological development) and the genetic method, to which he attached universal importance in child psychology.

The most detailed classification of methods of psychology in the middle of the twentieth century. suggested G.D. Piriev.[22] His classification largely corresponded to the state of the scientific apparatus of psychology at that time. Piryov singled out: a) the main methods - observation, experiment, modeling; b) auxiliary methods; c) a synthetic methodological technique - a psychological and pedagogical description; d) special methodological approaches.

Based on a deep analysis of the state of psychological science, B.G. Ananyev developed a classification of methods corresponding to the stages of scientific research.[23] The first group consists of organizational methods (comparative, longitudinal and complex), which operate throughout the study, determining its organization. The second, most numerous, group includes empirical methods. These are observational methods (observation and self-observation), experimental methods (laboratory, field, natural, formative, or psychological and pedagogical experiment), psychodiagnostic methods (standardized and projective tests; questionnaires, sociometry, interviews and conversations), methods of analyzing processes and products activities (chronometry, cyclography, professional description), evaluation of products and work performed (praximetric methods), modeling (mathematical, cybernetic, etc.), biographical methods (analysis of dates, facts and events of a person’s life path, documents, testimonies, etc. d.). The third group of methods is data processing techniques: quantitative (mathematical-statistical) and qualitative analysis. The fourth group - interpretation methods - includes various variants of genetic (phylo- and ontogenetic) and structural methods (classification, typology, etc.).

It should be noted that the classification of B.G. Ananiev retains its importance to the present.

Classification of methods of psychological research at the present stage. M.S. Rogovin and G.V. Zalevsky proposed a new classification of methods.[24] The method, in their opinion, is an expression of certain relationships between the subject and the object of knowledge. The main psychological methods can be divided into six types:

1) hermeneutical (subject and object are not opposed, the mental operation and the method of science are identical);

2) biographical (singling out an integral object of knowledge in the science of the psyche);

3) observation (differentiation of the object and subject of knowledge);

4) self-observation (transformation of the subject into an object on the basis of previous differentiation);

5) clinical (the task of transition from externally observed to internal mechanisms comes to the fore);

6) experiment (active opposition of the subject of cognition to the object, which takes into account the role of the subject in the process of cognition).

V.N. Druzhinin proposes to combine all the variety of methods of psychological research into three classes:[25]

1) empirical, in which external real interaction of the subject and object of research is carried out;

2) theoretical, when the subject interacts with the mental model of the object (subject of study);

3) interpretation and description, in which the subject "externally" interacts with the sign-symbolic representation of the object (tables, graphs, diagrams).

The result of the application of empirical methods is data that fixes the state of the object. As a result of the application of theoretical methods, knowledge about the subject is formed in a linguistic, sign-symbolic or spatial-schematic form. As a result of interpretation and description, scientific facts and empirical dependencies are born. Interpretive methods play a crucial role in a holistic psychological research - it is on them that the success of the entire scientific program depends.

V.N. Druzhinin is the author of another approach to the classification of empirical methods of psychological research.[26] He locates all psychological empirical methods in a two-dimensional space, the axes of which denote two specific features of psychological research: 1) the presence or absence of interaction between the subject and the researcher, or the intensity of this interaction.

Interaction is maximal in a clinical experiment and minimal in self-observation (when the researcher and the subject are the same person); 2) objectivity and subjectivity of the procedure. The extreme options are testing (or measurement) and a "pure" understanding of the behavior of another person through "feeling", empathy, empathy, personal interpretation of his actions.

These two specific features that divide psychological methods into types can be characterized as follows: the first feature forms the axis "two subjects - one subject" or "external dialogue - internal dialogue", and the second forms the axis "external means - internal means" or "measurement - interpretation. In the sectors formed by these axes, one can place the main psychological empirical methods (Fig. 1).

Another classification of empirical methods is interesting - based on the research goal.[27] There are groups of descriptive, correlational and causal methods. Descriptive methods include conversation, observation, testing, biographical method, etc. - they describe the data. Correlation methods - measurement and data processing methods - allow you to establish a connection between phenomena. With the help of causal methods, a causal relationship between phenomena is established - this is already an experiment.

Topic 2. Method of observation

2.1. Characteristics of observation as a method of psychological research

Observation - this is a purposeful, organized perception and registration of the behavior of the object under study. The task of the observer, as a rule, is not connected with interference in "life" by creating special conditions for the manifestation of the observed process or phenomenon.

Observation differs from passive contemplation of the surrounding reality in that it: a) is subordinated to a specific goal; b) is carried out according to a specific plan; c) equipped with subject means for carrying out the process and fixing the results.

Observation is an active form of sensory cognition, which makes it possible to accumulate empirical data, form initial ideas about objects, or test initial assumptions associated with them. Observation is historically the first scientific method of psychological research.

The term "observation" is used in three different senses: 1) observation as an activity; 2) observation as a method; 3) observation as a technique.

Observation as an activity belongs to some areas of social practice. The operator of the power system observes the readings of the instruments, the shift attendant inspects the equipment according to a certain plan, the doctor examines the patient, the investigator observes the behavior of the suspect, etc. In contrast to observation as a scientific method, observation as an activity is aimed at serving practical activities: observation is necessary for the doctor diagnosis and clarification of the treatment process; to the investigator - to put forward and verify versions and solve the crime; the power system operator - to make a decision on the distribution of electricity flows.

Observation as a method of science includes a system of principles of cognitive activity, provisions on the essence and specifics of psychological observation, on its capabilities and limitations, on equipment and types of human activity in the role of an observer. Observation as a method of psychology is distinguished by its universality, i.e., applicability to the study of a wide range of phenomena, flexibility, i.e., the ability to change the "field of coverage" of the object under study as necessary, to put forward and test additional hypotheses in the course of observation. To conduct an observational study, minimal hardware is required.

The specificity of observation as a scientific method of psychology lies in the type of relationship to the object of study (non-intervention) and the presence of direct visual or auditory contact of the observer with the observed. The main characteristics of observation as a method of psychology are purposefulness, regularity, dependence on the theoretical ideas of the observer.

Observation as a technique (method of observation) takes into account the specific task, situation, conditions and instruments of observation. The method of observation is understood as a socially fixed, clearly stated for others, objectively presented system for collecting and processing empirical data, which is adequate to a clearly defined range of tasks. In foreign psychological literature, the synonym for "observation technique" is "observation technique". The observation methodology contains the most complete description of the observation procedure and includes: a) the choice of a situation and an object for observation; b) the program (scheme) of observation in the form of a list of signs (aspects) of the observed behavior and units of observation with a detailed description of them; c) method and form of recording the results of observation; d) a description of the requirements for the work of an observer; e) description of the method of processing and presentation of the received data.

Object and subject of observation. The object of external observation can be an individual, a group of people or a community. The object of observation is characterized by uniqueness, non-repeatability, very short or very long duration of mental phenomena.

The main problem that arises in the conduct of observation is the effect of the presence of the observer on the behavior of the observed. To minimize this impact, the observer should "become familiar", i.e., be more often present in the environment, engage in some business, and not focus on what is being observed. In addition, it is possible to explain the presence of the observer by some purpose acceptable for the observed, or to replace the human observer with recording equipment (video camera, voice recorder, etc.), or to observe from an adjacent room through glass with one-way light conduction (Gesell's mirror). The modesty, tact, good manners of the observer weaken the inevitable influence of his presence.

There is also the technique of included observation, when the observer is a real member of the group. However, this technique entails an ethical problem - the duality of the position and the inability to observe oneself as a member of the group.

The subject of observation can only be external, exteriorized components of mental activity:

- motor components of practical and gnostic actions;

- movements, movements and immobile states of people (speed and direction of movement, contact, shocks, blows);

- joint actions (groups of people);

- speech acts (their content, direction, frequency, duration, intensity, expressiveness, features of the lexical, grammatical, phonetic structure);

- facial expressions and pantomime, expression of sounds;

- manifestations of some vegetative reactions (redness or blanching of the skin, changes in the rhythm of breathing, sweating).

When conducting observation, the complexity of an unambiguous understanding of the internal, mental through observation of the external arises. In psychology, there is a multiplicity of connections between external manifestations and subjective mental reality and a multilevel structure of mental phenomena, so the same behavioral manifestation can be associated with various mental processes.

The position of the observer in relation to the object of observation can be open or hidden. The included observation can also be classified as open or covert, depending on whether the observer reports the fact of observation or not.

A person-observer has a selectivity of perception, which is determined by his attitudes, the general direction of his activity. A certain attitude activates perception, sharpens sensitivity to significant influences, however, an excessively fixed attitude leads to bias. The general orientation of activity can serve as an incentive to overestimate some facts and underestimate others (teachers pay attention to cognitive activity, trainers - to physique features, dexterity of movements, tailors - to cut clothes, etc.).

There is also the phenomenon of the projection of one's own "I" on the observed behavior. Interpreting the behavior of another person, the observer transfers his own point of view to him. Individual characteristics of the observer (primary modality of perception - visual, auditory, etc., ability to concentrate and distribute attention, memory capacity, cognitive style, temperament, emotional stability, etc.) also have a significant impact on the result of observation. A good observer needs special training in observation, which allows you to somewhat reduce the influence of individual characteristics.

Depending on the situation, field observation, laboratory observation and provoked observation in natural conditions are distinguished. Field observation is carried out in the natural conditions of the life of the observed, the distortion of behavior in this case is minimal. This type of observation is very time-consuming, since the situation of interest to the researcher is little controllable and, therefore, observation is most often of an expectant nature. Laboratory observation is carried out in a situation that is more convenient for the researcher, but artificial conditions can greatly distort human behavior. Provoked observation is carried out in natural conditions, but the situation is set by the researcher. In developmental psychology, this observation approaches a natural experiment (observation during the game, during classes, etc.).

2.2. Organization of psychological observation

On way of organizing distinguish between non-systematic and systematic observation. Non-systematic observation is widely used in ethnopsychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology. For the researcher, it is important here to create some generalized picture of the phenomenon under study, the behavior of an individual or group under certain conditions. Systematic monitoring is carried out according to plan. The researcher identifies some features of behavior and fixes their manifestation in various conditions or situations.

There are also continuous and selective observation. With continuous observation, the researcher captures all the features of behavior, and with selective observation, he pays attention only to certain behavioral acts, fixes their frequency, duration, etc.

Different ways of organizing surveillance have their own advantages and disadvantages. So, with non-systematic observation, random phenomena can be described, therefore, it is preferable to organize systematic observation under changing conditions. With continuous observation, it is impossible to record the entire observed, therefore, in this case, it is desirable to use equipment or involve several observers. Selective observation does not exclude the influence of the observer's position on its result (he sees only what he wants to see). To overcome this influence, it is possible to involve several observers, as well as alternately test both the main and competing hypotheses.

Depending on the goals Research can be divided into exploratory research and research aimed at testing hypotheses. Exploratory research is carried out at the beginning of the development of any scientific field, is conducted extensively, aims to obtain the most complete description of all the phenomena inherent in this field, to cover it entirely. If observation is used in such a study, then it is usually continuous. Domestic psychologist M.Ya. Basov, the author of a classic work on the methodology of observation, designates the goal of such observation as "to observe in general", to observe everything that an object manifests itself in, without selecting any specific manifestations.[28] In some sources, such observation is called expectant.

An example of an exploratory study based on observation is the work of D.B. Elkonina and T.V. Dragunova.[29] The general goal of this study was to obtain a description of all manifestations of neoplasms in the mental development of a child in adolescence. Systematic, long-term observation was carried out to identify the actual behavior and activities of adolescents during lessons, preparation of homework, circle work, various competitions, behavioral features and relationships with friends, teachers, parents, facts related to interests, plans for the future, attitude towards oneself , claims and aspirations, social activity, reactions to success and failure. Value judgments, conversations of children, disputes, remarks were registered.

If the purpose of the study is specific and strictly defined, the observation is built differently. In this case, it is called exploratory, or selective. At the same time, the content of the observation is selected, the observed is divided into units. An example is the study of the stages of cognitive development by J. Piaget.[30] To study one of the stages, the researcher chose manipulative games of the child with toys that have a cavity. Observations have shown that the ability to insert one object into another occurs later than the motor skills required for this. At a certain age, the child cannot do this because he does not understand how one object can be inside another.

On use of surveillance Distinguish between direct and indirect (with the use of observation instruments and means of fixing the results) observation. Surveillance equipment includes audio, photo and video equipment, surveillance maps. However, technical means are not always available, and the use of a hidden camera or voice recorder is an ethical problem, since the researcher in this case encroaches on the inner world of a person without his consent. Some researchers consider their use unacceptable.

According to the way chronological organization distinguish between longitudinal, periodic and single observation. Longitudinal observation is carried out over a number of years and involves constant contact between the researcher and the object of study. The results of such observations are usually recorded in the form of diaries and broadly cover the behavior, lifestyle, habits of the observed person. Periodic observation is carried out during certain, precisely specified periods of time. This is the most common type of chronological organization of observation. Single, or single, observations, as a rule, are presented as a description of a single case. They can be both unique and typical manifestations of the phenomenon under study.

Fixing the results of observation can be carried out in the process of observation or after some time has passed. In the latter case, as a rule, completeness, accuracy and reliability in recording the behavior of the subjects suffer.

2.3. Observation Program

The program (scheme) of observation includes a list of units of observation, the language and form of description of the observed.

Choice of observation units. After choosing the object and situation of observation, the researcher faces the task of conducting the observation and describing its results. Before observing, it is necessary to single out certain aspects of the object's behavior, individual acts accessible to direct perception from the continuous flow of the object's behavior. The selected units of observation should be consistent with the purpose of the study and allow interpretation of the results in accordance with the theoretical position. Units of observation can vary considerably in size and complexity.

Often the researcher cannot foresee all variants of the manifestations of the observed object, and then he indicates the most appropriate objectives of the study of the category, in accordance with which the recording of the observed activity is carried out. (Categories are concepts denoting certain classes of phenomena.) They should have the same degree of generality, not overlap, and, if possible, exhaust all manifestations of activity. The highest level of conceptualization takes place if the categories form a system that covers all theoretically possible manifestations of the process under study. Observation based on a system of categories is called systematized. As an example, we can cite the structure of categories for describing the interaction of members of a small group in the joint solution of a problem, proposed by the American psychologist R. Bales.[31] Bales divides all human behavior in this situation into 12 categories, divided into three socio-emotional areas: positive, negative and neutral. For example, the first category: "expresses solidarity, raises the status of another person, provides assistance, rewards", the ninth category: "asks for advice on a direction, a possible course of action." Bringing the unit of observation under a certain category - the initial stage of interpretation - can be carried out in the process of observation.

When using categorized observation, it is possible to quantify observed events. There are two main ways to obtain quantitative estimates in the course of observation: 1) the observer's assessment of the intensity (severity) of the observed property, action - psychological scaling; 2) measuring the duration of the observed event - timing. Scaling in observation is carried out by the method of scoring. Three to ten point scales are usually used. The score can be expressed not only as a number, but also as an adjective ("very strong, strong, medium", etc.). Sometimes a graphic form of scaling is used, in which the score is expressed by the value of the segment on the straight line, the extreme points of which mark the lower and upper scores. For example, the scale for observing the behavior of a student at school, developed by J. Strelyau to assess the individual characteristics of a person, involves an assessment of ten categories of behavior on a five-point scale and very accurately defines reactivity as a property of temperament.[32]

For timing in the process of direct observation, it is necessary: ​​a) to be able to quickly isolate the desired unit from the observed behavior; b) establish in advance what is considered the beginning and what is the end of a behavioral act; c) have a chronometer. However, it should be remembered that the timing of activities, as a rule, is unpleasant for a person, interferes with him.

Methods for recording observations. General requirements for recording observations were formulated by M.Ya. Bass.[33]

1. The record must be factual, that is, every fact must be recorded in the form in which it really existed.

2. The record must include a description of the situation (subject and social) in which the observed event occurs (background record).

3. The record must be complete in order to reflect the reality being studied in accordance with the purpose.

Based on the study of a large number of records by M.Ya. Basovs proposed to distinguish three main ways of verbal fixation of behavior: interpretative, generalizing and descriptive, and photographic recordings. The use of all three types of records allows you to collect the most detailed material.

Recording non-standardized observations. In an exploratory study, preliminary knowledge about the reality under study is minimal, so the observer's task is to record the manifestations of the object's activity in all their diversity. This is a photographic record. However, it is necessary to include elements of interpretation in it, since it is practically impossible to reflect the situation "impartially". “One or two well-aimed words of a researcher are better than a stream of long descriptions, where “you can’t see the forest for the trees,” wrote A.P. Boltunov.[34]

Usually, in the course of exploratory studies, the form of observation records in the form of a continuous protocol is used. It must indicate the date, time, place, situation of observation, social and objective environment, and, if necessary, the context of previous events. A continuous protocol is an ordinary sheet of paper on which the record is kept without headings. For the record to be complete, good concentration of the observer is necessary, as well as the use of conditional abbreviations or shorthand. A continuous protocol is used at the stage of clarifying the subject and situation of observation; on its basis, a list of units of observation can be compiled.

In a long-term field study conducted by the method of non-standardized observation, the form of record is a diary. It is carried out during many days of observations in a notebook with numbered sheets and large margins for subsequent processing of records. To maintain the accuracy of observations for a long time, the accuracy and uniformity of terminology should be observed. Diary entries are also recommended to be kept directly, and not from memory.

In a covert participant surveillance situation, data recording usually has to be done after the fact, since the observer does not have to reveal himself. In addition, as a participant in events, he cannot record anything. Therefore, the observer is forced to process the material of observations, summing up and generalizing homogeneous facts. Therefore, generalizing descriptive and interpretive entries are used in the observation diary. However, at the same time, some of the most striking facts are reproduced by the observer relatively photographically, without processing, "as such and the only ones" (M.Ya. Basov).

Each entry in the observation diary should include a short introduction to better understand the behavior that has become the subject of recording. It reflects the place, time, situation, situation, state of others, etc. Along with the introduction, a conclusion can also be attached to the record, which reflects the changes in the situation that have occurred during the observation (appearance of a significant person, etc.).

While maintaining complete objectivity when recording data, the observer must then express his attitude to the described phenomena and his understanding of their meaning. Such entries should be clearly separated from observational entries and are therefore made in the margins of the diary.

Recording standardized observations. For categorized observations, two recording methods are used - notation in symbols and standard protocol. When recording in symbols, each category can be assigned designations - alphabetic, pictograms, mathematical signs, which reduces the recording time.

The standard protocol is used in cases where the number of categories is limited and the researcher is only interested in the frequency of their occurrence (N. Flanders' system for analyzing verbal interaction between a teacher and a student). This form of recording the results of observation has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantages include the accuracy and completeness of the fixation of manifestations, the disadvantages are the loss of the "living tissue of interaction" (M.Ya. Basov).

The result of the observation is a "behavioral portrait". This result is very valuable in medical, psychotherapeutic, consultative practice. The main parameters in compiling a behavioral portrait based on observation are as follows:

1) individual features of appearance that are important for the characteristics of the observed person (style of clothing, hairstyles, how much he strives in his appearance to "be like everyone else" or wants to stand out, attract attention, whether he is indifferent to his appearance or attaches particular importance to it, what elements of behavior confirm this, in what situations);

2) pantomime (posture, features of gait, gestures, general stiffness or, conversely, freedom of movement, characteristic individual postures);

3) facial expressions (general facial expression, restraint, expressiveness, in which situations facial expressions are significantly animated, and in which they remain constrained);

4) speech behavior (silence, talkativeness, verbosity, laconism, stylistic features, content and culture of speech, intonational richness, the inclusion of pauses in speech, the pace of speech);

5) behavior in relation to other people (position in the team and attitude to it, ways to establish contact, the nature of communication - business, personal, situational communication, communication style - authoritarian, democratic, self-oriented, with an orientation to the interlocutor, positions in communication - "on an equal footing", from above, below, the presence of contradictions in behavior - a demonstration of various ways of behavior that are opposite in meaning in situations of the same type);

6) behavioral manifestations (in relation to oneself - to appearance, personal belongings, shortcomings, advantages and opportunities);

7) behavior in psychologically difficult situations (when performing a responsible task, in conflict, etc.);

8) behavior in the main activity (game, study, professional activity);

9) examples of characteristic individual verbal cliches, as well as statements that characterize the outlook, interests, life experience.

2.4. The use of observation in psychological and pedagogical research

The widespread use of the observation method for studying the mental development of children is due to the characteristics of the object of study. A small child cannot be a participant in psychological experiments, unable to give a verbal account of his actions, thoughts, emotions and actions.

The accumulation of data on the mental development of infants and young children made it possible to bring them into certain systems.

Development tables A. Gesell cover four main areas of child behavior: motor skills, language, adaptive and personal-social behavior. Data obtained through direct observation of children's responses to common toys and other objects are complemented by information provided by the child's mother. The American psychologist A. Anastasi[35], in his authoritative manual on psychological testing, notes the lack of standardization of these developmental charts, but points out their usefulness as an adjunct to medical examinations carried out by pediatricians and other specialists.

Method E. Fruht[36] records the development of a child aged 10 days to 12 months in the following categories: 1) visual orienting reactions; 2) auditory orienting reactions; 3) emotions and social behavior; 4) hand movements and actions with objects; 5) general movements; 6) understanding of speech; 7) active speech; 8) skills and abilities.

For each age, a list of categories (from two to seven) and a description of the reactions characteristic of this age are given. For example, for the age of 1 month: general movements - lying on his stomach, trying to raise and hold his head (for 5 s); immediately raises his head after stroking his back, holds it for 5 s and lowers it. For the age of 3 months: general movements - lies on the stomach, leaning on the forearms and raising the head high (for 1 min), immediately raises the head high, leaning on the forearms, the chest is raised, the legs lie calmly, maintains this position for 1 min; holds the head in an upright position (in the arms of an adult); keeps head straight for 30 s. With support under the armpits, it firmly rests on a solid support with legs bent at the hip joint; when touching the support, straightens the legs at the knee joint and rests with both feet.

This scheme is not aimed at making a diagnosis, but only allows you to recognize the overall picture of development and pay attention to some alarming symptoms.

Development cards D. Lashley.[37] The author proposes to use the following structural headings in the development card:

1) physical development, which covers both general movements, such as walking, climbing, and more subtle ones, such as coordinating eye and hand movements when drawing and sculpting;

2) communication and speech development. These include expressive speech and understanding; 3) social development and play - include relationships with adults and children, how the child plays, his interests, the ability to concentrate on these activities; 4) autonomy and independence - the ability to do without the help of adults while eating, dressing, using the toilet, as well as the ability to help adults, participate in group activities and carry out current assignments; 5) behavior. Sometimes included under heading 3 (social development) or 4 (independence), but this section is necessary to record the difficulties and problems of the child.

The structure of the development card is a list of points for each direction of development. If the skill or skill is formed, then an icon is put on the card, "if the data is uncertain -"?". The results are not summed up at the end. This is a way to "photograph" the baby at some point in development in order to plan further measures for his upbringing, as well as for comparisons with future "snapshots" of the same child.

Psychologists and speech therapists use the results of a child's development to compare with the average for children of a given age. Educators tend to compare later developmental outcomes with earlier ones. If a child has developmental deviations, they are usually expressed in a decrease in the rate of development. For such children, special development cards are needed, which indicate more detailed stages and steps that the child goes through before he learns certain skills. They are not always marked as milestones for healthy children.

When choosing a development card, you should not strive to find a perfect sample - one hardly exists. Precisely formulated points in the card are less important than systematic observation of the child. The regularity of observations is called by D. Lashley the "method of time trials" and means making observations over pre-marked time intervals. All entries relating to one "slice" must be entered on the card within one week. If this is not possible, follow-up should be postponed.

D. Lashley's Method for Observing "Difficult" Behavior.[38] The author believes that in order to understand the child's problem, one should conduct an observation and then conclude how serious it is. It is fairly easy to identify three main aspects of observation: 1) frequency - how often the problem occurs; 2) duration - how long the "difficult" behavior lasts in each case, or how long per day such behavior appears to be typical; 3) intensity - the problem is simple, fairly serious or very serious. Separately, it should be said about the frequency of observations. You can observe the child for several days, or you can simply count the number of manifestations of "difficult" behavior. Frequency calculation in relation to such behavior sometimes brings unexpected results. Adults may decide that the child is naughty most of the day, and after observation it turns out that there are long periods during the day, or even whole days, when the child is not at all "difficult".

Thus, on the basis of observation, it is possible to conduct both fundamental research in the field of child development and a huge number of applied research that helps to reveal and explain various phenomena of child development. Mastering the skills of psychological observation is very important for the teacher, as it allows him to better understand his pupils.

Topic 3. Verbal-communicative methods

3.1. General characteristics of verbal-communicative methods

Verbal-communicative methods are intended for direct or indirect collection of primary verbal information. They are widespread in medicine, sociology, pedagogy, and also in psychology.

К verbal and communicative methods include interviews, interviews and questionnaires. Interviews and questionnaires are sometimes combined under a common name - survey methods.

On the nature of the relationship the researcher and the respondent distinguish between full-time and part-time methods. Face-to-face interviews include conversations and interviews, and correspondence - questionnaires, surveys by mail, surveys through the media, etc.

On degree of formalization verbal-communicative methods are divided into standardized (they are often called surveys) and non-standardized. Standardized surveys are conducted according to a pre-prepared plan, non-standardized, or free, have only a common goal, they do not provide for a detailed plan. There is also a combination of these two groups - semi-standardized surveys, when some of the questions and the plan are precisely defined, and the other part is free.

On frequency of There are one-time and multiple-time surveys.

A specific type of survey is a survey of experts. This method is most often used at the initial stage of the study when determining its problem and purpose, as well as at the final stage - as one of the methods for monitoring the information received. The main stages of an expert survey: selection of experts, their survey, processing of results. The selection of experts is the most important stage. Experts are people who are competent in the area under study, major specialists with extensive experience in this area. The most common methods for selecting experts are: a) documentary (based on the study of socio-biographical data, publications, scientific papers, etc.); b) testological (based on testing); c) based on self-assessments; d) based on expert assessments.

The expert survey can be either anonymous or open. Referring to a particular expert in the questionnaire by name and patronymic often helps to establish contact between him and the researcher. In the survey of experts, open-ended questions are more often used, which requires a significant amount of time to answer, so you should especially thank the expert for participating in the survey (for details on open and closed questions, see 3.3).

An expert survey can also be conducted in the form of an interview. Most often, interviewing experts is carried out at the stage of clarifying the problem and setting research objectives. After processing the interview data with experts, a questionnaire is compiled, which is then used in a mass survey.

Questioning as a process of communication. Understanding the survey as a data collection method reflects a somewhat simplistic interpretation. In this case, the respondents act as a source of information, and the researcher - as its receiver and registrar. However, as the experience of conducting surveys shows, in practice the situation is much more complicated. A survey is a special form of communication. Any participants in the survey, both in the role of a respondent and a researcher in the process of the survey, turn out to be not simple objects of influence, but, on the contrary, influencers. Active personalities enter into communication, who not only exchange remarks, note agreement or disagreement, but express a certain attitude to the situation of communication, its conditions and means.

At the same time, communication during the survey process has a number of specific features, such as purposefulness, asymmetry, and mediation. The purposefulness of the survey is determined by the fact that the purpose of communication in the survey process is set by the objectives of the study.

The process of communication in psychology is considered as a subject-subject interaction. Communication partners alternately act as the source and addressee of messages and have feedback on the basis of which they build their subsequent behavior. Communication based on the equal participation of the parties is called symmetrical. This is the most effective communication. A conversation as a kind of survey is a symmetrical type of communication and therefore allows you to get the most in-depth information about the respondent. In real life, there are also asymmetric communication models (situations of an exam, interrogation, etc.), when one side mainly asks questions, while the other must answer them. In asymmetric communication, one of the parties takes on mainly the functions of influence, i.e., the subject, and the other - the object.

The survey situation is largely asymmetric. In any survey situation, especially when conducting a questionnaire or interview, the researcher takes the initiative in establishing contact. Compiling an interview questionnaire or questionnaire is also a function of the researcher. In this case, the activity of respondents is far from being fully manifested. There are special methodological techniques that allow the researcher to bring the survey closer to a situation of more symmetrical communication in order to win over the respondent and get more sincere answers.

Mediated is such communication, for the implementation of which intermediaries are involved. The survey is very often a mediated communication. A third person (interviewer), a written text (questionnaire), a technical device (television) can act as an intermediary. In such communication, the contact of the researcher with the respondent is lost, feedback is difficult or delayed in time.

A survey can be viewed as a kind of mass communication. It is focused on large groups of people who are of interest to the researcher as carriers of certain properties and qualities, representatives of certain social groups. The respondent as a person is unknown to the researcher.

Thus, when conducting a survey, the researcher should take into account the influence of the characteristics inherent in this type of communication on the results.

Obtaining false information during the survey can be provoked by the researcher himself. This happens due to many reasons, which include the following.

The attitude of the researcher to the survey. The situation of the survey is paradoxical in the sense that the researcher, pursuing scientific goals, turns to ordinary people and collects information gleaned from their everyday consciousness. He builds the study based on his own assumptions, which can be reflected in the wording of the questions, and in the intonation with which these questions will be asked in the conversation.

The researcher's assumptions about the level of consciousness of the respondents. The subject of study is most often interests, inclinations, sympathies, and all this is realized differently by different people in different circumstances. In any mental act, conscious and unconscious components can be distinguished. The respondent, as a rule, can give an account only of the perceived facts of mental reality.

The language problem. When compiling a questionnaire, designing a questionnaire, the researcher formulates his thoughts with the help of words. The use of certain words may cause confusion. The respondent's understanding of the question may not coincide with the meaning invested in it by the researcher. In addition, different respondents may understand the meaning of the question in different ways.

The relation of the researcher to the respondent. If the respondent is considered only from the standpoint of obtaining information and is not of interest to the researcher as an active independent unique person, then the communication process is significantly impoverished.

The researcher may also have inadequate attitudes towards respondents, for example, he may believe that all respondents in the sample will take part in the survey or will be equally interested in this event. The researcher may also consider that all survey participants correctly understand the content of the proposed questions, are able to understand all types of questions and formulate their answers to the same extent, all without exception conscientiously answer all questions included in the list, speak only the truth about themselves, are objective in ratings, etc.

Attitude to the questionnaire, questionnaire. Questionnaire or questionnaire - not a device that allows you to "measure" the phenomenon under study. The problem of the questionnaire is the problem of the intermediary (in a more explicit form, it manifests itself if assistants are involved in the survey - interviewers and questionnaires). Both when compiling the questionnaire and when attracting assistants, special rules must be observed (for more details, see 3.3).

Nevertheless, when conducting a study using verbal-communicative methods, the main source of unreliable results is the respondent. Let's consider the reasons for this in more detail.

1. Respondents' attitude to the survey. The degree of consent to participate in a survey varies. Some people are happy to participate in surveys, others reluctantly agree, and others refuse. Therefore, it is possible that the researcher will be able to find out the opinion of only a certain group of people. Among those who took part in the survey, one can also distinguish various types of attitude towards it - dishonesty, fear of consequences, which leads to the omission of certain questions. Hidden reluctance to participate in the survey may consist in a specific fixation of answers (all answers are "yes", all answers are "no", all answers are "don't know", the highest score on all scales, fixing answers in a checkerboard pattern, etc.).

2. Motivation of respondents to participate in the survey. The motives that prompted the respondent to participate in the survey may be consistent with the objectives of the study, contradict them or be neutral with respect to them. There is no unambiguous opinion about how much the motivation of the respondents increases if their participation is paid. A well-known typology can be applied to the motivation for participating in a survey. Some of the respondents act under the influence of the motivation to achieve success, their questionnaires are always completely filled out, the answers are detailed, contain comments, remarks, suggestions. For people acting under the influence of the motivation to avoid failure, the choice of general answers, streamlined formulations is typical. A person is afraid of damaging his prestige, so he, as a rule, does not openly refuse to participate in the survey.

3. Emotional attitude to participation in the survey. Emotions make certain changes in the original motivation. Most often they activate the respondent, but in some cases there is a slowdown in activity.

4. Respondents' attitudes can be considered as a person's stable disposition, readiness for a certain form of response. When participating in surveys, some people believe that the survey helps in solving important scientific and practical problems, and strive to cooperate with the researcher (cooperative setting), others consider the survey not a very important matter, the questionnaire - unsuccessful, the organizers - frivolous people. Usually these people participate in surveys formally. To obtain reliable and reliable information, it is preferable to have a cooperative installation.

5. Perception of the purpose of the study. The measure of informing the respondent about the purpose of the study remains debatable. Proponents of one approach believe that the goal should remain unknown not only for respondents, but also for interviewers and questionnaires, others believe that a simple indication of conducting a survey for scientific purposes is sufficient, according to still others, the goal should be presented to the respondent in an understandable way. form.

6. Perception of the interviewer, questionnaire. For respondents, this person personifies both the researcher and the organization conducting the research. The respondent's perception of such an "intermediary" largely determines his further behavior and the quality of his participation in the survey.

7. The problem of trust. The establishment of trust in the study is facilitated by the respondent's confidence that the information received from him will not harm him, and the anonymity of the answers is guaranteed.

A separate group consists of problems related to respondents' perception of questions. Depending on the type of question, as well as on the individual characteristics of each respondent, there may be various distortions in understanding the meaning of questions and formulating answers. The perception of questions, on the one hand, is a process of sensory cognition (to hear a question, to see a question), but, on the other hand, it is not reduced to it. Understanding a question is deciphering its meaning. It begins with a search for the general idea of ​​the statement and only then moves to the lexical and syntactic levels. In the process of understanding, there are often difficulties (one-sided and mutual). Let's consider the most typical of them.

Perception of the "difficult question". In a narrow sense, a difficult question is a question that is difficult to understand in the perception of a written text and does not involve considerations of prestige or self-esteem. The perception of a question can be complicated by purely external signs (a long question, a question in tabular form), an unsuccessful arrangement (beginning on one page, ending on another). It is difficult to understand a question containing unfamiliar words, terms (it is better not to use them, but to explain if necessary). Sometimes difficulties arise due to the vagueness of the question, as well as in the perception of the so-called multiple question, when several questions are contained in one wording.

Difficulties in formulating an answer may be related to: a) the respondent's decision that his opinion coincides with the answer option (if the researcher does not take into account the vocabulary of the respondents when formulating answers); b) multiple choice; c) difficulty remembering, calculating or imagining. All of these difficulties can lead to refusal to work with the questionnaire.

Perception of a biased question. The biasedness of a question is understood as its quality, in which the respondent is forced to accept the point of view imposed by the researcher. (In other words, the question contains a hint, a hint of what kind of answer the researcher needs.) As a result, some part of the respondents refuses to answer such questions, while the other part does not bother to object and agrees with the researcher. The tendentiousness of the question is achieved by suggestion, which is imperceptible to a person and does not lend itself to arbitrary correction.

Sometimes the bias of a question is already in its wording, the preamble to the question (an authoritative opinion is inspired, the opinion of the majority), the closure of the question (a rigid framework of predetermined answers), the content of clues. Suggestive influence can have a sequence of clues (as a rule, respondents pay more attention to options located at the beginning or at the end of the list).

The use of words with a modal meaning encourages the respondent to agree with the point of view expressed in the question (for example, in the question "What do you think about the need to increase the responsibility of officials?" the word "necessity" has an inspiring effect on the respondent). Introductory words in the formulation of questions ("What do you think? How do you think ...?", etc.) often encourage respondents to express their opinion. On the other hand, references to the point of view of specialists ("According to leading scientists ...), the words "unfortunately ...", etc., have an inspiring effect.

The use of particles can also have an impact on how a question is perceived. The "whether" particle gives the question a shade of doubt ("Should we always go to parent-teacher meetings?") and provokes a negative answer. The use of the "not" particle is also undesirable, since it is difficult to get a reliable answer to a double negative. (“Have you ever wanted to change your profession at least once in your life?” “Yes.” “No.”) Both answers mean the same thing.

Perception of a delicate issue. A sensitive issue is a question concerning the most intimate, deeply personal properties of a person, which rarely become the subject of public discussion. The intervention of a psychologist-researcher into the inner world of a person does not leave the latter indifferent. As a rule, a person tries not to advertise his claims, problems, personal experiences, etc. When answering some sensitive questions, the respondent tends to evade the answer in order to maintain his usual ideas about something. Should sensitive questions be avoided in research? As a rule, they are directly related to the purpose of the study, because the delicacy of the issue lies precisely in the assessment of the personal, hidden qualities of the respondent, about which he does not intend to talk publicly. However, one should take into account the desire of some respondents to evade answers to such questions and introduce neutral wording of answers: “I didn’t think about it”, “I find it difficult to answer”. Without a meaningful answer to one or two sensitive questions, the respondent will not refuse to participate in the survey as a whole, but, without having such an opportunity, he will most likely give an insincere answer or simply will not participate in the survey.

It should be noted that almost any question for the respondents may turn out to be difficult, tendentious or delicate, as this is due to the individuality and uniqueness of the inner world of each person.

Some researchers express doubts about the appropriateness of using information obtained in surveys, because of the high probability of deliberate distortion of answers, insincerity of respondents. The problem of the sincerity of the respondents is connected with the desire for self-affirmation inherent in each individual. It is quite easy for a respondent to achieve imaginary self-affirmation in a survey situation - you just need to wishful thinking, show yourself not as he really is, but as he would like to be. Therefore, careful work on the formulation of questions is necessary both at the stage of compiling the questionnaire and when conducting pilot surveys, that is, at the stage of approbation of the questionnaire.

A more detailed classification and characterization of questions used in psychological research using verbal-communicative methods is given in sections 3.3 and 3.4.

3.2. Conversation

Conversation - this is a method of obtaining information orally from a person of interest to the researcher by conducting a thematically directed conversation with him.

The conversation is widely used in medical, age, legal, political and other branches of psychology. As an independent method, it is especially intensively used in practical psychology, in particular in consultative, diagnostic and psycho-corrective work. In the activities of a practical psychologist, conversation often plays the role of not only a professional method of collecting psychological information, but also a means of informing, persuading, and educating.

Conversation as a research method is inextricably linked with conversation as a way of human communication, therefore its qualified application is unthinkable without fundamental socio-psychological knowledge, communication skills, and the communicative competence of a psychologist.

In the process of communication, people perceive each other, understand others and their "I", therefore the method of conversation is closely connected with the method of observation (both external and internal). Non-verbal information obtained during an interview is often no less important and significant than verbal information. The inextricable link between conversation and observation is one of its characteristic features. At the same time, a conversation aimed at obtaining psychological information and having a psychological impact on a person can be attributed, along with self-observation, to the most specific methods for psychology.

A distinctive feature of the conversation in a number of other verbal and communicative methods is the free, relaxed manner of the researcher, the desire to liberate the interlocutor, to win him over. In such an atmosphere, the sincerity of the interlocutor increases significantly. At the same time, the adequacy of the data on the problem under study obtained during the conversation increases.

The researcher must take into account the most common causes of insincerity. This is, in particular, the fear of a person to show himself from a bad or funny side; unwillingness to mention third parties and give them characteristics; refusal to disclose those aspects of life that the respondent considers intimate; fear that unfavorable conclusions will be drawn from the conversation; antipathy to the interlocutor; misunderstanding the purpose of the conversation.

For a successful conversation, the beginning of the conversation is very important. To establish and maintain good contact with the interlocutor, the researcher is recommended to demonstrate his interest in his personality, his problems, his opinions. At the same time, open agreement or disagreement with the interlocutor should be avoided. The researcher can express his participation in the conversation, interest in it by facial expressions, postures, gestures, intonation, additional questions, specific comments. The conversation is always accompanied by observation of the appearance and behavior of the subject, which provides additional, and sometimes basic information about him, his attitude to the subject of the conversation, to the researcher and the surrounding environment, about his responsibility and sincerity.

In psychology, the following types of conversation are distinguished: clinical (psychotherapeutic), introductory, experimental, autobiographical. During a clinical interview, the main goal is to help the client, however, it can be used to collect anamnesis. An introductory conversation, as a rule, precedes the experiment and is aimed at attracting the subjects to cooperation. An experimental conversation is conducted to test experimental hypotheses. Autobiographical conversation allows you to identify the life path of a person and is used as part of the biographical method.

Distinguish between managed and unmanaged conversation. A guided conversation is conducted on the initiative of a psychologist, he determines and maintains the main topic of the conversation. An uncontrolled conversation often occurs at the initiative of the respondent, and the psychologist only uses the information received for research purposes.

In a controlled conversation, which serves to collect information, the inequality of the positions of the interlocutors is clearly manifested. The psychologist has the initiative in conducting the conversation, he determines the topic and asks the first questions. The respondent usually answers them. The asymmetry of communication in this situation can reduce the confidence of the conversation. The respondent begins to "close", deliberately distort the information he reports, simplify and schematize answers down to monosyllabic statements like "yes-no".

Guided conversation is not always effective. Sometimes an unmanaged form of conversation is more productive. Here the initiative passes to the respondent, and the conversation can take on the character of a confession. This type of conversation is typical for psychotherapeutic and counseling practice, when the client needs to "talk out". In this case, such a specific ability of the psychologist as the ability to listen acquires special significance. The problem of listening is given special attention in the manuals on psychological counseling by I. Atvater,[39] K.R. Rogers[40] and others.

Hearing - an active process that requires attention both to what is being discussed and to the person with whom they are talking. Listening has two levels. The first level of listening is external, organizational, it ensures the correct perception and understanding of the meaning of the interlocutor's speech, but is not sufficient for the emotional understanding of the interlocutor himself. The second level is internal, empathic, it is penetration into the inner world of another person, sympathy, empathy.

These aspects of listening should be taken into account by a professional psychologist when conducting a conversation. In some cases, the first level of listening is sufficient, and the transition to the level of empathy may even be undesirable. In other cases, emotional empathy is indispensable. This or that level of listening is determined by the objectives of the study, the current situation and the personal characteristics of the interlocutor.

A conversation in any form is always an exchange of remarks. They can be both narrative and interrogative. The replies of the researcher direct the conversation, determine its strategy, and the replies of the respondent supply the required information. And then the replicas of the researcher can be considered questions, even if they are not expressed in an interrogative form, and the replicas of his interlocutor can be considered answers, even if they are expressed in an interrogative form.

When conducting a conversation, it is very important to take into account that some types of remarks, behind which there are certain psychological characteristics of a person and his attitude towards the interlocutor, can disrupt the course of communication up to its termination. Extremely undesirable on the part of a psychologist conducting a conversation in order to obtain information for research are replicas in the form of: orders, instructions; warnings, threats; promises - trade; teachings, moralizing; direct advice, recommendations; disagreement, condemnation, accusations; consent, praise; humiliation; scolding; reassurance, consolation; interrogation; withdrawal from the problem, distraction. Such remarks often disrupt the respondent's train of thought, force him to resort to protection, and can cause irritation. Therefore, to reduce the likelihood of their appearance in a conversation to a minimum is the duty of a psychologist.

When conducting a conversation, the techniques of reflective and non-reflective listening are distinguished. Technique reflective listening is to manage the conversation with the help of active speech intervention of the researcher in the communication process. Reflective listening is used to control the unambiguity and accuracy of the researcher's understanding of what he heard. I. Atvater identifies the following main methods of reflective listening: clarification, paraphrasing, reflection of feelings and summarizing.[41]

Clarification is an appeal to the respondent for clarifications, helping to make his statement more understandable. In these appeals, the researcher receives additional information or clarifies the meaning of the statement.

Paraphrasing is the formulation of the respondent's statement in a different form. The purpose of paraphrasing is to check the accuracy of the interlocutor's understanding. The psychologist, if possible, should avoid exact, verbatim repetition of the statement, since in this case the interlocutor may get the impression that he is being inattentively listened to. With skillful paraphrasing, the respondent, on the contrary, has the conviction that they are listening carefully and trying to understand.

Reflection of feelings is a verbal expression by the listener of the current experiences and states of the speaker. Such statements help the respondent to feel the interest of the researcher and attention to the interlocutor.

Summarizing is a summary by the hearer of the thoughts and feelings of the speaker. It helps to end the conversation, to bring the individual statements of the respondent into a single whole.

At the same time, the psychologist gains confidence that he adequately understood the respondent, and the respondent realizes how much he managed to convey his views to the researcher.

RџSЂRё non-reflexive listening psychologist manages the conversation with the help of silence. Non-verbal means of communication play a significant role here - eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, pantomime, choice and change of distance, etc. I. Atvater identifies the following situations when the use of non-reflective listening can be productive:[42]

1) the interlocutor seeks to express his point of view or express his attitude to something;

2) the interlocutor wants to discuss urgent problems, he needs to "speak out";

3) the interlocutor experiences difficulties in expressing his problems, experiences (he should not be interfered with);

4) the interlocutor experiences uncertainty at the beginning of the conversation (it is necessary to give him the opportunity to calm down).

Non-reflective listening is a rather subtle technique, it must be used carefully so as not to destroy the communication process by excessive silence.

Question fixing the results conversation is solved in different ways depending on the purpose of the study and the individual preferences of the psychologist. In most cases, deferred recording is used. It is believed that the written recording of data during the conversation prevents the emancipation of the interlocutors, at the same time, it is more preferable than the use of audio and video equipment.

Summarizing the above, we can formulate the professionally important qualities of a psychologist that determine the effectiveness of using a conversation as a method of psychological research:

- possession of techniques of reflective and active listening;

- the ability to accurately perceive information: to listen and observe effectively, to adequately understand verbal and non-verbal signals, to distinguish between mixed and masked messages, to see the discrepancy between verbal and non-verbal information, to remember what was said without distortion;

- the ability to critically evaluate information, taking into account the quality of the respondent's answers, their consistency, the correspondence of the verbal and non-verbal context;

the ability to correctly formulate and ask a question in time, to detect and correct questions that are incomprehensible to the respondent in a timely manner, to be flexible when formulating questions;

- the ability to see and take into account the factors that cause a defensive reaction of the respondent, preventing his involvement in the interaction process;

- resistance to stress, the ability to withstand the receipt of large amounts of information for a long time;

- attentiveness to the level of fatigue and anxiety of the respondent.

Using a conversation as a method of psychological research, a psychologist can flexibly combine its various forms and conduct techniques.

3.3. Interview

The Interview - This is a verbal-communicative method based on the direct answers of the respondent to the questions of the researcher. There are some discrepancies in determining the place of the interview among the verbal-communicative methods. According to some authors,[43] the interview is most similar to a conversation, while others bring the interview closer to the questionnaire, introducing it into the general group of survey methods.[44] Apparently, these disagreements are connected with the intermediate position of the interview in the system of verbal-communicative methods. The direct nature of the communication between the researcher and the respondent brings together the interview with the conversation, and the standardization of the procedure for conducting and the availability of the questionnaire with the questionnaire.

The scope of the interview is quite extensive. Interviews are used in journalism, statistics, pedagogy, management, psychology and some other areas. The use of interviews in sociology and social psychology has become especially widespread.

When conducting an interview, the process of communication with the respondent plays a significant role. Here, the attitude towards the equality of the communicants is not always preserved, since the researcher (interviewer) determines the topic of discussion, mainly asks questions, provides for a time limit, etc., and the respondent answers the questions, expresses his opinion within the limits set by the researcher. The initiative of communication comes from the researcher, therefore, when using an interview, the asymmetry of communication is much stronger than when conducting a conversation.

One of the main components of the interview is the questionnaire. The achievement of the goal set by the researcher depends on its competent compilation. However, the problem of constructing a questionnaire will be considered in detail in section 3.3, devoted to questionnaires, since this problem is central when using this method.

On degree of formalization There are the following types of interviews: free, standardized, semi-standardized.

A free interview is a long interview without a strict specification of questions according to the general program. These interviews can last up to three hours. They are usually practiced at the stage of clarifying the research problem. A free interview is conducted without a pre-prepared questionnaire, only the topic is defined. The information received in the course of it, as a rule, is valuable in itself and does not need further statistical processing. The groups of respondents in a free interview are small (10-20 people), their answers are recorded with maximum accuracy. To summarize the results, content analysis (content analysis) is used.

A standardized interview includes a general survey plan, a sequence of questions, and possible answers. The interviewer must strictly adhere to the wording of the questions and their sequence. The standardized interview is dominated by closed questions (see 3.3). If the number of possible answers is large enough, then the respondent is given a card with these answers so that he chooses the option that suits him. However, in general, they strive to ensure that questions and answers are perceived by ear.

When using open-ended questions (see 3.3), special attention is paid to the accuracy of recording answers to them. If the interviewer keeps a verbatim record with the preservation of the vocabulary of the respondents, then this takes a lot of time and breaks the psychological contact with the respondent. In such cases, it is desirable to use a tape recorder, a voice recorder. Sometimes the interviewer categorizes free answers according to the classification system, marking the necessary positions in the questionnaire, which allows you to speed up the work, maintain psychological contact with the respondent and not impose a specific wording of the answer on him. In general, an interview with open questions allows you to explore the subject of research in depth.

Depending on the purpose of the a standardized interview can be clinical or focused. The clinical interview is aimed at obtaining deep and detailed information about the internal motives, motives, inclinations of the respondent. A focused interview is focused on obtaining information on a specific problem, revealing attitudes towards a particular phenomenon. Respondents specially prepare for this - they read an article, a book, participate in a seminar on a certain issue, and then they are asked questions related to this issue.

Semi-standardized interview - a combination of free and standardized. In the process of a semi-standardized interview, deviations from the sequence of questions, free statements of respondents, etc. are allowed.

On procedure for Interviews can be divided into directed and non-directed. Directed interviews are conducted repeatedly with the same respondents at regular intervals. The purpose of such an interview is to take into account the change in respondents' opinions on the problem under study. An undirected interview is conducted once with a random sample.

On type of respondents distinguish between: an interview with a responsible person, involving the receipt of "official information"; an interview with an expert, which involves obtaining a professional opinion about the problem under study; an interview with an ordinary respondent, which involves obtaining a judgment on the problem under study, generated by everyday consciousness.

On way of communication between the researcher and the respondent, interviews are divided into direct ("face to face") and indirect (telephone). A telephone interview allows you to quickly collect information, does not require large material costs. In a telephone interview, the effect of "third parties" is eliminated, and the influence of the interviewer's personality on the results of the survey is reduced. However, such an interview also has disadvantages: it is limited in time (it cannot be longer than 10-15 minutes), and is generally not representative (for example, due to unequal telephone coverage in urban and rural areas).

On number of participants interviews are divided into individual, group and mass. An individual interview is a survey of one respondent by one interviewer. Group interview - the work of one interviewer at the same time with several respondents. A mass interview is a survey of large populations of respondents, so a group of interviewers works during it.

On registration technique Interview responses are divided into recorded and non-recorded. When conducting a recorded interview, the responses are recorded during the survey, with a non-recorded interview, delayed recording is used.

The following advantages of the interview as a research method can be singled out: 1) with its help it is possible to obtain in-depth information about the opinions of the respondents; 2) during the interview there is an opportunity to observe the psychological reactions of the respondents; 3) the personal contact of the interviewer with the respondent ensures the completeness of the implementation of the questionnaire, as well as a more serious attitude of the respondent to the survey.

At the same time, interviews also have disadvantages: 1) the need to seek psychological contact with each respondent; 2) significant time and material costs associated with the preparation of interviewers and interviewing; 3) the problem of maintaining anonymity; 4) comparability of the results obtained by different interviewers.

The main figure in the interview is the interviewer. The practice of conducting surveys with the help of interviews has formed some requirements for the interviewer. Among them: social activity, the presence of life experience; sociability, observation; erudition; discipline, honesty; good preparation (knowledge of the topic of the interview, the technique of conducting a survey and fixing the results); stress resistance, physical endurance.

For a quality interview, the interviewer must follow a number of rules. In particular, he must:

1) know well the text of the questionnaire, the types of questions, the answers to them;

2) work with the respondent alone;

3) it is obligatory to introduce to the respondent the organization conducting the research, its head, as well as introduce yourself;

4) familiarize the respondent with the topic of the study, give guarantees of anonymity;

5) do not allow changes, additions, explanations, comments to the questions, as they may affect the accuracy of the answers. If the question is not clear to the respondent, it is necessary to slowly read it again. If a question remains unclear, simply mark the questionnaire;

6) do not allow the transfer of the questionnaire to the respondent, who should hear and keep in mind only one question and the options for answers to it;

7) not influence the response of the respondent;

8) in case of indecision, refusal of the respondent to answer a particular question, do not force him to answer. It is only necessary to convince him of the need to express his opinion;

9) avoid rearranging and adding questions to the questionnaire;

10) keep clear, legible records.

At the end of the interview, it is necessary to ask the respondent if he is tired, what impression the questions made on him, what comments and suggestions he would like to make. The most significant remarks of the respondents are recorded in the report.

The appearance of the interviewer also influences the successful conduct of the interview (neatness, choice of clothes, taking into account the environment in which he will have to work, the absence of catchy details in clothes, etc.). It is believed that the interview is more effective if the interviewer and the respondent are of the same sex and close in age.

The success of the interview depends on the location, the specific situation, the time of the interview, as well as its duration. All these parameters are united by the concept of "interview situation".

The most typical places for conducting interviews are the respondent's workplace, a separate production room, the respondent's apartment, an official institution (room), a neutral place, a street. The choice of interview site depends on the topic and the standardization of the questionnaire. Research practice shows that good results can be achieved by conducting interviews at the respondent's workplace - under such conditions, a businesslike attitude and a critical nature prevail in the answers. It is advisable to conduct an interview at the workplace when studying problems related to work, training. In this case, the circumstances related to the survey procedure are updated in more detail.

Interviews are conducted at the place of residence on issues of leisure, culture, public services, etc. At home, a person has more time and is usually more willing to answer questions than in the office.

A favorable interview environment is characterized by the presence of an isolated place, the absence of third parties and distractions (calls, noise, etc.). It is undesirable to interrupt the started interview.

The most favorable for the interview is the morning period, since the respondent is not yet tired. Lunch break, afternoon, evening non-working hours are less favorable.

The duration of the interview depends on the problem being studied and the length of the questionnaire. As experience shows, respondents are more willing to agree to short interviews, but sometimes there are also opposite trends: if the interview is long, then the problem is important. The timing of the interview also depends on the pace of the questions. At a fast pace, the respondent does not have time to think and gives spontaneous answers, at a slow pace, his answers are more deliberate. Interviews usually last from ten minutes to one and a half hours.

3.4. Questionnaire

Questionnaires This is a written survey. Questioning is the most common type of survey in which the communication between the researcher and the respondent is mediated by the text of the questionnaire. The questionnaire is a system of questions united by one research plan aimed at identifying the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the object and subject of research.

Currently, several types of surveys are used: distributing, postal and with the help of the media.

Distribution survey consists in the direct receipt by the respondent of the questionnaire from the hands of the researcher or questionnaire. This type of survey allows you to get almost 100% return of questionnaires and guarantees their conscientious completion.

Questionnaires are sent out by mail. There is a rather low percentage of return of questionnaires. It is expedient to use this type of questioning when interviewing experts.

Questioning with the help of the media involves the placement of questionnaires in newspapers and magazines. The percentage of return of such questionnaires by mail is about 5%. Placing questionnaires on the Internet may lead to underrepresentation of data due to differences in access. Another way to use the media is interactive television. Televoting by telephone or e-mail can also be used to obtain information due to its high speed compared to other types of surveys.

It is during the survey that such features of verbal and communicative methods as mediation, purposefulness of communication and features of mass communication come to the fore especially clearly. Communication between the researcher and the respondent takes place in writing. All questions and answers are recorded in the questionnaire. The sequence and wording of the questions are strictly defined.

The questionnaire procedure is even more standardized and formalized than the interview procedure. The questionnaire performs purely official duties - distributes questionnaires, controls their return, regulates the time for filling out the questionnaire, etc. When conducting a mass survey, complete anonymity is achieved. The respondent in the questionnaire is more active than the researcher, therefore, before answering questions, he can familiarize himself with the entire content of the questionnaire, change the sequence of questions, etc. In this regard, the art of questioning is manifested primarily in the formulation of questions and the design of the questionnaire.

Formulation of questions in the survey. E.S. Kuzmin and V.E. Semenov give a number of rules that must be observed when formulating questions used in oral and written surveys.[45]

1. Each question should be logically separate. It must not be "multiple", i.e. combine (explicitly or implicitly) two or more sub-questions.

2. It is undesirable to use uncommon words (especially foreign ones), highly specialized terms, polysemantic words.

3. One should strive for brevity, conciseness. Long questions make them difficult to perceive, understand and remember.

4. For questions relating to topics unfamiliar to the respondent, it is permissible to make a small preface (preamble) in the form of an explanation or example. But the question itself should remain brief.

5. The question should be as specific as possible. It is better to touch on individual cases, specific subjects and situations than on abstract topics and any generalizations.

6. If the question contains indications or hints of possible answers, then the range of options for these answers should be exhaustive. If this is not possible, then the question should be reformulated so that there are no clues in it.

7. Questions should not force respondents to give unacceptable answers. If it is difficult to avoid this from a substantive point of view, then it is necessary to formulate the question in such a way that the respondent has the opportunity to answer without harming himself, "without losing face."

8. The wording of the question should prevent getting stereotyped answers. Such template, non-committal answers are usually very weakly saturated with information useful to the researcher.

9. The use of words and expressions that are unpleasant for the respondent and that can cause his negative attitude to the question should be avoided.

10. Questions of an inspiring nature are unacceptable.

All questions used in the questionnaire can be divided by content to questions about facts (behavior and consciousness) and questions about the personality of the respondent.

Questions about facts are the most "harmless" for the respondent, but nevertheless, the results obtained with the help of a survey and other objective methods (document analysis) coincide by 80-90%. Among these questions are the following.

Questions about the facts of the past. Under the influence of time and subsequent events, the past appears as if in a new light. First of all, what makes a person feel uncomfortable is forced out of the memory of the respondents.

Questions about the facts of behavior. When behavior acquires social significance, then one speaks of an act. A person correlates his actions with the norms accepted in society and the actions of other people. In everyday life, a person rarely thinks about his behavior, almost any question about behavior concerns his social assessment. Answers to questions about socially undesirable behavior are especially susceptible to distortion.

Questions about the facts of consciousness. They are aimed at identifying opinions, wishes, expectations, plans for the future; in some cases - on the personality of the respondent, his environment, events that are not directly related to him. Any opinion expressed by the respondent is a value judgment based on individual perceptions and is therefore subjective.

Questions about the identity of the respondent are included in all questionnaires, forming a socio-demographic block of questions (reveal gender, age, nationality, education, profession, marital status, etc.). Questions about the level of awareness and knowledge are widespread. Reliable information about knowledge can be obtained using examination-type questions, assignments or problem situations, the resolution of which requires respondents to use certain information, as well as familiarity with specific facts, events, names, terms.

On form questions are divided into open and closed, direct and indirect. A closed question is called if it contains a complete set of answers in the questionnaire. This form of the question greatly reduces the time for filling out the questionnaire and preparing it for automated processing.

Closed questions can be alternative and non-alternative. Alternative questions allow the respondent to choose only one answer, as a result of which the sum of the answers to all the options presented in such a question is always 100%. Non-alternative questions allow the choice of several answers, so their sum can exceed 100%.

If the researcher is confident in the completeness of the answer options known to him, then he is limited only to their list. Quite often, questionnaires use a tabular form of answers to closed questions.

Open-ended questions do not have answer options, and therefore do not contain hints and do not impose an answer option on the respondent. They give him the opportunity to express his opinion in its entirety and to the smallest detail. Therefore, using open questions, you can collect information richer in content than using closed questions. The number of lines for recording the answer depends on the nature of the question and should be sufficient for the respondent to freely express his thought (usually from three to seven). When formulating an answer to an open question, the respondent is guided only by his own ideas. Open-ended questions should be used to obtain data on the problem being studied, on the characteristics of vocabulary and language, on the range of associations in connection with the subject of the survey, on verbal skills associated with the ability to formulate one's opinion and argue it.

In some cases, a semi-closed form of the question is used, when the list of options is supplemented with a line for the respondent to formulate his own option, if it differs from those given in the list.

Respondents are willing to answer open-ended questions if they have a clear understanding of the topic of the survey. If the subject of the survey is unfamiliar or unfamiliar, then the respondents evade answers, give vague answers, and answer not to the point. In this case, using an open question, the researcher runs the risk of not getting meaningful information at all. Using a closed form of the question, it helps the respondent to navigate the subject of the survey and express their attitude through a set of possible judgments or assessments.

A direct question is a question whose formulation implies an answer that is equally understood by both the researcher and the respondent. If the interpretation of the answer is provided in a different sense, hidden from the respondent, then this is an indirect question.

If the direct questions of the questionnaire require the respondent to take a critical attitude towards himself, the people around him, and evaluate the negative phenomena of reality, then in a number of cases they either remain unanswered or contain inaccurate information. In such situations, indirect questions are used. The respondent is offered an imaginary situation that does not require an assessment of his personal qualities or the circumstances of his activities. When constructing such questions, it is assumed that, when answering them, respondents rely on their own experience, but report it in an impersonal form, which removes the sharpness of critical assessments characteristic of first-person statements.

Depending on the Features identify main and sub-problems. The main questions are aimed at collecting information about the content of the phenomenon under study, while the auxiliary ones serve to confirm the reliability of the information received.

Among the auxiliary questions, control questions and filter questions are distinguished. Control questions are aimed at checking the sincerity of the answers. They can either precede the main questions or be placed after them. Sometimes trap questions are used as control questions. These are questions to which, being sincere, there can be only one definitive answer. If the respondent, due to inattention or dishonesty, gives a different answer, then he falls into this trap. It is assumed that his answers to all other questions should not be trusted either, so the results of such respondents are usually removed from further processing.

The need for filter questions arises when the researcher needs to obtain data that characterizes not the entire population of respondents, but only part of it. In order to separate the part of respondents of interest to the researcher from all others, a filter question is asked.

Increasing the reliability of respondents' answers can be achieved with the help of some methodological techniques. First, the respondent should be provided with the opportunity to evade the answer, to express an uncertain opinion. For this, answer options are provided: “I find it difficult to answer”, “when how”, etc. Researchers often avoid such options, fearing that if a large proportion of respondents use them, then their answers will not be able to be interpreted. However, the predominance of such answers serves as an indicator of either the lack of a definite opinion among the respondents, or the unsuitability of the question for obtaining the necessary information.

Secondly, the questions should not contain explicit or implicit hints in their wording, inspire the idea of ​​"bad" and "good" answers. When formulating evaluative questions, it is necessary to monitor the balance of positive and negative judgments.

Thirdly, one should take into account the respondent's memory capabilities and his ability to analyze and generalize his own actions, views, etc. This is important when formulating questions about the time spent on a particular type of activity, about their regularity and frequency.

Once the questions have been formulated, they should be checked against the following criteria:

1) whether the questionnaire provides for such answer options as “I find it difficult to answer”, “I don’t know”, etc., giving the respondent the opportunity to evade answers when he considers it necessary;

2) should the position "other answers" be added to some closed questions with free lines for additional statements of the respondents;

3) whether the question refers to the entire population of respondents or only to part of it (in the latter case, a filter question should be added);

4) Is the technique of filling in the answer to the question sufficiently explained to the respondent? Does the questionnaire indicate how many answer options can be marked;

5) whether there is a logical discrepancy between the content of the question and the scale of measurement;

6) whether the wording of the question contains terms that may be incomprehensible to the respondent; how to replace them without violating the meaning of the question;

7) whether the question exceeds the competence of the respondent (if there is such a suspicion, a filter question is needed to test competence);

8) whether the question exceeds the capacity of the respondents' memory;

9) whether the answers to the question are too numerous (if so, then you need to divide the list into thematic blocks and formulate several questions instead of one);

10) whether the question touches the respondent's self-esteem, his dignity, prestigious ideas;

11) whether the question will cause negative emotions in the respondent (concerns about the consequences of participating in the survey, sad memories, other negative emotional states that violate his psychological comfort).

Composition and design of the questionnaire. The questionnaire is a kind of script of a conversation with a respondent. The beginning of such a conversation is preceded by a brief introduction (address to the respondent), which sets out the topic, goals and objectives of the survey, names the organization that conducts it, and explains the technique for filling out the questionnaire.

The most simple and neutral questions are placed at the beginning of the questionnaire. Their goal is to form an attitude towards cooperation, the task is to interest the interlocutor, to bring the discussed problems up to date.

More complex questions requiring analysis and reflection are placed in the middle of the questionnaire. By the end of the questionnaire, the difficulty of the questions should decrease; questions about the personality of the respondent are usually placed here.

Questions can be grouped into blocks according to the thematic principle. The transition to a new block should be accompanied by explanations that activate the respondent's attention.

Of great importance are also instructions on the technique of filling out the questionnaire, located directly in the text of the questions: how many options can be noted - one or more, how to fill out a table question - in rows or columns. Misunderstood questionnaire filling technique often distorts information.

Separately, it should be said about the graphic design of the questionnaire. It should be printed in clear type, have enough space to record answers to open-ended questions, as well as arrows indicating the transitions from the filter question to the main questions. The number of questions should be limited: as a rule, after 45 minutes of filling out the questionnaire, the respondent's attention sharply decreases.

The composition of the questionnaire is checked for compliance with the following criteria:

1) whether the principle of arranging questions from the most simple (contact) at the beginning of the questionnaire to the most difficult in the middle and simple (unloading) at the end is observed;

2) whether the previous questions affect the subsequent ones;

3) whether semantic blocks are separated by "attention switches", appeals to the respondent, informing about the beginning of the next block;

4) whether the filter questions are provided with transition indicators for different groups of respondents;

5) whether there are clusters of the same type of questions that cause the respondent to feel monotonous and tired;

6) whether there are any violations in the layout (typos) and graphic design of the questionnaire (inadmissible: transferring part of the question to another page, monotonous font in the text of the questionnaire, which does not allow separating questions from answer options and questions from each other, insufficient space for free answers, etc. . P.).

Even if all these requirements are met, it is not always possible to assess the quality of the questionnaire in advance. This can be done in the course of a pilot study - conducting a survey on a small sample. In the course of such a pilot study, methodological information is collected, and the attitude of respondents to the survey, their reaction to individual questions is also clarified. One of the most obvious indicators of the unsuitability of a question is a large proportion of those who did not answer or found it difficult to answer it.

Questionnaire procedure and rules of conduct for the questionnaire. For a successful survey, a number of conditions must be met.

It is desirable that the questionnaire come to the place of the survey, accompanied by representatives of the administration, public organizations helping to prepare the conditions for this event. It is also necessary to provide seats for each respondent so that the respondents are at a sufficient distance from each other and do not interfere with each other. The questionnaire should introduce itself, explain the purpose of his arrival, the purpose of the study, tell how and where the results of the survey will be used, and also explain in detail the rules for filling out the questionnaire and warn the respondents that in case of difficulty, they should only contact him, and not confer with each other on about answering questions. A supply of pencils or pens should also be available to provide to respondents if needed.

Before distributing questionnaires, you need to make sure that there are no people in the room who are not taking part in the survey. Particular attention should be paid to persons who, by their presence, can provoke tension in the psychological atmosphere.

When asked "Why exactly are we being interviewed?" the principle of sampling should be explained in plain language and the audience should be assured that the participation of these particular respondents as representatives of the sample is extremely important for obtaining complete and reliable information.

When collecting questionnaires, it is advisable to review each one as carefully as possible. In case of gaps, you should find out why the respondent did not answer, and try to involve him in re-working with this question. If you refuse to answer this question should be marked ("refused"). By all means, public refusal should be avoided, as this negatively affects others. The questionnaire has no right to force the respondent to answer the questions of the questionnaire.

When conducting a survey, you need to behave in a friendly, polite manner, avoid extremes in behavior (dryness, formality - talkativeness, partiality). It is necessary to patiently listen to all the comments of the respondents, take their opinion seriously, and not impose your point of view.

While filling out the questionnaires, the questionnaire must prevent any statements of the respondents, not allow discussion of any topics, including the topic of the survey.

In a situation where the respondent wants to express his opinion in more detail, pay attention to the shortcomings in the organization of the survey, you should provide him with blank sheets of paper on which he can express his opinion.

The experience of conducting numerous surveys made it possible to formulate several rules for the behavior of the questionnaire.

1. The task of the survey is not just to get answers, but to get truthful answers. The extent to which this task can be accomplished depends on the behavior of the interviewer. The first impression is a very significant factor in the perception of the interviewer. Discreet but neat clothes are preferable for the interviewer; a smile, politeness, energy, and self-confidence are important. A favorable impression is made by a combination of benevolence and exactingness.

2. It is better to meet with the respondents in the morning, having agreed this time in advance. At the meeting, the interviewer must introduce himself. You should not keep a list of respondents in front of your eyes and make any notes in it. It is necessary to give guarantees of anonymity - not to disclose the content of the answers, not to allow unauthorized persons to the completed questionnaires.

3. Explaining the objectives of the study, the interviewer should place particular emphasis on practical objectives; promises and guarantees should not be made to fulfill all the wishes expressed during the survey.

3.5. The use of verbal and communicative methods in psychological and pedagogical research

Verbal and communicative methods play a significant role in conducting research in an educational institution, as well as in the practical activities of a psychologist. Conversation and interviews are integral methods in working with children and adolescents, as well as with adults directly involved in the lives of children - parents, teachers, administration of educational institutions.

Conducting conversations and interviews with adults and children is based on general principles, however, working with children has certain specifics. This is primarily due to their age characteristics, which include an underdeveloped ability to reflect, weakness in the analysis and synthesis of information, lack of attention and fatigue, difficulty in verbalizing their experiences, features of motivation, etc. In many psychological works devoted to the problems of verbal and communicative methods, it has been repeatedly emphasized that working with children is an incomparably more difficult matter than with adults. This, in particular, is pointed out by J. Schwanzara.[46]

The degree of completeness and reliability of the data obtained in the course of the survey depends on how capable the person being interviewed is of self-observation. In this regard, the possibilities of children are limited. Thus, the ability to consciously observe their own emotional reactions and their verbalization in most children is sufficiently formed only from the age of 11-12. However, this does not mean that one can talk with children only about some external, objective facts of their life and one cannot discuss their experiences, emotional reactions, etc. In principle, children are able to describe their thoughts and feelings, but their capabilities are limited. are limited, and the skills of recalling events are not sufficiently developed.

When conducting a conversation with children, it is very important for a psychologist to take an adequate position. This is not easy, since the asymmetry of communication in the situation of interviewing a child is exacerbated by the age distance. According to J. Shvantsara,[47] the position expressed in the principles of a non-directive approach may be optimal in this case. These principles are as follows:

1) the psychologist must create a humanly warm, full of understanding attitude towards the child, allowing you to establish contact with him as soon as possible;

2) the psychologist must accept the child as he is;

3) with his attitude, the psychologist should make the child feel an atmosphere of condescension so that he can freely express his feelings;

4) the psychologist must be tactful and careful about the positions of the child: he does not condemn anything and does not justify anything, but at the same time he understands everything.

The implementation of such an attitude, based on creating an atmosphere of unconditional acceptance, sincerity and openness, helps the child to show his abilities, to “open up” in communication with a psychologist.

Motivating respondents and establishing contact. Children from a certain age and adolescents can participate in conducting interviews in order to obtain primary information. The purpose of the research should be clear to the respondents and arouse immediate interest. In this case, children, and especially adolescents, are able to consciously participate in interviews and questionnaires and purposefully answer the researcher's questions both orally and in writing.

When using conversation in the practice of providing counseling, the difference between working with children and adolescents and working with adults is that adults, as a rule, turn to a psychologist on their own initiative, while children are usually brought by teachers and parents, noticing deviations in their development and behavior. Therefore, children often lack any motivation to communicate with a psychologist, and it is far from possible to immediately establish close contact with all of them, which is so necessary during a conversation. It often takes a lot of resourcefulness and ingenuity from a psychologist to "talk" a child. This applies primarily to children and adolescents with low self-esteem, anxious, insecure and so-called "difficult", who have a considerable negative experience of communicating with adults.

Playing or drawing is often used to encourage a child to cooperate. To do this, the psychologist must have bright, attractive toys, various puzzles, colored pencils and paper, and other entertaining things that can interest children and provoke them to communicate.

An important condition for establishing and maintaining contact is the form of address to the child. Calling by name is preferred. J. Shvantsara recommends naming small children as mothers usually call them.[48] The speech of a psychologist, his language are of great importance when conducting a conversation with children and adolescents. Not all turns and expressions of "adult" speech can be understood by a child, therefore, when organizing a conversation, one must take into account age, gender, and the conditions for raising children. In addition, in order to understand the child himself, the psychologist must be familiar with the children's vocabulary, know and, if necessary, be able to use teenage and youth slang in communication with schoolchildren.

A correctly formulated and timely question not only allows the psychologist to obtain the necessary information, but also performs a kind of developmental function: it helps the child to become aware of his own experiences, expands the possibility of verbalizing subjective states.

The ability to choose the right questions, to find individual tactics for conducting a conversation for each child, is a rather difficult task and largely depends on the experience of the psychologist, whether he has a creative approach to using this method.

A recognized master of conversations with children, the Swiss psychologist J. Piaget wrote about this: “How difficult it is to refrain from excessive verbosity, especially for a teacher, when asking a child! the excessive systematicity caused by a preconceived conception, and the utter chaotic nature of the facts, which results from the absence of any directed hypothesis! In essence, a good experimenter must combine two usually incompatible qualities: he must know how to observe, i.e., allow the child to speak quite freely, without interrupting his statements and without deviating them in any direction, and at the same time he must be constantly on the alert so as not to miss anything important; every minute he must have in mind some working hypothesis, at least some theory, correct or false, and strive to test it. what he expects to receive from him, or does not tell him anything at all, because he is not looking for anything definite; needless to say, in this case he will not find anything. In short, it is not an easy task..."[49]

The use of various types of verbal and communicative methods in working with children. Depending on the objectives of the study, verbal-communicative methods may have different content. So, at the first stages of work, when it is necessary to get the most complete picture of the child's characteristics and establish the nature of his problems, the work is usually carried out according to the type of diagnostic interview, which is of a general nature and is aimed at "probing" various aspects of life: finding out the interests and inclinations of the child , his position in the family, his relationship with parents, brothers, sisters, school and classmates, establishing the most frequent forms of reward and punishment associated with this way of responding, etc. It may be diagnostically valuable to find out what the child himself considers for yourself the main problem.

When conducting a conversation, as a rule, deeper aspects of a child's life are affected.

Depending on the goals and content of the study, the degree of controllability of the conversation by the psychologist may vary. In a fully controlled conversation, the psychologist has complete control over its content, guiding the child's responses and keeping the conversation within the necessary structure. In an uncontrolled conversation, on the contrary, the initiative completely passes to the side of the respondent, and the psychologist, having started the conversation, then follows the child in choosing the topic of discussion, supporting the course of the conversation through active listening techniques: reflecting the feelings of the interlocutor, reflecting the content of his messages, etc. Typical in this plan is the procedure for conducting a conversation, implemented within the framework of the non-directive approach of K.R. Rogers.[50] The value of using this approach in working with children is due to the fact that it does not have the disadvantages of a formal approach to questions and answers, which is unusual for young children, and for schoolchildren, which causes associations with testing educational procedures.

When conducting a diagnostic interview, it is advisable to combine directive and non-directive approaches, when the measure of controllability can change at different stages of the conversation, depending on its content. In particular, the directive approach is usually used to obtain factual information about subjects that do not require a high involvement of the "I" from the child: about favorite games, books, etc.

The use of various forms of questions in working with children. Just as when working with adults, a psychologist can use open and closed questions in working with children. When conducting a conversation with children, the structure of the question often includes a description of any situations. At the same time, the openness and closeness of both the question itself and the description-stimulus can be combined in different ways.

Different in terms of the degree of openness, the wording of the description of the situation is used in the interview, depending on its goals. So, if it is necessary to clarify a rather narrow aspect of the child's relationship, it is advisable to use a closed structured description of the situation. If the researcher is interested in a more general description of the relationship, then a less structured approach with an open description is preferable, since it gives the child more freedom in choosing the most significant for him and the most typical forms of his relations.

However, questions that are completely unstructured, open in terms of the components of the situations described in them, are not suitable for working with preschool children. This is due to the fact that a small child, having a limited associative ability, needs some kind of support structure within which he can organize his thinking and build a response. In working with children older than six years, the use of unstructured open-ended questions becomes quite justified.

When using closed questions, the range of possible answers is significantly narrowed. This is especially important to keep in mind when working with easily suggestible young children. However, the use of closed questions can be a useful technique that makes it easier for the child to express socially disapproved attitudes.

An important parameter of the question is the measure of its direct focus on the subject of interest to the psychologist. From this point of view, direct, indirect and projective questions are distinguished. Direct questions are directly aimed at clarifying the subject under study. Open direct questions are used, as a rule, to obtain factual information and in the study of simple attitudes and relationships. Indirect questions are used to explore emotional responses and attitudes when there is a danger that a direct question will inspire a child, or when defensive reactions and distorted responses can be predicted when discussing topics related to socially approved norms and taboos.

Projective questions to a large extent mask the goal pursued by the psychologist. In this case, the child is asked not to report his experiences, but to interpret the feelings and predict the actions of a hypothetical child. Usually in questions of this type, a specific situation is used to identify the general attitudes of the respondent. In working with children, projective questions are often presented with the help of dolls and pictures. The use of projective questions is based on the assumption that the child, answering such a question, identifies himself with a hypothetical character and expresses his own feelings and motives for actions. In most cases, this assumption is true and the validity of projective questions in work with children is quite high. However, this is not true for all situations and questions used in the interview. In some cases, the child may give a response that is more in line with the cultural norms of his group than with his own attitudes and feelings. Sometimes a child's response to a projective question can be a mixture of fantasy and reality.

In general, the value of using projective questions when working with children is undeniable, since there are many circumstances in which direct questions cannot be asked, for example, when a child is not sufficiently aware of his feelings and experiences or cannot express them in the first person because they are too strong. cultural prohibitions, etc. In such cases, projective questions are the most appropriate.

There are various ways of formulating questions that allow the child to express what in another situation he may find unacceptable. Thus, V. Michal[51] recommends the following "facilitating" formulations:

- the child is given to understand that other children can experience or do the same ("Some children think ... What do you think?", "Everyone has to fight sometimes ... Well, how about you?");

- two alternative solutions are allowed, and the acceptability of each of them is indicated ("If your brother messes up, will you punish him yourself or tell your mother about it?", "Do you and the teacher understand each other or do you have misunderstandings with her?");

- a wording is chosen that softens the unacceptability of the answer (in the previous example, instead of "tell your mother about this", you can say: "... make sure that your mother also finds out about this");

- unfavorable reality is taken for granted, so that the child is not forced to deny his wrong behavior. At the same time, the question is formulated in such a way that it contains the assumption of just such behavior (for example, instead of the question: "Do you quarrel with your brother?" you can ask: "What do you quarrel with your brother most often?");

- the child is given the opportunity to answer positively at first, and only after that they ask a question that will require negative or critical assessments from him ("What do you like about school? What do you not like?");

- the use of euphemisms and paraphrases ("He and his brother do not understand each other", "He did not return the money", "Sometimes at night he cannot wake up by himself");

- instead of the question itself, a comment is used about the corresponding place in the child's story (for example, in the course of the story about games with children, it is noted: "The boys are also fighting"). This acts as a kind of invitation to direct or indirect communication about the child's own behavior;

- when working with older children, sometimes a written answer to some questions justifies itself; for younger children, the doll can ask questions.[52]

The choice of the type of questions used in the interview is determined by various factors. Certain values ​​may have the general theoretical attitudes of the researcher, the content of the problem under study, etc. Thus, when studying aspects of a child's life associated with strictly defined cultural norms, indirect and projective questions are more preferable. However, if the psychologist needs to find out to what extent these norms or taboos are represented in the mind of the child, direct questions will be more appropriate.

In the study of personal characteristics or interpersonal relationships, an important aspect of the analysis is the way in which the child structures his answer, selects the details for the message, as well as the sequence and content of his associations. For such an analysis, less structured questions and a generally non-prescriptive approach are preferred.

It should be noted that an interview with a child or adolescent should not be strictly limited to the use of any one type of question. The form of questions may change at different points in the interview, depending on its goals, the content of the problem being discussed, etc.

When conducting conversations and interviews with children and adolescents, the problem of recording data often arises, usually in the form of a dilemma between using a tape recorder and recording answers in writing. According to most psychologists, written fixation is more preferable, since it allows you to preserve the naturalness of the situation, distracts the child less, does not constrain him. Of course, not all statements can be written down verbatim, but the key points in the children's answers require accurate recording and, as a rule, can be done. To register the non-verbal components of the message (pauses, intonations, speech tempo, etc.), which must be taken into account when interpreting the data received, a system of abbreviations and codes is usually used, which each psychologist develops for himself as he gains practical experience in conducting a conversation.

The stories of children and adolescents can be deeply personal, intimate, therefore, in a conversation with them, just like in any other psychological study, confidentiality must be observed. If there is an urgent need to report anything from the child to his parents and teachers, it is necessary to obtain the consent of the child.

Topic 4. Experimental method

4.1. General characteristics of the psychological experiment

Experiment is one of the main methods of scientific research. In general scientific terms, an experiment is defined as a special research method aimed at testing scientific and applied hypotheses, requiring strict logic of proof and based on reliable facts. In an experiment, some artificial (experimental) situation is always created, the causes of the phenomena being studied are singled out, the consequences of the actions of these causes are strictly controlled and evaluated, and the connections between the phenomena under study are clarified.

An experiment as a method of psychological research corresponds to the above definition, but has some specifics. Many authors, as V.N. Druzhinin,[53] single out the "subjectivity of the object" of the study as a key feature of a psychological experiment. A person as an object of cognition has activity, consciousness, and thus can influence both the process of his study and its result. Therefore, special ethical requirements are imposed on the situation of an experiment in psychology, and the experiment itself can be considered as a process of communication between the experimenter and the subject.

The task of a psychological experiment is to make an internal mental phenomenon accessible to objective observation. At the same time, the phenomenon under study should be adequately and unambiguously manifested in external behavior, which is achieved through purposeful control of the conditions for its occurrence and course. S.L. Rubinstein wrote:

"The main task of a psychological experiment is to make the essential features of the internal mental process accessible to objective external observation. For this, it is necessary, by varying the conditions for the flow of external activity, to find a situation in which the external flow of the act would adequately reflect its internal mental content. The task of the experimental variation of conditions in a psychological experiment is, first of all, to reveal the correctness of a single psychological interpretation of an action or deed, excluding the possibility of all others.

V.V. Nikandrov points out that the achievement of the main goal of the experiment - the maximum possible unambiguity in understanding the connections between the phenomena of internal mental life and their external manifestations - is achieved due to the following main characteristics of the experiment:

1) the initiative of the experimenter in the manifestation of psychological facts of interest to him;

2) the possibility of varying the conditions for the emergence and development of mental phenomena;

3) strict control and fixation of the conditions and the process of their occurrence;

4) isolation of some and emphasis on other factors that determine the studied phenomena, which makes it possible to identify the patterns of their existence;

5) the possibility of repeating the conditions of the experiment for multiple verification of the obtained scientific data and their accumulation;

6) varying the conditions for quantitative assessments of the revealed patterns.[55]

Thus, a psychological experiment can be defined as a method in which the researcher himself causes phenomena of interest to him and changes the conditions for their occurrence in order to establish the causes of these phenomena and the patterns of their development. In addition, the obtained scientific facts can be repeatedly reproduced due to the controllability and strict control of conditions, which makes it possible to verify them, as well as the accumulation of quantitative data, on the basis of which one can judge the typicality or randomness of the studied phenomena.

4.2. Types of psychological experiment

Experiments are of several types. Depending on the way of organizing distinguish laboratory, natural and field experiments. The laboratory experiment is carried out under special conditions. The researcher deliberately and purposefully influences the object of study in order to change its state. The advantage of a laboratory experiment can be considered strict control over all conditions, as well as the use of special equipment for measurement. The disadvantage of a laboratory experiment is the difficulty of transferring the obtained data to real conditions. The subject in a laboratory experiment is always aware of his participation in it, which can cause motivational distortions.

The natural experiment is carried out in real conditions. Its advantage lies in the fact that the study of the object is carried out in the context of everyday life, so the data obtained are easily transferred to reality. The subjects are not always informed about their participation in the experiment, therefore, they do not give motivational distortions. Disadvantages - the inability to control all conditions, unforeseen interference and distortion.

The field experiment is carried out according to the scheme of the natural. In this case, it is possible to use portable equipment, which makes it possible to more accurately record the received data. The subjects are informed about participation in the experiment, but the familiar environment reduces the level of motivational distortions.

Depending on the research objectives There are search, pilot and confirmatory experiments. The search experiment is aimed at finding a causal relationship between phenomena. It is carried out at the initial stage of the study, allows you to formulate a hypothesis, identify independent, dependent and side variables (see 4.4) and determine how to control them.

The pilot experiment is a pilot experiment, the first in a series. It is carried out on a small sample, without strict control of variables. The pilot experiment makes it possible to eliminate gross errors in the formulation of the hypothesis, to specify the goal, and to clarify the methodology for conducting the experiment.

The confirmatory experiment is aimed at establishing the type of functional relationship and clarifying the quantitative relationships between variables. It is carried out at the final stage of the study.

Depending on the nature of influence on the subject allocate ascertaining, forming and control experiments. The ascertaining experiment includes measuring the state of an object (a subject or a group of subjects) before actively influencing it, diagnosing the initial state, establishing cause-and-effect relationships between phenomena. The purpose of the formative experiment is to use methods of active development or formation of any properties in the subjects. The control experiment is a repeated measurement of the state of the object (subject or group of subjects) and comparison with the state before the start of the formative experiment, as well as with the state in which the control group is located, which did not receive experimental exposure.

On influence opportunities experimenter, the independent variable is allocated to the provoked experiment and the experiment to which they refer. A provoked experiment is an experiment in which the experimenter himself changes the independent variable, while the results observed by the experimenter (types of reactions of the subject) are considered provoked. P. Fress calls this type of experiment "classical".[56] A referenced experiment is one in which changes in the independent variable are made without the intervention of the experimenter. This type of psychological experiment is resorted to when independent variables affect the subject, significantly extended in time (for example, the education system, etc.). If the impact on the subject can cause a serious negative physiological or psychological disturbance, then such an experiment cannot be carried out. However, there are cases when a negative impact (for example, a brain injury) occurs in reality. Subsequently, such cases can be generalized and studied.

4.3. Structure of a psychological experiment

The main components of any experiment are:

1) the subject (the subject or group under study);

2) experimenter (researcher);

3) stimulation (method of influence on the subject chosen by the experimenter);

4) the subject's response to stimulation (his mental reaction);

5) conditions of the experiment (additional to the stimulation of the impact, which can affect the reactions of the subject).

The response of the subject is an external reaction, by which one can judge the processes taking place in his inner, subjective space. These processes themselves are the result of the stimulation and conditions of experience acting on him.

If the response (reaction) of the subject is denoted by the symbol R, and the effects of the experimental situation on him (as a combination of stimulation effects and experimental conditions) by the symbol S, then their ratio can be expressed by the formula R = f (S). That is, the reaction is a function of the situation. But this formula does not take into account the active role of the psyche, the personality of a person (P). In reality, a person's reaction to a situation is always mediated by the psyche, the personality. Thus, the relationship between the main elements of the experiment can be fixed by the following formula: R = f (P, S).

P. Fress and J. Piaget, depending on the objectives of the study, distinguish three classical types of relationships between these three components of the experiment: 1) functional relationships; 2) structural relations; 3) differential relations.[57]

Functional relationships are characterized by the variability of responses (R) of the subject (P) with systematic qualitative or quantitative changes in the situation (S). Graphically, these relationships can be represented by the following diagram (Fig. 2).

Examples of functional relationships revealed in the experiments: change in sensations (R) depending on the intensity of the impact on the senses (S); memory volume (R) from the number of repetitions (S); the intensity of the emotional response (R) to the action of various emotiogenic factors (S); development of adaptation processes (R) in time (S), etc.

Structural relationships are revealed through a system of responses (R1, R2, Rn) to various situations (Sv S2, Sn). Relationships between individual responses are structured into a system that reflects the personality structure (P). Schematically, it looks like this (Fig. 3).

Examples of structural relationships: a system of emotional reactions (Rp R2, Rn) to the action of stressors (Sv S2, Sn); efficiency of solving (R1, R2, Rn) various intellectual tasks (S1, S2, Sn), etc.

Differential relationships are revealed through the analysis of reactions (R1, R2, Rn) of different subjects (P1, P2, Pn) to the same situation (S). The scheme of these relations is as follows (Fig. 4).

Examples of differential relationships: the difference in the reaction speed of different people, national differences in the expressive manifestation of emotions, etc.

4.4. Experimental variables and how to control them

To clarify the ratio of all factors included in the experiment, the concept of "variable" is introduced. There are three types of variables: independent, dependent and additional.

Independent variables. The factor that is changed by the experimenter himself is called the independent variable (IP).

The conditions in which the subject's activity is carried out, the characteristics of the tasks the performance of which is required from the subject, the characteristics of the subject himself (age, gender, and other differences in the subjects, emotional states and other properties of the subject or interacting with him) can act as NP in the experiment. Therefore, it is customary to distinguish the following types of NP: situational, instructive and personal.

Situational NPs are most often not included in the structure of the experimental task performed by the subject. Nevertheless, they have a direct impact on his activity and can be varied by the experimenter. Situational NPs include various physical parameters, such as illumination, temperature, noise level, as well as the size of the room, furnishings, placement of equipment, etc. The socio-psychological parameters of situational NPs can include performing an experimental task in isolation, in the presence of an experimenter, external observer or group of people. V.N. Druzhinin points to the features of communication and interaction between the subject and the experimenter as a special kind of situational NP.[58] Much attention is paid to this aspect. In experimental psychology there is a separate direction, which is called "psychology of psychological experiment".

Instructive NPs are directly related to the experimental task, its qualitative and quantitative characteristics, as well as the methods of its implementation. The instructive NP can be manipulated more or less freely by the experimenter. It can vary the material of the task (for example, numerical, verbal or figurative), the type of response of the subject (for example, verbal or non-verbal), the scale of assessment, etc. Great opportunities lie in the method of instructing the subjects, informing them about the purpose of the experimental task. The experimenter can change the means that are offered to the subject for completing the task, put obstacles in front of him, use a system of rewards and punishments in the course of completing the task, etc.

Personal NPs are controlled features of the subject. Usually, such features are the states of the participant in the experiment, which the researcher can change, for example, various emotional states or states of performance-fatigue.

Each subject participating in the experiment has many unique physical, biological, psychological, socio-psychological and social characteristics that the experimenter cannot control. In some cases, these uncontrolled features should be considered additional variables and control methods should be applied to them, which will be discussed below. However, in differential psychological research, when using factorial designs, uncontrolled personal variables can act as one of the independent variables (for details on factorial designs, see 4.7).

Researchers also distinguish between different types of independent variables. Depending on the presentation scale qualitative and quantitative NPs can be distinguished. Qualitative NPs correspond to different gradations of naming scales. For example, the subject's emotional states can be represented by states of joy, anger, fear, surprise, etc. Ways of performing tasks may include the presence or absence of prompts to the subject. Quantitative NP correspond to rank, proportional or interval scales. For example, the time allotted to complete the task, the number of tasks, the amount of remuneration based on the results of solving problems can be used as quantitative NP.

Depending on the number of levels of manifestation independent variables distinguish two-level and multi-level NP. Two-level NPs have two levels of manifestation, multi-level ones have three or more levels. Depending on the number of levels of manifestation of NP, experimental plans of various complexity are built.

dependent variables. A factor whose change is a consequence of a change in the independent variable is called the dependent variable (CV). The dependent variable is the component of the subject's response that is of direct interest to the researcher. Physiological, emotional, behavioral reactions and other psychological characteristics that can be registered in the course of psychological experiments can act as RFP.

Depending on the the way in which changes can be registered, allocate ZP:

S observed directly;

S requiring physical equipment for measurement;

S requiring a psychological dimension.

Directly observed CPs include verbal and non-verbal behavioral manifestations that can be clearly and unambiguously assessed by an external observer, for example, refusal to perform an activity, crying, a certain statement of the subject, etc. CPs that require physical equipment for registration include physiological ( pulse, blood pressure, etc.) and psychophysiological reactions (reaction time, latent time, duration, speed of actions, etc.). The RFP requiring psychological measurement includes such characteristics as the level of claims, the level of development or formation of certain qualities, forms of behavior, etc. For the psychological measurement of indicators, standardized procedures can be used - tests, questionnaires, etc. Some behavioral parameters can only be measured, i.e. unambiguously recognized and interpreted by specially trained observers or experts.

Depending on the the number of parameters included in the dependent variable, one-dimensional, multidimensional and fundamental RFPs are distinguished. The one-dimensional RFP is represented by a single parameter, the changes of which are studied in the experiment. An example of a one-dimensional RFP is the speed of a sensorimotor reaction. Multidimensional RFP is represented by a set of parameters. For example, mindfulness can be measured by the amount of material viewed, the number of distractions, the number of correct and incorrect answers, etc. Each parameter can be recorded independently. The fundamental RFP is a variable of a complex nature, the parameters of which have some well-known relationships with each other. In this case, some parameters act as arguments, and the dependent variable itself acts as a function. For example, the fundamental measurement of the level of aggression can be considered as a function of its individual manifestations (facial, verbal, physical, etc.).

The dependent variable must have such a basic characteristic as sensitivity. The sensitivity of the RFP is its sensitivity to changes in the level of the independent variable. If the dependent variable does not change when the independent variable changes, then the latter is non-positive and it makes no sense to conduct an experiment in this case. There are two known variants of the manifestation of the unresponsiveness of the RFP: the "ceiling effect" and the "floor effect". The "ceiling effect" is observed, for example, in the case when the task presented is so simple that it is performed by all subjects, regardless of age. The "gender effect", on the contrary, occurs when the task is so difficult that none of the subjects can cope with it.

There are two main ways of fixing changes in BP in a psychological experiment: immediate and delayed. The direct method is used, for example, in experiments on short-term memorization. The experimenter, immediately after repeating a series of stimuli, fixes their number reproduced by the subject. The delayed method is used when a certain period of time passes between the impact and the effect (for example, when determining the influence of the number of memorized foreign words on the success of the translation of the text).

Additional variables (DP) is a concomitant stimulation of the subject that affects his response. The set of DP consists, as a rule, of two groups: external conditions of experience and internal factors. Accordingly, they are usually called external and internal DP. The external DP include the physical environment of the experiment (illumination, temperature, sound background, spatial characteristics of the room), parameters of apparatus and equipment (design of measuring instruments, operating noise, etc.), temporal parameters of the experiment (start time, duration, etc.). ), the personality of the experimenter. The internal DP include the mood and motivation of the subjects, their attitude towards the experimenter and experiments, their psychological attitudes, inclinations, knowledge, skills, skills and experience in this type of activity, the level of fatigue, well-being, etc.

Ideally, the researcher seeks to reduce all additional variables to nothing, or at least to a minimum, in order to highlight the "pure" relationship between the independent and dependent variables. There are several main ways to control the influence of external DP: 1) elimination of external influences; 2) constancy of conditions; 3) balancing; 4) counterbalancing.

Elimination of external influences is the most radical way of control. It consists in the complete exclusion from the external environment of any external DP. Conditions are created in the laboratory that isolate the test subject from sounds, light, vibration effects, etc. The most striking example is the sensory deprivation experiment conducted on volunteers in a special chamber that completely excludes any stimuli from the external environment. It should be noted that it is practically impossible to eliminate the effects of DP, and it is not always necessary, since the results obtained under the conditions of eliminating external influences can hardly be transferred to reality.

The next way to control is to create constant conditions. The essence of this method is to make the effects of DP constant and the same for all subjects throughout the experiment. In particular, the researcher strives to make constant the spatio-temporal conditions of the experiment, the technique of conducting it, the equipment, the presentation of instructions, etc. With careful application of this method of control, large errors can be avoided, but the problem of transferring the results of the experiment to conditions that are very different from the experimental ones, remains problematic.

In cases where it is not possible to create and maintain constant conditions throughout the experiment, the balancing method is resorted to. This method is used, for example, in a situation where the external DP cannot be identified. In this case, balancing will consist in using the control group. The study of the control and experimental groups is carried out under the same conditions, with the only difference that in the control group there is no effect of the independent variable. Thus, the change in the dependent variable in the control group is due only to external DPs, while in the experimental group it is due to the combined action of external additional and independent variables.

If the external DP is known, then balancing consists in the effect of each of its values ​​in combination with each level of the independent variable. In particular, such an external DP as the gender of the experimenter, in combination with the independent variable (gender of the subject), will lead to the creation of four experimental series:

1) male experimenter - male subjects;

2) male experimenter - female subjects;

3) female experimenter - male subjects;

4) female experimenter - female subjects.

In more complex experiments, balancing of several variables can be applied simultaneously.

Counterbalancing as a way to control external DP is practiced most often when the experiment includes several series. The subject finds himself in different conditions sequentially, however, previous conditions may change the effect of subsequent ones. To eliminate the "sequence effect" that arises in this case, experimental conditions are presented to different groups of subjects in a different order. For example, in the first series of the experiment, the first group is presented with the solution of intellectual problems from simpler to more complex, and the second - from more complex to simpler. In the second series, on the contrary, the first group is presented with the solution of intellectual problems from more complex to simpler, and the second - from simpler to more complex. Counterbalancing is used in cases where it is possible to conduct several series of experiments, but it should be borne in mind that a large number of attempts causes fatigue for the subjects.

Internal DP, as mentioned above, are factors that lie in the personality of the subject. They have a very significant impact on the results of the experiment, their impact is quite difficult to control and take into account. Among the internal DP can be distinguished permanent and non-permanent. The constant internal DPs do not change significantly during the experiment. If the experiment is conducted with one subject, then his gender, age, and nationality will be constant internal DP. This group of factors can also include temperament, character, abilities, inclinations of the subject, his interests, views, beliefs and other components of the general orientation of the personality. In the case of an experiment with a group of subjects, these factors acquire the character of non-permanent internal DP, and then, to level their influence, they resort to special methods of forming experimental groups (see 4.6).

The non-permanent internal DP includes the psychological and physiological characteristics of the subject, which can either change significantly during the experiment, or be updated (or disappear) depending on the goals, objectives, type, form of organization of the experiment. The first group of such factors consists of physiological and mental states, fatigue, addiction, the acquisition of experience and skills in the process of performing an experimental task. The other group includes the attitude towards this experience and this study, the level of motivation for this experimental activity, the attitude of the subject to the experimenter and his role as a test subject, etc.

To equalize the effect of these variables on responses in different samples, there are a number of methods that have been successfully used in experimental practice.

To eliminate the so-called serial effect, which is based on habituation, a special sequence of stimulus presentation is used. This procedure is called "balanced alternating order", when stimuli of different categories are presented symmetrically with respect to the center of the stimulus row. The scheme of such a procedure looks like this: A B B A, where A and B are stimuli of different categories.

To prevent the effect of anxiety or inexperience on the response of the subject, familiarization or preliminary experiments are carried out. Their totals are not taken into account when processing data.

To prevent the variability of answers due to the accumulation of experience and skills during the experiment, the subject is offered the so-called "exhaustive practice". As a result of this practice, the subject develops stable skills before the start of the actual experiment, and in further experiments, the subject's indicators do not directly depend on the factor of accumulating experience and skills.

In those cases where it is necessary to minimize the influence on the response of the tested fatigue, resort to the "rotation method". Its essence lies in the fact that each subgroup of subjects is presented with a certain combination of stimuli. The totality of such combinations completely exhausts the entire set of possible options. For example, with three types of stimuli (A, B, C), each of them is presented with the first, second and third place in the presentation to the subjects. Thus, stimuli are presented to the first subgroup in the order ABC, the second - AVB, the third - BAV, the fourth - BVA, the fifth - VAB, the sixth - VBA.

The above methods of procedural adjustment of internal non-constant DP are applicable both for individual and group experiments.

The set and motivation of the subjects as internal non-permanent DP must be maintained at the same level during the entire experiment. The set as a readiness to perceive a stimulus and respond to it in a certain way is created through the instruction that the experimenter gives to the subject. In order for the installation to be exactly what is required for the task of the study, the instruction must be available to the subjects and adequate to the tasks of the experiment. The unambiguity and ease of understanding of the instruction are achieved by its clarity and simplicity. To avoid variability in presentation, it is recommended that instructions be read verbatim or given in writing. Maintenance of the initial set is controlled by the experimenter by constant observation of the subject and corrected by recalling, if necessary, the appropriate instructions of the instruction.

The motivation of the subject is considered mainly as interest in this experiment. If interest is absent or weak, then it is difficult to count on the completeness of the subjects' fulfillment of the tasks provided for in the experiment and on the reliability of his answers. Too high interest, "remotivation", is also fraught with inadequacy of the subject's answers. Therefore, in order to obtain an initially acceptable level of motivation, the experimenter must seriously approach the formation of the contingent of subjects and the selection of factors stimulating their motivation. Competitiveness, various types of remuneration, interest in one's performance, professional interest, etc. can serve as such factors.

It is recommended not only to maintain the psychophysiological states of the subjects at the same level, but also to optimize this level, i.e., the subjects must be in a "normal" state. You should make sure that before the experiment, the subject did not have super-significant experiences for him, he has enough time to participate in the experiment, he is not hungry, etc. During the experiment, the subject should not be unnecessarily excited or suppressed. If these conditions cannot be met, then it is better to postpone the experiment.

From the considered characteristics of variables and methods of their control, the need for careful preparation of the experiment during its planning becomes clear. In real conditions of experimentation, it is impossible to achieve 100% control of all variables, however, various psychological experiments differ significantly from each other in the degree of control of variables. The following section is devoted to the issue of assessing the quality of an experiment.

4.5. Validity and reliability of the experiment

For the design and evaluation of experimental procedures, the following concepts are used: an ideal experiment, an experiment of full compliance and an infinite experiment.

The Perfect Experiment is an experiment organized in such a way that the experimenter changes only the independent variable, the dependent variable is controlled, and all other conditions of the experiment remain unchanged. An ideal experiment assumes the equivalence of all subjects, the invariance of their characteristics over time, the absence of time itself. It can never be implemented in reality, since in life not only the parameters of interest to the researcher change, but also a number of other conditions.

The correspondence of a real experiment to an ideal one is expressed in such a characteristic of it as internal validity. Internal validity indicates the reliability of the results that a real experiment provides compared to an ideal one. The more dependent variables are affected by conditions not controlled by the researcher, the lower the internal validity of the experiment, therefore, the greater the likelihood that the facts found in the experiment are artifacts. High internal validity is the hallmark of a well-conducted experiment.

D. Campbell identifies the following factors that threaten the internal validity of the experiment: background factor, natural development factor, testing factor, measurement error, statistical regression, non-random selection, screening.[59] If they are not controlled, then they lead to the appearance of the corresponding effects.

The background (history) factor includes events that occur between the pre-measurement and the final measurement and may cause changes in the dependent variable along with the influence of the independent variable. The factor of natural development is related to the fact that changes in the level of the dependent variable may occur in connection with the natural development of the participants in the experiment (growing up, increasing fatigue, etc.). The testing factor lies in the influence of preliminary measurements on the results of subsequent ones. The measurement error factor is associated with inaccuracy or changes in the procedure or method for measuring the experimental effect. The factor of statistical regression is manifested in the event that subjects with extreme indicators of any assessments were selected for participation in the experiment. The factor of non-random selection, respectively, occurs in those cases when, when forming the sample, the selection of participants was carried out in a non-random manner. The sifting factor is manifested in the event that the subjects drop out unevenly from the control and experimental groups.

The experimenter must take into account and, if possible, limit the influence of factors that threaten the internal validity of the experiment.

Full match experiment is an experimental study in which all conditions and their changes correspond to reality. Approximation of a real experiment to an experiment of full compliance is expressed in external validity. The degree of portability of the results of the experiment to reality depends on the level of external validity. External validity, according to the definition of R. Gottsdanker, affects the reliability of the conclusions, which are given by the results of a real experiment compared to a full-fit experiment.[60] To achieve high external validity, it is necessary that the levels of additional variables in the experiment correspond to their levels in reality. An experiment that lacks external validity is considered invalid.

Factors that threaten external validity include the following:

- reactive effect (consists in a decrease or increase in the susceptibility of subjects to experimental influence due to previous measurements);

- the effect of the interaction of selection and influence (consists in the fact that the experimental influence will be significant only for the participants in this experiment);

- factor of experimental conditions (may lead to the fact that the experimental effect can be observed only in these specially organized conditions);

- factor of interference of influences (manifested when one group of subjects is presented with a sequence of mutually exclusive influences).

Care for the external validity of experiments is especially shown by researchers working in the applied fields of psychology - clinical, pedagogical, organizational, since in the case of an invalid study, its results will not give anything when transferred to real conditions.

Endless Experiment involves an unlimited number of experiments, samples to obtain more and more accurate results. An increase in the number of samples in an experiment with one subject leads to an increase in the reliability of the experimental results. In experiments with a group of subjects, an increase in reliability occurs with an increase in the number of subjects. However, the essence of the experiment lies precisely in the fact that, on the basis of a limited number of samples or with the help of a limited group of subjects, to identify causal relationships between phenomena. Therefore, an endless experiment is not only impossible, but also meaningless. To achieve high reliability of the experiment, the number of samples or the number of subjects must correspond to the variability of the phenomenon under study.

It should be noted that with an increase in the number of subjects, the external validity of the experiment also increases, since its results can be transferred to a wider population. To conduct experiments with a group of subjects, it is necessary to consider the issue of experimental samples.

4.6. Experimental samples

As mentioned above, the experiment can be carried out either with one subject or with a group of subjects. An experiment with one subject is carried out only in some specific situations. First, these are situations where the individual differences of the subjects can be neglected, i.e., any person can be the subject (if the experiment studies its features, unlike, for example, an animal). In other situations, on the contrary, the subject is a unique object (a brilliant chess player, musician, artist, etc.). There are also situations when the subject is required to have special competence as a result of training or extraordinary life experience (the only survivor in a plane crash, etc.). One test subject is also limited in cases where the repetition of this experiment with the participation of other subjects is impossible. For experiments with one subject, special experimental plans have been developed (for details, see 4.7).

More often experiments are carried out with a group of subjects. In these cases, the sample of subjects should be a model population, which will then be extended to the results of the study. Initially, the researcher solves the problem of the size of the experimental sample. Depending on the purpose of the study and the possibility of the experimenter, it can range from several subjects to several thousand people. The number of subjects in a separate group (experimental or control) varies from 1 to 100 people. For the application of statistical methods of processing, it is recommended that the number of subjects in the compared groups be at least 30-35 people. In addition, it is advisable to increase the number of subjects by at least 5-10% of the required, since some of them or their results will be "rejected" during the experiment.

To form a sample of subjects, several criteria must be taken into account.

1. Informative. It lies in the fact that the selection of a group of subjects should correspond to the subject and hypothesis of the study. (For example, it is pointless to recruit two-year-old children into a group of test subjects to determine the level of arbitrary memorization.) It is desirable to create ideal ideas about the object of experimental research and, when forming a group of test subjects, deviate minimally from the characteristics of the ideal experimental group.

2. Criterion of equivalence of subjects. When forming a group of subjects, one should take into account all the significant characteristics of the object of study, differences in the severity of which can significantly affect the dependent variable.

3. Representativeness criterion. The group of people participating in the experiment must represent the entire part of the general population to which the results of the experiment will apply. The size of the experimental sample is determined by the type of statistical measures and the chosen accuracy (reliability) of accepting or rejecting the experimental hypothesis.

Consider strategies for selecting subjects from a population.

The random strategy is that each member of the general population is given an equal chance of being included in the experimental sample. To do this, each individual is assigned a number, and then an experimental sample is formed using a table of random numbers. This procedure is difficult to implement, since each representative of the population of interest to the researcher must be taken into account. In addition, the random strategy gives good results when forming a large experimental sample.

Stratometric selection is used if the experimental sample must necessarily include subjects with a certain set of characteristics (sex, age, level of education, etc.). The sample is compiled in such a way that the subjects of each stratum (layer) with the given characteristics are equally represented in it.

Stratometric random selection combines the two previous strategies. Representatives of each stratum are assigned numbers and an experimental sample is randomly formed from them. This strategy is effective when selecting a small experimental sample.

Representative modeling is used when the researcher manages to create a model of the ideal object of experimental research. The characteristics of a real experimental sample should deviate minimally from the characteristics of an ideal experimental sample. If the researcher does not know all the characteristics of the ideal model of experimental research, then the strategy of approximate modeling is applied. The more accurate the set of criteria describing the population to which the conclusions of the experiment are supposed to be extended, the higher its external validity.

Sometimes real groups are used as an experimental sample, while either volunteers participate in the experiment, or all subjects are forced to be involved. In both cases, external and internal validity are violated.

After the formation of the experimental sample, the experimenter draws up a research plan. Quite often, the experiment is carried out with several groups, experimental and control, which are placed in different conditions. The experimental and control groups should be equivalent at the start of the experimental exposure.

The procedure for selecting equivalent groups and subjects is called randomization. According to a number of authors, the equivalence of groups can be achieved with pairwise selection. In this case, the experimental and control groups are composed of individuals equivalent in terms of side parameters significant for the experiment. An ideal option for pairwise selection is the attraction of twin pairs. Randomization with the selection of strata consists in the selection of homogeneous subgroups in which the subjects are equalized in all characteristics, except for the additional variables of interest to the researcher. Sometimes, in order to highlight a significant additional variable, all subjects are tested and ranked according to the level of its severity. The experimental and control groups are formed so that subjects with the same or similar values ​​of the variable fall into different groups. The distribution of subjects into experimental and control groups can also be carried out randomly. As mentioned above, with a large number of experimental samples, this method gives quite satisfactory results.

4.7. Experimental plans

Experimental plan - this is the tactics of experimental research, embodied in a specific system of operations for planning an experiment. The main criteria for classifying plans are:

- composition of participants (individual or group);

- number of independent variables and their levels;

- types of scales for representing independent variables;

- method of collecting experimental data;

- place and conditions of the experiment;

- features of the organization of the experimental impact and the method of control.

Plans for groups of subjects and for one subject. All experimental plans can be divided according to the composition of participants into plans for groups of subjects and plans for one subject.

Experiments with a group of subjects have the following advantages: the possibility of generalizing the results of the experiment to the population; the possibility of using schemes of intergroup comparisons; saving time; application of methods of statistical analysis. The disadvantages of this type of experimental plans include: the impact of individual differences between people on the results of the experiment; the problem of the representativeness of the experimental sample; the problem of equivalence of groups of subjects.

Experiments with one subject are a special case of "small N plans". J. Goodwin points to the following reasons for using such designs: the need for individual validity, since in experiments with large N there is a problem when generalized data does not characterize any of the subjects.[61] An experiment with one subject is also carried out in unique cases when, for a number of reasons, it is impossible to attract many participants. In these cases, the purpose of the experiment is to analyze unique phenomena and individual characteristics.

An experiment with a small N, according to D. Martin, has the following advantages: the absence of complex statistical calculations, the ease of interpreting the results, the possibility of studying unique cases, involving one or two participants, and wide possibilities for manipulating independent variables.[62] It also has some disadvantages, in particular, the complexity of control procedures, the difficulty in generalizing the results; relative uneconomical time.

Consider plans for one subject.

Time series planning. The main indicator of the influence of the independent variable on the dependent one in the implementation of such a plan is the change in the nature of the responses of the subject over time. The simplest strategy: scheme A - B. The subject initially performs activities in conditions A, and then in conditions B. To control the "placebo effect", the scheme is used: A - B - A. ("Placebo effect" is the reaction of the subjects to "empty" influences corresponding to reactions to real influences.) In this case, the subject does not have to know in advance which of the conditions is "empty" and which is real. However, these schemes do not take into account the interaction of influences, therefore, when planning time series, as a rule, schemes of regular alternation (A - B - A - B), positional adjustment (A - B - B - A) or random alternation are used. The use of longer "long" time series increases the possibility of detecting the effect, but leads to a number of negative consequences - fatigue of the subject, reduced control over other additional variables, etc.

The alternative impact plan is a development of the time series plan. Its specificity lies in the fact that exposures A and B are randomly distributed in time and presented to the subject separately. Then the effects of each of the exposures are compared.

The reverse plan is used to explore two alternative forms of behavior. Initially, the basic level of manifestation of both forms of behavior is recorded. Then a complex effect is presented, consisting of a specific component for the first form of behavior and an additional one for the second. After a certain time, the combination of influences is modified. The effect of two complex impacts is evaluated.

The ascending criteria plan is often used in learning psychology. Its essence lies in the fact that a change in the behavior of the subject is recorded in response to an increase in exposure. In this case, the next impact is presented only after the subject reaches the given level of the criterion.

When conducting experiments with one subject, it should be taken into account that the main artifacts are practically irremovable. In addition, in this case, as in no other, the influence of the experimenter's attitudes and the relationship that develops between him and the subject is manifested.

R. Gottsdanker proposes to distinguish qualitative and quantitative experimental plans.[63] In qualitative designs, the independent variable is presented on a nominative scale, i.e. two or more qualitatively different conditions are used in the experiment.

In quantitative experimental plans, the levels of the independent variable are presented on interval, rank, or proportional scales, i.e., the levels of severity of a particular condition are used in the experiment.

A situation is possible when in a factorial experiment one variable will be presented in a quantitative form, and the other - in a qualitative form. In this case, the plan will be combined.

Intragroup and intergroup experimental plans. T.V. Kornilova defines two types of experimental plans according to the criterion of the number of groups and the conditions of the experiment: intragroup and intergroup.[64] Intragroup designs are those in which the influence of variants of the independent variable and the measurement of the experimental effect occur in the same group. In intergroup plans, the influence of variants of the independent variable is carried out in different experimental groups.

The advantages of the intragroup plan are: a smaller number of participants, the elimination of factors of individual differences, a decrease in the total time of the experiment, the possibility of proving the statistical significance of the experimental effect. Disadvantages include non-constancy of conditions and manifestation of the "sequence effect".

The advantages of the intergroup design are: the absence of a "consistency effect", the possibility of obtaining more data, reducing the time of participation in the experiment for each subject, reducing the effect of dropping out participants in the experiment. The main disadvantage of the intergroup plan is the non-equivalence of groups.

Designs with one independent variable and factorial designs. According to the criterion of the number of experimental influences, D. Martin proposes to distinguish between plans with one independent variable, factorial plans and plans with a series of experiments.[65] In plans with one independent variable, the experimenter manipulates one independent variable, which can have an unlimited number of manifestations. In factor plans (for details on them, see p. 120), the experimenter manipulates two or more independent variables, explores all possible options for the interaction of their different levels.

Plans with a series of experiments are carried out to gradually eliminate competing hypotheses. At the end of the series, the experimenter comes to the verification of one hypothesis.

Pre-experimental, quasi-experimental and true experimental designs. D. Campbell suggested dividing all experimental plans for groups of subjects into the following groups: pre-experimental, quasi-experimental and plans for true experiments.[66] This division is based on the closeness of a real experiment to an ideal one. The fewer artifacts a particular plan provokes and the stricter the control of additional variables, the closer the experiment is to the ideal. Pre-experimental plans least of all take into account the requirements for an ideal experiment. V.N. Druzhinin points out that they can only serve as an illustration, in the practice of scientific research they should be avoided if possible.[67] Quasi-experimental plans are an attempt to take into account the realities of life when conducting empirical research, they are specially created with a deviation from the schemes of true experiments. The researcher must be aware of the sources of artifacts - external additional variables that he cannot control. A quasi-experimental plan is used when a better plan cannot be applied.

Systematized features of pre-experimental, quasi-experimental designs and true experimental designs are given in the following table.[68]

When describing the experimental plans, we will use the symbolization proposed by D. Campbell: R - randomization; X - experimental exposure; O - testing.

К pre-experimental plans include: 1) study of a single case; 2) a plan with preliminary and final testing of one group; 3) comparison of statistical groups.

In the study of a single case, one group is tested once after the experimental exposure. Schematically, this plan can be written as:

XO

The control of external variables and the independent variable is completely absent. In such an experiment, there is no material for comparison. The results can only be compared with ordinary ideas about reality; they do not carry scientific information.

A plan with preliminary and final testing of one group is often used in sociological, socio-psychological and pedagogical research. It can be written as:

O1XO2

There is no control group in this plan, so it cannot be argued that the changes in the dependent variable (difference between O1 and O2) recorded during testing are caused by the change in the independent variable. Between the initial and final testing, other "background" events may occur that affect the subjects along with the independent variable. This plan also does not allow control over the effect of natural development and the effect of testing.

Comparison of statistical groups would be more accurately called a design for two non-equivalent groups with post-exposure testing. It can be written like this:

XO1

O2

This plan takes into account the effect of testing by introducing a control group to control a number of external variables. However, with its help it is impossible to take into account the effect of natural development, since there is no material for comparing the state of the subjects at the moment with their initial state (no preliminary testing was carried out). To compare the results of the control and experimental groups, Student's t-test is used. However, it should be borne in mind that differences in test results may not be due to experimental exposure, but to differences in the composition of the groups.

Quasi-experimental plans are a kind of compromise between reality and the strict framework of true experiments. There are the following types of quasi-experimental plans in psychological research: 1) plans for experiments for non-equivalent groups; 2) plans with preliminary and final testing of various randomized groups; 3) plans for discrete time series.

The experimental plan for non-equivalent groups is aimed at establishing a causal relationship between variables, but there is no group equalization procedure (randomization) in it. This plan can be represented by the following diagram:

O1 X O2

O3 O4

In this case, two real groups are involved in the experiment. Both groups are being tested. Then one group is subjected to experimental exposure and the other is not. Both groups are then retested. The results of the first and second testing of both groups are compared, for comparison, Student's t-test and analysis of variance are used. The difference between O2 and O4 is indicative of natural development and background exposure. To identify the effect of an independent variable, it is necessary to compare 6(O1 O2) and 6(O3 O4), i.e., the magnitude of the shifts in indicators. The significance of the difference in the growth of indicators will indicate the influence of the independent variable on the dependent one. This design is similar to the true two-group experiment with pre- and post-exposure testing (see p. 118). The main source of artifacts is the difference in the composition of groups.

A design with pre-testing and post-testing of different randomized groups differs from the design of a true experiment in that pre-testing is performed by one group, and the final testing is an equivalent group that has been exposed to:

R O1

RX O2

The main disadvantage of this quasi-experimental design is the inability to control the "background" effect - the influence of events that occur along with the experimental exposure in the period between the first and second testing.

Discrete time series plans are subdivided into several types depending on the number of groups (one or more), and also depending on the number of experimental effects (single or series of effects).

The plan of discrete time series for one group of subjects is that the initial level of the dependent variable is initially determined on a group of subjects using a series of consecutive measurements. Then an experimental effect is applied and a series of similar measurements is carried out. Compare the levels of the dependent variable before and after exposure. Schematic of this plan:

O1O2O3O4O5O6

The main disadvantage of the discrete time series design is that it does not allow one to separate the effect of the influence of the independent variable from the influence of the background events that occur during the study.

A modification of this design is a time-series quasi-experiment in which pre-measurement exposure alternates with no pre-measurement exposure. His schema is:

XO1 - O2XO3 - O4 XO5

Alternation can be regular or random. This option is only suitable if the effect is reversible. When processing the data obtained in the experiment, the series are divided into two sequences and the results of measurements, where there was an impact, are compared with the results of measurements, where it was absent. To compare the data, Student's t-test is used with the number of degrees of freedom n - 2, where n is the number of situations of the same type.

Time series plans are often implemented in practice. However, when they are used, the so-called "Hawthorne effect" is often observed. It was first discovered by American scientists in 1939, when they were conducting research at the Hawthorne plant in Chicago. It was assumed that the change in the system of labor organization would increase its productivity. However, during the experiment, any changes in the organization of labor led to an increase in its productivity. As a result, it turned out that participation in the experiment itself increased the motivation to work. The subjects realized that they were personally interested in them, and began to work more productively. To control for this effect, a control group must be used.

The scheme of the time series plan for two non-equivalent groups, of which one is not affected, looks like this:

O1O2O3O4O5O6O7O8O9O10

O1O2O3O4O5O6O7O8O9O10

Such a plan allows you to control the "background" effect. It is usually used by researchers when studying real groups in educational institutions, clinics, and in production.

Another specific plan that is often used in psychology is called an ex-post-facto experiment. It is often used in sociology, pedagogy, as well as in neuropsychology and clinical psychology. The strategy for implementing this plan is as follows. The experimenter himself does not influence the subjects. Some real event from their life acts as an influence. The experimental group consists of "subjects" who have been exposed, while the control group consists of people who have not experienced it. In this case, the groups, if possible, are equalized at the moment of their state before the impact. Then the dependent variable is tested in the representatives of the experimental and control groups. The data obtained as a result of testing are compared and a conclusion is made about the impact of exposure on the further behavior of the subjects. Thus, the ex-post-facto plan imitates the design of the experiment for two groups with their equalization and testing after exposure. His schema is:

(R)X O1

(R)O2

If it is possible to achieve group equivalence, then this design becomes the design of a true experiment. It is implemented in many modern studies. For example, in the study of post-traumatic stress, when people who have suffered the effects of a natural or man-made disaster, or combatants are tested for the presence of post-traumatic stress syndrome, their results are compared with the results of the control group, which makes it possible to identify the mechanisms for the occurrence of such reactions. In the neuropsychology of brain injury, lesions of certain structures, considered as "experimental exposure", provide a unique opportunity to identify the localization of mental functions.

Plans for true experiments for one independent variable differ from others as follows:

1) using strategies for creating equivalent groups (randomization);

2) the presence of at least one experimental and one control group;

3) final testing and comparison of the results of groups that received and did not receive exposure.

Let us consider in more detail some experimental designs for one independent variable.

Plan for two randomized groups with post-exposure testing. His schema looks like this:

RXO1

R O2

This plan is used if it is not possible or necessary to conduct preliminary testing. When the experimental and control groups are equal, this plan is the best, since it allows you to control most of the sources of artifacts. The absence of preliminary testing excludes both the effect of the interaction of the testing procedure and the experimental task, and the effect of testing itself. The plan allows you to control the influence of the composition of groups, spontaneous dropout, the influence of the background and natural development, the interaction of the composition of the group with other factors.

In the considered example, one level of influence of the independent variable was used. If it has several levels, then the number of experimental groups increases to the number of levels of the independent variable.

Plan for two randomized groups with pre and post testing. The outline of the plan looks like this:

R O1 X O2

R O3 O4

This plan is used when there is doubt about the results of randomization. The main source of artifacts is the interaction between testing and experimental exposure. In reality, one also has to deal with the effect of testing non-simultaneity. Therefore, it is considered best to conduct testing of members of the experimental and control groups in random order. Presentation-non-presentation of the experimental impact is also best done in a random order. D. Campbell notes the need to control "intragroup events".[69] This experimental design controls well the background effect and the natural development effect.

When processing data, parametric criteria t and F are usually used (for data on an interval scale). Three values ​​of t are calculated: 1) between O1 and O2; 2) between O3 and O4; 3) between O2 and O4. The hypothesis of the significance of the influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable can be accepted if two conditions are met: 1) the differences between O1 and O2 are significant, and between O3 and O4 are insignificant, and 2) the differences between O2 and O4 are significant. Sometimes it is more convenient to compare not the absolute values, but the increments of the indicators b(1 2) and b(3 4). These values ​​are also compared by Student's t-test. If the differences are significant, an experimental hypothesis is accepted about the influence of the independent variable on the dependent one.

Solomon's plan is a combination of the two previous plans. For its implementation, two experimental (E) and two control (C) groups are required. His schema looks like this:

With this plan, the interaction effect of pre-testing and the experimental exposure effect can be controlled. The effect of experimental exposure is revealed by comparing the indicators: O1 and O2; O2 and O4; O5 and O6; O5 and O3. Comparison of O6, O1 and O3 reveals the effect of natural development and background influences on the dependent variable.

Now consider a design for one independent variable and several groups.

Design for three randomized groups and three levels of the independent variable used in cases where it is necessary to identify quantitative relationships between the independent and dependent variables. His schema looks like this:

When implementing this plan, each group is presented with only one level of the independent variable. If necessary, you can increase the number of experimental groups in accordance with the number of levels of the independent variable. All of the above statistical methods can be used to process the data obtained with such an experimental design.

Factorial Experimental Designs are used to test complex hypotheses about relationships between variables. In a factorial experiment, as a rule, two types of hypotheses are tested: 1) hypotheses about the separate influence of each of the independent variables; 2) hypotheses about the interaction of variables. The factorial design is to ensure that all levels of independent variables are combined with each other. The number of experimental groups is equal to the number of combinations.

Factorial design for two independent variables and two levels (2 x 2). This is the simplest of factorial designs. His diagram looks like this.

This plan reveals the effect of two independent variables on one dependent variable. The experimenter combines possible variables and levels. Sometimes four independent randomized experimental groups are used. Fisher's analysis of variance is used to process the results.

There are more complex versions of the factorial design: 3 x 2 and 3 x 3, etc. The addition of each level of the independent variable increases the number of experimental groups.

"Latin Square". It is a simplification of the full plan for three independent variables with two or more levels. The principle of the Latin square is that two levels of different variables occur only once in the experimental plan. This significantly reduces the number of groups and the experimental sample as a whole.

For example, for three independent variables (L, M, N) with three levels each (1, 2, 3 and N(A, B, C)) the Latin square plan would look like this.

In this case, the level of the third independent variable (A, B, C) occurs once in each row and in each column. By combining the results across rows, columns, and levels, it is possible to identify the influence of each of the independent variables on the dependent variable, as well as the degree of pairwise interaction of the variables. The use of Latin letters A, B, C to designate the levels of the third variable is traditional, which is why the method was called the "Latin square".

"Greco-Latin square". This plan is used when it is necessary to investigate the influence of four independent variables. It is built on the basis of a Latin square for three variables, with a Greek letter attached to each Latin group of the plan, denoting the levels of the fourth variable. The schema for a plan with four independent variables, each with three levels, would look like this:

To process the data obtained in terms of "Greek-Latin square", the method of variance analysis according to Fisher is used.

The main problem that factorial designs can solve is to determine the interaction of two or more variables. This problem cannot be solved by applying several conventional experiments with one independent variable. In the factorial plan, instead of trying to "clear" the experimental situation from additional variables (with a threat to external validity), the experimenter brings it closer to reality by introducing some additional variables into the category of independent ones. At the same time, the analysis of the relationships between the characteristics under study makes it possible to reveal hidden structural factors on which the parameters of the measured variable depend.

4.8. Correlation studies

The theory of correlation research was developed by the English mathematician K. Pearson. The strategy for conducting such a study is that there is no controlled impact on the object. The plan of the correlation study is simple. The researcher puts forward a hypothesis about the presence of a statistical relationship between several mental properties of an individual. However, the assumption of causal dependence is not discussed.

A correlation study is a study conducted to confirm or refute a hypothesis about a statistical relationship between several (two or more) variables. In psychology, mental properties, processes, states, etc. can act as variables.

Correlations. "Correlation" literally means ratio. If a change in one variable is accompanied by a change in another, then we speak of the correlation of these variables. The presence of a correlation between two variables is not evidence of the presence of causal relationships between them, but it makes it possible to put forward such a hypothesis. The absence of correlation allows one to refute the hypothesis of a causal relationship of variables.

There are several types of correlations:

- direct correlation (the level of one variable directly corresponds to the level of another variable);

- correlation due to the third variable (the level of one variable corresponds to the level of another variable due to the fact that both of these variables are due to the third, common variable);

- random correlation (not due to any variable);

- correlation due to the heterogeneity of the sample (if the sample consists of two heterogeneous groups, then a correlation can be obtained that does not exist in the general population).

Correlations are of the following types:

- positive correlation (an increase in the level of one variable is accompanied by an increase in the level of another variable);

- negative correlation (an increase in the level of one variable is accompanied by a decrease in the level of another);

- zero correlation (indicates the absence of a connection between variables);

- non-linear relationship (within certain limits, an increase in the level of one variable is accompanied by an increase in the level of another, and with other parameters - vice versa. Most psychological variables have just a non-linear relationship).

Planning a correlation study. The design of the correlation study is a kind of quasi-experimental design in the absence of the influence of the independent variable on the dependent ones. A correlation study is broken down into a series of independent measurements in a group of subjects. In the case of a simple correlation study, the group is homogeneous. In the case of a comparative correlation study, we have several subgroups that differ in one or more criteria. The results of such measurements give a matrix of the form P x O. The data of the correlation study are processed by calculating correlations in rows or columns of the matrix. Row correlation yields a comparison of subjects. Column correlation provides information about the association of measured variables. Temporal correlations are often detected, i.e., changes in the structure of correlations over time.

The main types of correlation research are considered below.

Comparison of two groups. It is used to establish the similarity or difference between two natural or randomized groups in terms of the severity of one or another parameter. The mean results of the two groups are compared using Student's t-test. If necessary, Fisher's t-test (see 7.3) can also be used to compare the variances of an indicator between two groups.

Univariate study of one group under different conditions. The design of this study is close to experimental. But in the case of a correlation study, we do not control the independent variable, but only state the change in the individual's behavior under different conditions.

Correlation study of pairwise equivalent groups. This plan is used in the study of twins by the method of intra-pair correlations. The twin method is based on the following provisions: the genotypes of monozygotic twins are 100% similar, and dizygotic twins are 50% similar, the development environment of both dizygotic and monozygotic pairs is the same. Dizygotic and monozygotic twins are divided into groups: each contains one twin from a pair. In twins of both groups, the parameter of interest to the researcher is measured. Then correlations between parameters (O-correlation) and between twins (P-correlation) are calculated. Comparing the intra-pair correlations of monozygotic and dizygotic twins, it is possible to identify the shares of the influence of the environment and the genotype on the development of a particular trait. If the correlation of monozygotic twins is reliably higher than the correlation of dizygotic twins, then we can talk about the existing genetic determination of the trait, otherwise we talk about environmental determination.

Multivariate correlation study. It is carried out to test the hypothesis about the relationship of several variables. An experimental group is selected, which is tested according to a specific program consisting of several tests. Research data are entered in the table of "raw" data. Then this table is processed, the coefficients of linear correlations are calculated. Correlations are evaluated for statistical differences.

Structural correlation study. The researcher reveals the difference in the level of correlation dependencies between the same indicators measured in representatives of different groups.

Longitudinal correlation study. It is built according to the plan of time series with testing of the group at specified intervals. In contrast to a simple longitudinal, the researcher is interested in changes not so much in the variables themselves as in the relationships between them.

Topic 5. Psychological dimension

5.1. Elements of the theory of psychological dimension

Measurement can be an independent research method, but it can also act as a component of an integral experimental procedure. As an independent method, measurement serves to identify individual differences in the behavior of subjects and their reflection of the world around them, as well as to study the adequacy of reflection and the structure of individual experience.

Measurement in the procedure of the experiment is considered as a method of recording the state of the object of study and, accordingly, changes in this state in response to the experimental impact.

Psychological tests are built on the basis of measurement theory.

In psychology, there are three main procedures for psychological measurement. The basis of the distinction is the object of measurement.

1. Measuring the characteristics of people's behavior, determining the differences between people in terms of the severity of certain properties, the presence of a particular mental state, or to refer to a certain type. The psychological dimension is to measure the subjects.

2. Measurement as a task of the subject, during which the latter measures (classifies, ranks, evaluates, etc.) external objects: other people, stimuli or objects of the outside world, own states. The psychological dimension in this case is the dimension of stimuli. A stimulus is any scalable object.

3. Joint measurement of stimuli and subjects. It is assumed that "stimuli" and "subjects" can be located on the same axis. The behavior of the subject is considered as a manifestation of the interaction of the individual and the situation.

Outwardly, the procedure for psychological measurement of subjects is no different from the procedure for a psychological experiment. However, when conducting a psychological experiment, the researcher is interested in causal relationships between variables, and the result of a psychological measurement is only the assignment of the object being tested or evaluated by him to one or another class, point on the scale or space of signs.

The psychological measurement of stimuli is a task that the subject solves in the course of a psychological experiment. In this case, the measurement is used only as a methodological device along with other methods of psychological research; the subject "plays the role" of the measuring instrument.

In essence, the psychological measurement of subjects and the psychological measurement of stimuli are qualitatively different procedures, but it is customary in psychology to use the concept of "psychological measurement" in relation to both of these cases. The psychological measurement procedure consists of a number of steps, similar to those of an experimental study. The basis of psychological measurements is the mathematical theory of measurements - a branch of mathematical psychology.

From a mathematical point of view, measurement is the operation of establishing a one-to-one correspondence between a set of objects and symbols (as a special case - numbers). The rules by which numbers are assigned to objects determine the scale of measurement. Scale (from lat. scala - ladder) in the literal sense is a measuring tool.

The concept of a measuring scale was introduced into psychology by the American scientist S. Stevens.[70] His interpretation of the scale is still used in scientific literature today.

Operations, methods of measuring objects determine the type of scale. There are several types of scales (see 5.2). The scale, in turn, is characterized by the type of transformations that can be applied to the measurement results. If this rule is not observed, then the structure of the scale will be violated, and the measurement data cannot be meaningfully interpreted. The scale type uniquely defines the set of statistical methods that can be applied to process the measurement data.

5.2. Measuring scales

Let us consider in more detail the features of various measuring scales. S. Stevens[71] proposed a classification of four types of measurement scales:

1) nominative (nominal, scale of names);

2) ordinal (ordinal);

3) interval (scale of equal intervals);

4) scale of equal relations.

The nominative (from Latin nomen - name, name) scale is a scale that classifies by name. The name is not measured quantitatively, but only allows you to distinguish one object from another or one subject from another. The nominative scale is a way of classifying objects or subjects, distributing them into classification cells.

The simplest case of a nominative scale is a dichotomous scale consisting of two names. A trait that is measured on a dichotomous scale of names is called an alternative. It can take only two values ​​(for example, left-handed - right-handed). A more complex version of the nominative scale is a classification of three or more names (for example, choleric, sanguine, phlegmatic, melancholic).

Having distributed all objects, reactions or all subjects into classes, you can go from names to numbers by counting the number of observations in each class.

Thus, the nominative scale allows you to count the frequencies of occurrence of different names or values ​​of a feature, and then work with these frequencies using mathematical methods.

An ordinal scale is a scale that classifies according to the "more - less" principle. If in the scale of names it does not matter in what order the classes are located, then in the ordinal scale they form a sequence from the smallest value to the largest (or vice versa).

There must be at least three classes on the ordinal scale (for example, positive response - neutral response - negative response). In the ordinal scale, the true distance between the classes is not known, but it is known that they form a sequence.

It is easy to move from classes to numbers, if you consider that the lower class gets rank 1, the middle class gets rank 2, and the upper class gets rank 3, or vice versa. The more classes in the scale, the more opportunities for mathematical processing of the obtained data and testing of statistical hypotheses.

All psychological methods that use ranking are based on the use of an ordinal scale. If the subject is asked, for example, to order 15 needs according to their degree of importance or to rank the list of the teacher's personal qualities, then in all these cases he performs the so-called forced ranking, in which the number of ranks corresponds to the number of subjects or objects being ranked (needs, qualities, etc.). .).

Regardless of whether each quality or subject is assigned one of three or four ranks, or whether a forced ranking procedure is performed, the result is a series of values ​​measured on an ordinal scale. However, the data obtained in different groups may turn out to be incomparable, since the groups may initially differ in the level of development of the studied quality, and the subject who received the highest rank in one group would receive only the average in the other, etc.

The unit of measurement in the order scale is the distance of 1 rank, while the distance between classes and ranks can be different.

An interval scale is a scale that classifies according to the principle "more by a certain number of units - less by a certain number of units." Each of the possible values ​​of the attribute is separated from the other by an equal distance.

The construction of an interval scale for measuring mental phenomena is a very complicated matter. Even when receiving data in physical units (seconds, centimeters, etc.), the results of a psychological measurement are not measured on an interval scale. Similarly, the values ​​obtained by the subjects in points according to any non-standardized method are measured only on a scale of order. In fact, only standard deviation scales and percentile scales can be considered equal-interval - and then only if the distribution of values ​​in the standardizing sample was normal.[72]

The principle of constructing most interval scales is based on the "three sigma" rule: approximately 97,7-97,8% of all characteristic values ​​with its normal distribution fit into the range M ± 36. You can build a scale in units of standard deviation shares that will cover all possible range of feature changes, if leftmost and rightmost intervals are left open.

The American psychologist R. Cattell proposed a scale of walls - "standard tens". The construction of such a scale begins with the determination of the arithmetic mean in "raw" points, which is taken as a starting point. To the right and to the left, intervals equal to 1/2 standard deviation are measured. To the right of the average value there will be intervals equal to 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 walls, to the left - intervals equal to 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 walls. On the axis of "raw" scores, the boundaries of the intervals are marked in units of "raw" scores. Sometimes in the wall scale for a different number of "raw" points, the same number of walls will be awarded. The wall scale can be constructed from any data measured at least on an ordinal scale, with a sample size of n > 200 and a normal distribution of the feature.

Another way to build an equal-interval scale is to group the intervals according to the principle of equality of the accumulated frequencies (percentile scale). With a normal distribution of a feature, most of all observations are grouped in the vicinity of the mean value, therefore, in this region of the mean value, the intervals are smaller, narrower, and as they move away from the distribution center, they increase. Therefore, such a percentile scale is equal-interval only with respect to the cumulative frequency.[73]

Many researchers do not check the degree of coincidence of their empirical distribution with the normal distribution, and even more so do not convert the obtained values ​​into units of standard deviation shares, or percentiles, preferring to use "raw" data. "Raw" data often gives a skewed, edge-cut, or bimodal distribution. One has to meet with such distributions very often, and the point here is not some kind of mistake, but the specifics of psychological signs.

A scale of equal relations is a scale that classifies objects or subjects in proportion to the severity of the property being measured. On ratio scales, classes are denoted by numbers that are proportional to each other: 2 is to 4 as 4 is to 8. This suggests an absolute zero reference point. However, the possibilities of the human psyche are so great that it is difficult to imagine an absolute zero in any measurable psychological variable.

Absolute zero may occur when counting the number of objects or subjects. In relation to frequency indicators, it is possible to apply all arithmetic operations: addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. The unit of measure in this ratio scale is one observation, one choice, one reaction, and so on.

Thus, the universal scale of measurement in the frequencies of occurrence of a particular value of a trait and the unit of measurement, which is one observation, is the nominative scale. Having classified the subjects according to the characteristics of the nominative scale, one can then apply the highest scale of measurement - the scale of relations between frequencies.

5.3. Testing and measurement theory

A variation of the procedure for measuring the properties of an object is psychological testing (for details, see topic 6).

From a theoretical point of view, testing consists of two main components: testing itself - the interaction of the subject with the test and interpretation - the interaction of data (indicators) of the subject with the data set.

Depending on what properties and indicators the researcher deals with on a set of subjects (determined by the nature of the property) or indicators (determined by the description of behavior and tasks), different test models are obtained. If the property is not defined, then the difference relation on the set of people is considered. This relationship gives rise to a new class of objects. Such a test reveals a measure of the similarity of each person with the "reference person".

If a property is defined qualitatively, then it is considered as a point property, which makes it possible to limit the class of objects - to single out people who have this property and people who do not. In this case, the test allows for a dichotomous classification.

If the property is linear or multidimensional, then it is possible to identify the magnitude of the property that characterizes each person. The test allows you to measure a property quantitatively.

The cumulative-additive test model was proposed by the German psychologist K. Levin, who understood behavior as a function of personality and situation. The test solves the problem of restoring the personality property by behavior in a situation. The situation is the test item, and the behavior is the response of the subject. Thus, each property indicator is a combination of behavior and situation. Thus, personality is derived from a set of indicators. The property discovery procedure, to which the test measurement is reduced, ends with the output of the total score. The "raw" score is considered to be an assessment that characterizes the subject.

The cumulative hypothesis is tested by correlating the results of applying different methods. If there is a high positive coefficient of linear correlation of the results, the cumulative-additive model is adopted to process the personal questionnaire data.

Probabilistic test model. A critical assessment of the application of the cumulative-additive model was given by the Swiss psychologist R. Meili. He believed that tests only measured the likelihood of a subject having a particular psychological property, not its intensity.[74] According to V.N. Druzhinin, R. Meili's criticism is only of a qualitative nature and has no mathematical or empirical justification.[75] From the point of view of the generalized model, the main requirement for the test is that the measurement and interpretation procedures are identical.

Topic 6. Psychological testing

6.1. General characteristics of psychological testing

Psychological testing is a method of measuring and evaluating the psychological characteristics of a person using special techniques. The subject of testing can be any psychological characteristics of a person: mental processes, states, properties, relationships, etc. The basis of psychological testing is a psychological test - a standardized test system that allows you to detect and measure qualitative and quantitative individual psychological differences.

Initially, testing was considered as a kind of experiment. However, to date, the specificity and independent significance of testing in psychology make it possible to distinguish it from the actual experiment.

The theory and practice of testing are summarized in independent scientific disciplines - psychological diagnostics and testology. Psychological diagnostics is the science of methods for identifying and measuring individual psychological and individual psychophysiological characteristics of a person. Thus, psychodiagnostics is an experimental psychological branch of differential psychology. Testology is the science of developing, designing tests.

The testing process usually includes three steps:

1) the choice of a methodology that is adequate to the goals and objectives of testing;

2) actual testing, i.e. data collection in accordance with the instructions;

3) comparison of the obtained data with the "norm" or among themselves and making an assessment.

In connection with the presence of two ways of making a mark on the test, two types of psychological diagnosis are distinguished. The first type consists in ascertaining the presence or absence of any sign. In this case, the data obtained about the individual characteristics of the psyche of the test person are correlated with some given criterion. The second type of diagnosis makes it possible to compare several testees with each other and find the place of each of them on a certain "axis" depending on the degree of manifestation of certain qualities. To do this, all subjects are ranked according to the degree of representation of the indicator under study, high, medium, low, etc. levels of the studied features in this sample are introduced.

Strictly speaking, a psychological diagnosis is not only the result of comparing empirical data with a test scale or with each other, but also the result of a qualified interpretation, taking into account many factors (the mental state of the test person, his readiness to perceive tasks and report on his indicators, the testing situation, etc.). ).

Psychological tests especially clearly demonstrate the connection between the method of research and the methodological views of the psychologist. For example, depending on the preferred theory of personality, the researcher chooses the type of personality questionnaire.

The use of tests is an integral feature of modern psychodiagnostics. There are several areas of practical use of the results of psychodiagnostics: the field of training and education, the field of professional selection and career guidance, consultative and psychotherapeutic practice, and, finally, the field of expertise - medical, judicial, etc.

6.2. The emergence and development of the testing method

The emergence of the testing method, as mentioned above, occurred at the end of the XNUMXth century. based on the development of experimental methods for the study of mental phenomena. The possibility of quantitative assessment of mental phenomena and comparison on this basis of the results of different subjects among themselves led to the rapid development of the testing method. Along with this, knowledge about the individual psychological characteristics of people was accumulating.

The differential psychological study of man was formed not only as a consequence of the development of experimental psychology. Differential psychology "grew" out of the tasks facing medical and pedagogical practice, where there was a great need for differentiating mentally ill and mentally retarded people.

The development of psychological tests was carried out in many European countries and in the USA. Initially, ordinary laboratory experiments were used as tests, but the meaning of their use was different. In these experiments, not differences in the reactions of the subject to different stimuli were studied, but individual differences in the reactions of the subject under constant experimental conditions.

In 1905, the first intelligence test appeared, corresponding to the modern understanding of tests. By order of the French Ministry of Education, the French psychologist A. Binet developed an intelligence test to identify mentally handicapped children who are unable to study in regular schools. In 1907, this test was improved by compatriot A. Binet T. Simon and was called the Binet-Simon mental development scale. The developed scale contained 30 tasks arranged in order of increasing difficulty. For example, for a child of three years it was required: 1) to show his eyes, nose, mouth; 2) repeat a sentence up to six words long; 3) repeat two numbers from memory; 4) name the drawn objects; 5) give your last name. If the child solved all the tasks, he was offered tasks of an older age level. Tasks were considered appropriate for a certain age level if they were correctly performed by the majority (80-90%) of children of this age.

The Binet-Simon scale in subsequent editions (1908 and 1911) was translated into English and German. In these editions, the age range was expanded - up to 13 years, the number of tasks was increased, and the concept of mental age was introduced. Mental age was determined by the success of the test tasks in the following way: first, the child was offered tasks corresponding to his chronological age. If he coped with all the tasks, he was offered tasks for the next older age group. If he did not complete the tasks of his age group, he was offered tasks from the previous younger age group. The base mental age was considered to be the one, all tasks of which were completed by the child. If the child performed, in addition to them, some tasks from the next older age, then several "mental months" were added to his base mental age.

In 1912, the German psychologist W. Stern introduced the concept of intelligence quotient (IQ), defined as the ratio of mental age to chronological age, expressed as a percentage.

The improvement of the A. Binet scale was continued at Stanford University (USA) under the guidance of the American psychologist L.M. Theremin. In 1916, a new, standardized version of this scale was proposed, which became known as the Stanford-Binet scale. It had two significant differences from previous editions. Firstly, it used the IQ, and secondly, it introduced the concept of a statistical norm. For each age, the most typical, mean test score was 100, and the statistical measure of variation, standard deviation, was 16. Thus, all individual scores between 84 and 116 were considered normal. If the test score was above 116, the child was considered gifted, if below 84, mentally retarded. The Stanford-Binet scale subsequently had several more editions (1937, 1960, 1972, 1986). Newly created intelligence tests are still tested for validity by comparing with the results of this scale.

At the beginning of the XX century. the development of testing was also determined by the demands of industry and the army. Tests were created for selection in various sectors of production and the service sector (Münsterberg tests for the professional selection of telephone operators, Friedrich tests for the selection of locksmiths, Guth tests for compositors, etc.), as well as for the distribution of recruits by military branches (tests "Army Alpha" and "Army Beta"). This led to the emergence of group testing. Subsequently, army tests were used for civilian purposes.

In the first half of the XX century. A number of methods aimed at the differential diagnosis of various types of pathology have appeared. The German psychiatrist E. Kraepelin continued the work of F. Galton on the method of free associations. Subsequently, the associative experiment was transformed into the "method of incomplete sentences", widely used to this day. In 1921, the Swiss psychiatrist G. Rorschach created the "ink spot test", which is one of the most popular projective methods.

In 1935, the American psychologists H. Morgan and G. Murray developed the thematic apperception test (TAT), which currently has many modifications. In parallel, the theoretical foundations of test design were developed, and the methods of mathematical and statistical processing were improved. Correlation and factor analysis appeared (C. Spearman, T. L. Keely, L. L. Thurston and others). This allowed the development of principles for standardizing tests, which made it possible to create consistent test batteries. As a result, methods were proposed based on the factorial principle (R. Cattell's 16PF questionnaire, etc.), and new intelligence tests (1936 - J. Raven's test, 1949 - D. Wexler's test, 1953 - Amthauer's test ). At the same time, professional selection tests (the GATB battery for the US Army in 1957) and clinical tests (the MMPI questionnaire in the 1940s) were being improved.

In 1950-1960. there have been important changes in the ideology of testing. If earlier tests were aimed at screening, selection, typing people into various categories, then in the 1950s-1960s. psychodiagnostics turned to the needs and problems of the individual. A huge number of personality questionnaires have appeared, the purpose of which is an in-depth knowledge of the personality, the identification of its features (questionnaires by G. Eysenck and others).

A significant number of special ability and achievement tests have been created at the request of industry and education. In the middle of the XNUMXth century, criterion-oriented tests appeared.

Currently, psychologists have more than ten thousand test methods in their arsenal.

6.3. Classification of psychological tests

One of the most successful classifications was proposed by the American psychologist S. Rosenzweig in 1950. He divided psychodiagnostic methods into three groups: subjective, objective, and projective.

Subjective methods, to which Rosenzweig referred questionnaires and autobiographies, require the subject to observe himself as an object. Objective methods require investigation through observation of outward behavior. Projective methods are based on the analysis of the test subject's reactions to seemingly personality-neutral material.

American psychologist G.W. Allport proposed to distinguish between direct and indirect methods in psychodiagnostics. In direct methods, conclusions about the properties and relations of the subject are made on the basis of his conscious report, they correspond to the subjective and objective methods of Rosenzweig. In indirect methods, conclusions are made on the basis of the subject's identifications, they correspond to projective methods in the Rosenzweig classification.

In domestic psychology, it is customary to subdivide all psychodiagnostic methods into two types: methods of a high level of formalization (formalized) and low-formalized methods (M.K. Akimova).[76]

Formalized methods are characterized by strict regulation of the examination procedure (strict adherence to instructions, strictly defined methods of presenting stimulus material, etc.); they provide norms or other criteria for evaluating results. These techniques make it possible to collect diagnostic information in a relatively short time, quantitatively and qualitatively compare the results of a large number of subjects.

Less formalized methods provide valuable information about the subject in cases where the phenomena being studied are difficult to objectify (personal meanings, subjective experiences) or extremely changeable (states, moods). Less formalized methods require a high professionalism of the psychologist, a significant investment of time. However, these types of techniques should not be completely opposed, since in general they complement each other.

The whole group of formalized methods is sometimes called tests. However, in this classification they include four classes of methods: tests, questionnaires, projective techniques and psychophysiological methods. Less formalized methods include: observation, conversation, analysis of activity products.

In the context of the topic under consideration, let us turn to the classification of S. Rosenzweig, presented and considered in detail in the work of V.V. Nikandrov and V.V. Novochadov.[77]

Subjective psychodiagnostic methods. When using a subjective diagnostic approach, obtaining information is based on self-assessment by the subject of his behavior and personal characteristics. Accordingly, methods based on the use of the principle of self-assessment are called subjective.

Subjective methods in psychodiagnostics are mainly represented by questionnaires. The Dictionary-Handbook on Psychodiagnostics[78] states that questionnaires include psychodiagnostic techniques, the tasks of which are presented in the form of questions. However, such a presentation of tasks is only an external sign that unites the questionnaires, but it is not at all sufficient to classify the methods in this group, since the tasks of both intellectual and projective tests are formulated in the form of questions.

On procedure for using Questionnaires are similar to questionnaires. In both cases, communication between the researcher and the subject is mediated by a questionnaire or questionnaire. The subject himself reads the questions offered to him and fixes his answers himself. Such mediation makes it possible to conduct a mass psychodiagnostic study using questionnaires. At the same time, there are a number of differences that do not allow considering questionnaires and questionnaires as synonyms. The difference in orientation is decisive: unlike questionnaires that perform the function of collecting information of any orientation, questionnaires are aimed at identifying personal characteristics, which is why they do not have a technological feature (getting answers to questions), but a target one (measuring personal qualities). ). Hence, there are differences in the specifics of research procedures for questioning and testing using a questionnaire. Questioning is usually anonymous, testing using a questionnaire is personalized. Questioning, as a rule, is formal, the respondent's answers do not lead to any immediate consequences, testing is personal. Questioning is more free in terms of the procedure for collecting information, up to sending questionnaires by mail, testing usually involves direct contact with the person being tested.

Thus, the questionnaire is a test for identifying individual psychological differences based on self-description of their manifestations by the subjects. A questionnaire, in the strict sense of the word, is a set of sequentially asked questions that are put into a questionnaire or questionnaire during their construction. The questionnaire, therefore, includes instructions to the subject, a list of questions (i.e., a questionnaire), keys for processing the data received, and information on interpreting the results.

On construction principle Distinguish questionnaires-questionnaires and actual questionnaires. Questionnaires-questionnaires include methods that carry the elements of the questionnaire. They are characterized by the inclusion of questions not only of closed, but also of open type. Processing of closed questions is carried out according to the corresponding keys and scales, the results are supplemented and refined by information obtained with the help of open questions. Questionnaires usually include questions to identify socio-demographic indicators: information about gender, age, education, etc. A questionnaire may consist entirely of open questions, and sometimes the number of answers to questions is not limited. In addition, it is customary to include methods, the subject of which is weakly related to personal characteristics, to questionnaire questionnaires, even if such methods have formal characteristics of a questionnaire (for example, the Michigan screening test for alcoholism).

On area of ​​primary application distinguish narrow-profile questionnaires and questionnaires of wide application (broad profile). Narrow-profile questionnaires, in turn, are divided according to their area of ​​primary application into clinical, career guidance, education, management and personnel work areas, etc. Some questionnaires were created specifically for university and school psychodiagnostics (Phillips’ school management (questionnaires for self-assessment of business and personal qualities of managers at various levels, identifying the degree of loyalty to the company, etc.). Sometimes narrow profile questionnaires eventually become broad profile questionnaires. For example, the well-known Minnesota Multidisciplinary Personality Inventory (MMPI) was created as a purely clinical, to identify mental illness. Then, thanks to the creation of a significant number of additional non-clinical scales, it became universal, one of the most commonly used personality questionnaires.

Depending on which category the phenomenon studied with the help of the questionnaire belongs to, state questionnaires and property questionnaires (personal questionnaires) are distinguished. There are also complex questionnaires.

Mental states are situationally determined and measured in minutes, hours, days, very rarely - weeks or months. Therefore, the instructions for the state questionnaires indicate the need to answer questions (or evaluate statements) in accordance with actual (and not typical) experiences, attitudes, moods. Quite often, state questionnaires are used to assess the effectiveness of corrective actions when states are diagnosed before and after a treatment session or before and after a series of sessions (for example, the WAN questionnaire, which allows you to assess the state in three parameters: well-being, activity, mood).

Mental properties are more stable phenomena than states. Numerous personality questionnaires are aimed at their identification. Complex questionnaires combine features of the state questionnaire and the property questionnaire. In such a case, the diagnostic information is more complete, since the condition is diagnosed against a certain background of personality traits that facilitate or hinder the occurrence of the condition. For example, the Spielberger-Khanin questionnaire contains a reactive anxiety scale (which diagnoses anxiety as a condition) and a personal anxiety scale (for diagnosing anxiety as a personal property).

Depending on the degree of coverage of properties, personality questionnaires are divided into traits that implement the principle and typological ones.

questionnaires, implementing the principle of traits, subdivided into one-dimensional and multidimensional. One-dimensional personality questionnaires are aimed at identifying the presence or severity of one property. The severity of the property is implied in some range from the minimum to the maximum possible level. Therefore, such questionnaires are often called scales (for example, the J. Taylor anxiety scale). Quite often, scale questionnaires are used for screening purposes, i.e., screening out subjects for a certain diagnosable trait.

Multidimensional personality questionnaires aim to measure more than one property. The list of revealed properties, as a rule, depends on the specific scope of the questionnaire and the conceptual views of the authors. So, E. Shostrom's questionnaire, created within the framework of humanistic psychology, is aimed at identifying such properties as self-acceptance, spontaneity, self-respect, self-actualization, the ability to make close contacts, etc. Sometimes multidimensional questionnaires serve as the basis for creating one-dimensional questionnaires. For example, the J. Taylor anxiety scale was created on the basis of one of the scales of the MMPI questionnaire. At the same time, reliability and validity indicators of the original multidimensional questionnaires cannot be automatically transferred to the created one-dimensional questionnaires. In this case, an additional assessment of these characteristics of derived methods is required.

The number of scales in multidimensional questionnaires has certain limits. Thus, testing with R. Cattell's 16PF questionnaire, which assesses personality traits according to 16 parameters and contains 187 questions, takes from 30 to 50 minutes. The MMPI questionnaire contains 10 main scales and three control scales. The subject must answer 566 questions. The time of work on the questionnaire is 1,5-2 hours and, perhaps, has a maximum duration. As practice shows, a further increase in the number of questions is unproductive, since it leads to an almost exponential increase in the time required for answers, the development of fatigue and monotony, and a decrease in the motivation of the subjects.

Typological Questionnaires are created on the basis of identifying personality types - integral formations that are not reducible to a set of individual properties. The description of the type is given through the characteristics of an average or, conversely, a pronounced representative of the type. This characteristic may contain a significant number of personality traits, which are not necessarily strictly limited. And then the purpose of testing will be to identify not individual properties, but the proximity of the person being examined to a particular personality type, which can be done using a questionnaire with a fairly small number of questions.

A striking example of typological questionnaires are the methods of G. Eysenck. His EPI questionnaire, created in 1963 and aimed at identifying introversion-extroversion and neuroticism (affective stability-instability), is widely used. These two personality characteristics are presented in the form of orthogonal axes and a circle, in the sectors of which four personality types are distinguished: unstable extraverted, stable extraverted, stable introverted, unstable introverted. To describe the types, Eysenck used about 50 multi-level features that correlate with each other: properties of the nervous system, properties of temperament, character traits. Subsequently, Eysenck proposed to compare these types with the types of temperament according to Hippocrates and I.P. Pavlov, which was implemented during the adaptation of the questionnaire in 1985 by A.G. Shmelev. When creating a methodology for express diagnostics of characterological features of adolescents, T.V. Matolin, the initial personality types according to Eysenck were divided into 32 more fractional types with a description of the ways of psychological and pedagogical influence, which makes it possible to use the questionnaire in the work of a teacher, a school psychologist, an employment service worker.

On assessed personality substructure distinguish: temperament questionnaires, character questionnaires, ability questionnaires, personality orientation questionnaires; mixed surveys. Questionnaires of each group can be both typological and non-typological. For example, a temperament questionnaire can be aimed at diagnosing both individual properties of temperament (activity, reactivity, sensitivity, emotional excitability, etc.), and at diagnosing the type of temperament as a whole according to one of the existing typologies.

Of the questionnaires for diagnosing temperament, the methods of V.M. Rusalova, Ya. Strelyau and a number of others. The questionnaires were compiled in such a way that the properties of the temperament of a particular subject could be judged by his description of his emotional and behavioral reactions in various life situations. Temperament diagnostics with the help of such questionnaires does not require special equipment, takes relatively little time and can be mass-produced. The main drawback of these tests is that behavioral manifestations attributed to temperament bear the imprint of not only temperament, but also character. The character smooths out the real manifestations of some properties of temperament, due to which they appear in a disguised form (the phenomenon of "disguise of temperament"). Therefore, temperament questionnaires provide information not so much about temperament as about the typical forms of response of the subject in certain situations.

Questionnaires for diagnosing character can also be both questionnaires for individual traits, and questionnaires for the type of character as a whole. Examples of a typological approach to character are the X. Shmishek questionnaire, aimed at identifying the type of character accentuation according to the typology of K. Leonhard, and the PDO questionnaire (pathocharacterological diagnostic questionnaire), which reveals the type of character accentuation according to the typology of the Russian psychiatrist A.E. Lichko. In the works of the German psychiatrist K. Leonhard, one can come across the terms "character accentuation" and "personality accentuation". A.E. Lichko believes that it would be more correct to speak about accentuations only of character, because in reality we are talking about the features and types of character, and not personality.[79]

Diagnostics of abilities with the help of subjective questionnaires is rarely carried out. It is believed that most people are not able to give a reliable assessment of their abilities. Therefore, when assessing abilities, preference is given to objective tests, where the level of development of abilities is determined on the basis of the effectiveness of the test tasks performed by the test subjects. However, a number of abilities, the self-assessment of the development of which does not cause the activation of psychological defense mechanisms, can also be successfully measured using subjective tests, for example, communication skills.

Diagnosis of personality orientation can be a determination of the type of orientation in general or a study of its components, i.e., needs, motives, interests, attitudes, ideals, values, worldview. Of these, fairly large groups of methods are questionnaires of interests, questionnaires of motives and questionnaires of values.

Finally, if the properties identified by the questionnaire belong not to one, but to several personality substructures, they speak of a mixed questionnaire. These can be adapted foreign questionnaires, where there is no tradition to draw boundaries between temperament and character, character and personality as a whole. There are also domestic questionnaires created for the purpose of complex diagnostics, for example, the questionnaire "Traits of character and temperament" (CHT).

Objective tests. Within the framework of an objective approach, the diagnosis is made on the basis of information about the features of the performance of the activity and its effectiveness. These indicators are minimally dependent on the subject's self-image (as opposed to subjective tests) and on the opinion of the person conducting the testing and interpretation (as opposed to projective tests).

Depending on the subject of testing, there is the following classification of objective tests:[80]

- personality tests;

- intelligence tests (verbal, non-verbal, complex);

- ability tests (general and special;)

- tests of creativity;

- achievement tests (action tests, written, oral).

Personality tests, like personality questionnaires, are aimed at identifying personal characteristics, however, not on the basis of self-description of these characteristics by the subjects, but through the performance of a number of tasks with a clearly structured, fixed procedure. For example, the masked shapes test (EFT) involves the test subject looking for simple black and white shapes inside complex color shapes. The results provide information about the perceptual style of a person, the determining indicator of which the authors of the test consider "field-dependence" or "field-independence".

Intelligence tests are aimed at assessing the level of intellectual development. With a narrow interpretation of the concept of "intelligence", methods are used that allow assessing only the mental (thinking) characteristics of a person, his mental potential. With a broad understanding of the category "intelligence", methods are used to characterize, in addition to thinking, other cognitive functions (memory, spatial orientation, speech, etc.), as well as attention, imagination, emotional-volitional and motivational components of intelligence.

Both conceptual (verbal-logical) and figurative and visual-effective (objective) thinking are subject to measurement in intelligence tests. In the first case, tasks are usually verbal (speech) in nature and offer the subject to establish logical relationships, identify analogies, classify or generalize between different words denoting any objects, phenomena, concepts. There are also math problems. In the second case, it is proposed to perform tasks of a non-verbal (non-verbal) nature: operations with geometric shapes, folding pictures from disparate images, grouping graphic material, etc.

Of course, the dyad "figurative thinking - conceptual thinking" is not the same as the dyad "non-verbal thinking - verbal thinking", since the word denotes not only concepts, but also images and specific objects, and mental work with objects and images requires an appeal to concepts. , for example, when classifying or summarizing non-verbal material. Nevertheless, in diagnostic practice, verbal methods are often correlated with the study of verbal intelligence, the main component of which is conceptual thinking, and non-verbal methods with the study of non-verbal intelligence, which is based on figurative or objective thinking.

Given the above, it would be more correct to speak not about the study of types of thinking or intelligence, but about the types of methods used to study intelligence: verbal - non-verbal methods. The first category includes such tests as "Simple and complex analogies", "Logical connections", "Finding patterns", "Comparison of concepts", "Exclusion of superfluous" (in the verbal version), school test of mental development (SMT). Examples of methods of the second category: Pictograms, Picture Classification, Progressive Matrices test by J. Raven, etc.

As a rule, in modern intelligence tests, both verbal and non-verbal tasks are combined in one methodology, for example, in the tests of A. Binet, R. Amthauer, D. Wexler. These tests are complex. The D. Wexler test (WAIS), one of the most popular, consists of 11 subtests: six verbal and five non-verbal. Tasks of verbal subtests are aimed at identifying general awareness, comprehension, ease of operating with numerical material, abilities for abstraction and classification, tasks of non-verbal subtests are aimed at studying sensorimotor coordination, features of visual perception, abilities to organize fragments into a logical whole, etc. Based on the results of execution tasks, the coefficients of intelligence are calculated: verbal, non-verbal and general.

Intelligence tests are constantly criticized, because in most cases it is not clear what they measure: whether it is really the mental potential of a person, or the degree of learning, that is, his knowledge and skills, which are very dependent on the conditions of development and education. This fact even served as the basis for designating test results as test, or psychometric, intelligence. Systematically observed discrepancies between actual achievements in mental activity and test intelligence led to the introduction of the concept of "unfair" tests into psychodiagnostic practice. This "injustice" is especially pronounced when using tests designed for one community (social group, social stratum, nationality, etc.) in examining people of another community, with other cultural traditions, a different level of education. In psychodiagnostics, attempts are constantly being made to create intelligence tests that are free from the influence of culture (R. Cattell's culture-free test).

It is generally accepted that classical intelligence tests measure only the level of convergent thinking - uncreative, "cautious". Another component of intelligence - divergent (creative) thinking - does not lend itself to such testing. The obtained coefficients (IQ) do not give an idea about this side of intelligence, which led to attempts to develop special methods - tests of creativity (see below).

Ability tests are methods aimed at assessing a person's capabilities in mastering knowledge, skills, both general and particular. In the first case, we are talking about the assessment of general abilities (sensory, motor, mnemonic, etc.), in the second - about the assessment of special abilities, usually associated with professional activities (mathematical, musical, artistic, reading speed, etc.) .

Depending on the objectives of the study, ability tests are often combined into one battery or another; sometimes they are included in batteries with intelligence tests, for example, for a more complete assessment of a person's abilities during career selection and career guidance. The GATB general ability test battery, developed by the American Employment Service in 1956, contains 12 subtests for verbal and mathematical abilities, spatial perception, finger motor skills, hand motor skills, etc. At the moment, the GATB battery, due to the development of a number of its modifications for individual groups of professions is one of the most widely used in foreign professional diagnostics, in particular in the USA.

A separate type of ability is creative ability. The totality of creative abilities is called creativity. In theoretical terms, a clear line has not been drawn between creativity as a quality of intellect, as a creative ability and as a personality trait. Therefore, the group of tests of creativity includes very diverse methods. The most famous are the tests of J. Gilford and E. Torrens, developed at the turn of the 1950-1960s. The E. Torrens test consists of three subtests that allow assessing the levels of development of verbal, figurative and sound creative thinking, getting an idea of ​​the qualitative originality of these structures of creativity in different people. Tasks require the subject to produce ideas in verbal form, in the form of some drawing, image. Depending on the number and originality of ideas, the level of development of the subject's creativity is judged.

Achievement tests are designed to assess the level of mastery of knowledge, skills and abilities in any particular activity and are used mainly in the areas of training and professional selection. According to the type of task, action tests, written and oral tests are distinguished.

Action tests reveal the degree of ability to perform actions with certain tools, tools, materials, mechanisms, etc., for example, when testing a typist, parts assembler, car driver, etc. Written tests are a system of questions and possible answers on a special form. Sometimes questions are illustrated with pictures accompanying the question. The task of the subject is either to choose the correct verbal answer, or to mark on the graph the reflection of the situation described in the question, or to find in the figure a detail that gives the correct solution to the corresponding question. Oral tests are systems of oral questions that circumvent the difficulties that arise due to the lack of experience in the test subject in formulating answers. Achievement tests are used primarily in the areas of training and vocational selection. Recently, they have gained immense popularity in the form of a variety of games on radio and television.

Projective tests. Within the framework of the projective diagnostic approach, obtaining information is based on an analysis of the characteristics of the actions of the subject with externally neutral, as it were, impersonal material, which, due to its weak structure and uncertainty, becomes the object of projection. Accordingly, techniques based on the use of the projection principle are called projective (projective). The concept of projection to refer to these techniques was first used by the French psychologist L.K. Frank in 1939 and, despite repeated attempts to change their name, it stuck and became generally accepted.

The need to change the name was dictated by the gradual departure in the interpretation of the methods of this group from the ideas of psychoanalysis. Today, the term "projection" in psychology has two meanings; 1) in the psychoanalytic sense - one of the defense mechanisms by which internal impulses and feelings that are unacceptable to the "I" are attributed to an external object and only then penetrate into consciousness (in this sense, the term was first introduced into science by 3. Freud in 1894 ); 2) in the non-psychoanalytic sense - manifestations of the personality outside. Each manifestation of activity (emotional, verbal, motor) bears the imprint of the personality as a whole. The less stereotypical incentives that encourage activity, the brighter the manifestation of personality.

The first description of projection as a natural tendency of people to act under the influence of their needs, interests and the entire mental organization (moreover, protective mechanisms may or may not appear) belongs to the American psychologist G.A. Murray. The creation of a theoretical concept of projection in a form applicable to the study of personality led to the rapid development of projective methods, which currently occupy a prominent position in foreign psychodiagnostic practice.

Testing with projective methods has the following most common features. The methods use ambiguous, poorly structured stimulus material, which allows a large number of options for perception and interpretation. At the same time, it is assumed that the weaker it is structured, the higher the degree of projection: “The subject, absorbed in trying to interpret seemingly nothing subjectively meaningless material, does not notice how he reveals his worries, fears, desires and anxieties. Thus, resistance to disclosure is significantly reduced. personal, sometimes very painful problems."[81] To overcome the resistance of the subject, the instruction is given to him without revealing the true goal, and the testing procedure itself often takes place in a playful way. The subject, as a rule, is not limited in the choice of answers, and the answers are not evaluated as "correct" or "erroneous". Due to these features, projective techniques are often used at the initial stages of psychological work with a client or at the beginning of a comprehensive psychological testing of a personality, since they allow you to establish contact and arouse interest in the examination. An important advantage of many projective methods is that the answers of the subjects do not have to be given in verbal form (as is the case with questionnaires), which allows them to be used in work with both adults and children.

The classification of projective methods belongs to L.K. Frank. He proposed to distinguish projective methods depending on the nature of the reactions of the subject. In the modern, supplemented classification of projective methods, there are constitutive, constructive, interpretative, cathartic, expressive, impressive, additive methods.

Constitutive methods are characterized by a situation in which the subject is required to create a certain structure from a weakly structured, amorphous material, to form stimuli, to give them meaning. An example of the methods of this group is the G. Rorschach test, the stimulus material of which consists of 10 standard tables with black-and-white and color symmetrical "blots". The subject is asked to answer the question of what, in his opinion, each spot looks like. Depending on the responses of the subject, his experiences, features of interaction with the environment, realistic perception of reality, tendencies to anxiety and anxiety, etc. are judged. The stimulus material of this test does not impose answers on the subject, and therefore it is the most commonly used projective technique in foreign psychodiagnostics. An attempt to further develop the principle of weakly structured stimulus material is the technique of "Cloud Pictures" by V. Stern et al., where stimulus material resembling clouds is used, which, unlike Rorschach spots, does not have symmetry and a clear contour. The subject is invited to independently mark the contours and talk about what is shown in the pictures.

Constructive techniques imply designing, creating a meaningful whole from the designed details. For example, the stimulus material of the "Village" and "Peace Test" methods consists of small objects, the number of which in different versions reaches 300. Among them are a school, a hospital, a city hall, a church, shops, trees, cars, figures of people and animals etc. The subject is offered, at his own discretion, to build from these objects a village in which he would like to live, or some space of his existence (according to the terminology of the authors - "a small world"). The approach of the subject to the design of the layout, the realism of its construction, the proximity to the constructions characteristic of different contingents, etc., are determined.

Interpretive techniques imply the interpretation by the subject of an event or situation. Examples are the thematic apperception test (TAT), word association tests. The TAT stimulus material is a set of 30 black-and-white images depicting relatively vague scenes that allow for ambiguous interpretation. The subject is asked to compose a story for each image: what is happening there, what the characters are experiencing, what preceded this, how the situation will end. Based on the subject's story, an idea is created about his experiences, conscious and unconscious needs, conflicts and ways to resolve them. In word association tests, the stimulus material consists of a list of unrelated words, for each of which the subject must give the first association word that comes to mind as quickly as possible. The nature and time of the reaction of the answers make it possible to single out the most "emotionally charged" words-stimuli for a given subject, to judge the presence of certain problematic topics.

Cathartic methods are the implementation of gaming activities in specially organized conditions. These include, in particular, the psychodrama of J. (J.) Moreno, considered as a projective technique for studying personality. In the course of a mini-performance, in which the subject (protagonist) plays the role of himself or an imaginary person in situations that are significant for himself, his personal characteristics are manifested, and through affective reaction in dramatic situations that are consonant with the experiences of the subject, a therapeutic effect is achieved (catharsis - purification and insight - insight). The technique does not have a standard procedure for conducting, data on validity and reliability, as a result of which it is used as not so much a psychodiagnostic as a psychotherapeutic technique in group psychotherapy.

In expressive methods, obtaining information is based on the analysis of the drawings of the subject. Drawings can be on a free or given topic. Known drawing techniques "Non-existent animal" M.Z. Drukarevich, "House - Tree - Man" by J. Book, "Drawing of a Family" by V. Hals, "Draw a Man" by K. Makhover, "My Life Path" by I.L. Solomina, "A child's hand that worries" R. Davido, "Faces and emotions" A. Jahez and N. Manshi, R. Bloch's multidimensional drawing test, R. Shaw's finger drawing test, etc. According to D. Harris, the author of one from F. Goodenough's modifications of the Human Drawing test, "drawings can tell a lot about the affect, temperament, attitude, and personality of the person who drew them."[82]

Conducting drawing tests does not require a lot of time, usually allows a group form. The main elements of the drawing to be analyzed are its size, position on the sheet (top, bottom, center, corner), rotation of the drawing to the left or right, pressure (weak, standard, strong), line characteristics (smooth, trembling, intermittent, double) , the slope of the figure, the density and area of ​​​​hatching, the number and nature of the details. As a rule, drawing techniques involve supplementing the drawing with the subject's story about the depicted, drawing up a story based on the drawing, and questioning the subject on the attached list of questions. The behavior of the subject during the execution of the task, his statements, vegetative manifestations, and the duration of work on the drawing are also analyzed. To increase the reliability of the interpretation, it is desirable to carry out drawing techniques in combination with other tests, supplement them with the results of conversation and observation.

Impressive techniques imply preference for some stimuli (as the most desirable) over others. The subject finds himself in a situation where it is necessary either to choose the most preferable stimuli, or to rank the stimuli according to the degree of preference. For example, in L. Szondi's test, the subject is presented with 48 portraits of mentally ill people, divided into six series, with instructions to choose two most and least liked portraits in each series. Depending on the preferences of the subject, the most significant "diagnostic areas" for him are judged.

A separate subgroup of impressive tests consists of color choice tests (A.M. Etkind’s color relationship test, I.L. Solomin’s color metaphor test, M. Pfister’s and R. Heiss’s color pyramid test, Yu.I. Filimonenko’s “Pairwise Comparisons”, etc.). ). All these tests are based on the test of the Swiss psychologist M. Luscher, published in 1948. The Luscher test is based on the assumption that the choice of color reflects mood, functional state and the most stable personality traits. Each color of the spectrum is a trigger signal that causes a variety of associations that are not fully realized in a person. For example, a person encounters red color mainly in situations of danger and intense struggle (it is the color of blood, fire), which leads to the association of this color with the state of neuropsychic tension, mobilization, and active action appropriate for such situations. Accordingly, in a testing situation, a person who is active and well rested, for whom the associative specificity of color perception will correspond to his energy capabilities and motivational settings, will prefer red color in a testing situation, to reject - a tired and inhibited person, for whom excitement is inappropriate at the moment, runs counter to the available energy potential and settings.

Additive methods imply voluntary completion of stimulus material by the subject, for example, completion of a sentence (methods of A. Payne, D. Sachs and S. Levy, A. Tendler, J. Rotter, B. Forer, A. Rode, etc.) or completion of a story (methods L. Duss, M. Thomas and others). Depending on the nature of the completions, the needs and motives of the subject, his attitude to the family, sex, superiors at work, etc. are judged.

K. Frank's classification has been repeatedly criticized for descriptiveness, confusion of criteria, fuzzy separation of groups of methods. It is not clear, for example, where to classify tests like "Completion of the drawing" - to expressive, constitutive or additive methods. When the group of cathartic methods was singled out, the emphasis shifted from the process to the result (catharsis). It is unlikely that the choice of the nature of the reactions of the subject as a criterion for constructing a classification of projective methods that claims to be complete coverage is hardly justified, especially since the categories identified by Frank turned out to be set not so much by the nature of the reactions of the subject as by the nature of the stimulus material itself and the purpose of the study.

In this regard, there is a need to breed projective tests according to several criteria. V.V. Nikandrov and V.V. Novochadov propose the following classification system of projective methods:[83]

1) according to the involved modality (techniques with visual, tactile, audio and other stimulation);

2) by the nature of the stimulus material (verbal, non-verbal);

3) according to the type of reaction of the subject (associative, interpretive, manipulative, free choice);

4) by the presence or absence of ready-made answer options (projective, semi-projective).

Most psychodiagnostic techniques involve the use of visual modality. This is a reflection of the special importance of the role of vision in the reception of information in a modern person: it is assumed that the addressing of stimulus material to the eyes allows one to receive answers that characterize the personality quite fully. Nevertheless, there are methods where stimulation is presented to the subject by ear, for example, in a word association test, where the test subject must, as soon as possible, give an association word to the stimulus word pronounced by the psychodiagnostician. There are also attempts to create projective techniques that address tactile sensations.

By the nature of the stimulus material, projective techniques can be verbal, where a word, sentence or text acts as a stimulus, and non-verbal, with subject, color, pictorial and other stimulation. Word association tests use individual words as stimuli, Sentence Completion tests use incomplete sentences, and Story Completion tests use incomplete texts.

It is customary to distinguish the following types of responses of the subjects: association, interpretation, manipulation (on a scale of actions with objects, materials, etc., which has creative and reproductive manipulation as its poles), free choice (i.e., some kind of distribution, ranking of stimulus material). In accordance with this, projective methods are proposed to be divided into associative, interpretative, manipulative and free choice methods.

Depending on the availability of ready-made response options, semi-projective methods are distinguished, where the subject is asked to choose one of the proposed response options to projective stimulation (in a sense, an analogue of closed questionnaires), and actually projective ones, where such options are absent. An example of a semi-projective technique can be L. Szondi's test (usually the most famous tests are called only by last name, here is such a case), where the subject is asked to choose two likes and two dislikes in each series of portraits. The subject may not like any portrait, and there may be more than two dislikes, however, the forced instruction puts the subject in certain conditions that he must follow, which imposes certain restrictions on the manifestation of his personal properties. The undoubted advantages of semi-projective methods are the simplicity of quantitative processing of the results, the availability of transferring the methods into computer form, and less vulnerability regarding the subjectivity of the interpreter.

It is generally accepted that projective tests have an advantage over subjective ones, since they allow revealing unconscious components of the mental. However, it should be noted that these unconscious components will not necessarily show up in the test results. According to G.U. Allport, a normal, adequately adapted subject, when conducting projective tests, gives answers similar to a conscious report in subjective tests, or, due to sufficiently developed self-control, does not show his dominant motives in any way. Therefore, projective testing acquires special significance only when "emotionally loaded material is found in projective reactions that contradicts conscious reports. And only then can one speak with confidence about the presence or absence of neurotic tendencies."[84]

Computer testing. This is a relatively young area of ​​psychodiagnostics associated with the use of electronic computers. The emergence of computer psychodiagnostics is due to the development of information technology. Attempts to automate the presentation of stimulus material to the subject and subsequent processing of the results have been made since the 1930s, but only since the 1970s. the true development of computer psychodiagnostics began, due to the advent of personal computers. Since the 1980s computer tests began to be developed on a massive scale: first, as computer versions of well-known blank methods, and in the 1990s. - as special techniques that take into account the possibilities of modern technology and are not used in a blank form, since they are designed for complex stimulus material that changes in space and time, specific sound accompaniment, etc. The beginning of the XXI century. noted that the control of testing is increasingly transferred to the computer. If in past years certain stages of the study were automated, for example, the presentation of material, data processing, interpretation of the results, then at the present stage, more and more often you can find programs that take on the entire examination up to the diagnosis, which reduces the need for the presence of a psychologist to a minimum.

The undoubted advantages of computer tests are: fast execution; high speed and error-free processing; the possibility of immediate results; providing standard testing conditions for all subjects; clear control of the testing procedure (it is impossible to skip questions, if necessary, the time of each answer can be recorded, which is especially important for intelligence tests); the possibility of excluding the psychologist as an additional variable (which is of particular importance during the examination); visualization and entertaining of the process (maintenance of attention with the help of color, sound, game elements, which is most important for training programs); easy archiving of results; the ability to combine tests into batteries (software packages) with a single final interpretation; mobility of the experimenter (all tools on one diskette); the possibility of conducting mass research (for example, via the Internet).

Disadvantages of computer tests: complexity, laboriousness and high cost of software development; the need for expensive computer equipment; the complexity of using computers in the field; the need for special training of the subject to work with computer tests; difficulties in working with non-verbal material, the particular difficulty of translating projective tests into a computer form; lack of an individual approach to the test person (loss of part of the psychodiagnostic information obtained in conversation and observation); latency of the stages of data processing and interpretation (the quality of these procedures depends entirely on the software developers). In some subjects, when interacting with a computer, the effects of a "psychological barrier" or "overconfidence" may occur. Therefore, data on the validity, reliability and representativeness of blank tests cannot be automatically transferred to their computer counterparts, which leads to the need for new standardization of tests.

The shortcomings of computer tests cause psychologists to be wary of them. Such tests are rarely used in clinical psychology, where the cost of error is too high. Domestic psychologist L.S. Vygotsky singled out three levels of psychodiagnostics: 1) symptomatic (identification of symptoms); 2) etiological (identification of causes); 3) typological (holistic, dynamic picture of the personality, on the basis of which the forecast is built). Computer psychodiagnostics today is at the lowest level - the level of symptomatic diagnosis, practically without giving material for identifying the causes and making a prognosis.

Nevertheless, it seems that computer tests have a great future. Many of the listed shortcomings of computer psychodiagnostics will certainly be eliminated due to the further development of electronic technology and the improvement of psychodiagnostic technologies. The key to such optimism is the growing interest of science and practice in computer diagnostics, which already has more than 1000 computer tests in its arsenal.

Among the existing computer tests, the following types can be distinguished:[85]

1) by structure - analogues of blank tests and actual computer tests;

2) by the number of testees - tests of individual and group testing;

3) according to the degree of automation of testing - automating one or more stages of the examination and automating the entire examination;

4) according to the task - diagnostic and training;

5) to the addressee - professional psychological, semi-professional and non-professional (entertaining).

The user of professional computer tests is a psychologist, so they are developed by specialized laboratories or centers of computer psychodiagnostics. These tests have a number of specific features: a) the presence of an archive (database); b) the presence of a password to enter the test or database to ensure the confidentiality of the results; c) a detailed interpretation of the results using professional terms, coefficients, with the construction of graphs (profiles); d) the availability of information about the developers of the methodology, information about the validity and reliability, reference materials on the underlying theoretical principles of the methodology.

Semi-professional computer tests are aimed at specialists in related professions, for example, teachers, personnel managers. Such tests are often equipped with a reduced interpretation without the use of special vocabulary, they are easy to learn and work with. Tests of this level can also be intended for a non-specialist, an ordinary user of a personal computer who is interested in psychology. Finally, there are also a large number of non-professional computer tests aimed at popularizing psychological ideas or for entertainment purposes.

When using professional or semi-professional computerized tests, the same ethical principles must be observed as for blank testing. It is important not to distribute test results and to protect your files with a password, especially if the computer has multiple users. And most importantly - "do not create an idol for yourself", that is, remember that a computer test is only a tool, an assistant and has its own limits of application.

6.4. Standardization, reliability and validity of the test

Consider the concepts of standardization, reliability and validity of the test from the standpoint of the classical empirical-statistical theory. In accordance with this theory, the design of tests for changing psychological properties and states is based on a scale of intervals. The measured mental property is considered to be linear and one-dimensional. It is also assumed that the distribution of the population of people with this property is described by a normal distribution curve.

Psychological testing is based on the classical theory of measurement error. It is believed that the test is the same measuring device as any physical device, and the results that it shows depend on the value of the property of the subject, as well as on the measurement procedure itself. Any property of the psyche has a "true" indicator, and the test readings deviate from the true one by the amount of a random error. The "systematic" error also affects the test readings, but it comes down to adding (subtracting) a constant to the "true" value of the parameter, which does not matter for the interval scale.

Test reliability. If the test is carried out many times, then the average value will be a characteristic of the "true" value of the parameter. Under the reliability of the test, it is customary to understand the stability of the results to the influence of random factors, external and internal. The most frequently used is the retest reliability assessment. The more closely the results of the initial and repeated (usually delayed by several months) tests are correlated, the more reliable it is.

It is assumed that there is an unlimited number of tasks that can "work" for the property being measured. The test is only a selection of tasks from their general population. Ideally, you can create as many equivalent test forms as you want, so the test reliability can be determined by correlating parallel forms or equivalent equal parts obtained by splitting the test item into two parts. Since the number of tasks in a real test is limited (no more than 100), the assessment of test reliability is always approximate. The test is considered reliable if the correlation coefficient of the results is at least 0,75.

Test validity. The problem of validity in the classical theory of the test is given a lot of attention, but theoretically it is not solved in any way. Validity refers to the suitability of a test to measure the property it is intended to measure. Therefore, the more the measured property affects the result of a test or a separate task, and the smaller other variables (including external ones), the more valid the test.

A test is valid (and reliable) if only the property being measured affects its results. A test is invalid (and unreliable) if the test results are determined by the influence of irrelevant variables.

There are the following types of test validity.

obvious validity. A test is considered valid if the subject has the impression that he is measuring what he is supposed to measure.

Specific validity (convergent - divergent validity). The test should correlate well with tests measuring a specific property or close to it in content, and have low correlations with tests measuring obviously different properties.

predictive validity. The test should correlate with remote external criteria.

content validity. The test should cover the whole area of ​​the behavior being studied.

construct validity. It involves a complete description of the measured variable, the promotion of a system of hypotheses about its relationships with other variables, empirical confirmation (non-refutation) of these hypotheses.

From a theoretical point of view, the only way to establish the "internal" validity of the test and individual tasks is the method of factor analysis (and similar ones), which allows you to: signs; b) determine the degree of influence of each latent property on the test results.

Test standardization is to bring the evaluation procedure to generally accepted standards. Standardization involves the transformation of a normal or artificially normalized scale of primary ratings into scale ratings (for more on this, see 5.2). The test norms obtained in the course of standardization are a system of scales with the characteristics of the test score distribution for different samples. They are not "internal" properties of the test, but only facilitate its practical application.

6.5. Requirements for the development, verification and adaptation of test methods

There are two ways to create psychodiagnostic methods: adaptation of known methods (foreign, outdated, with other purposes) and development of new, original methods.

Test adaptation is a set of measures that ensure the adequacy of the test in new conditions of use. There are the following stages of test adaptation:

1) analysis of the initial theoretical provisions of the author of the test;

2) for foreign methods - translation of the test and instructions to it into the language of the user (with a mandatory expert assessment of compliance with the original);

3) verification of reliability and validity in accordance with psychometric requirements;

4) standardization on the corresponding samples.

The most serious problems arise when adapting verbal tests (questionnaires, verbal subtests as part of intelligence tests). These problems are connected with the linguistic and socio-cultural differences between the peoples of different countries. The multivariance of the translation of any term, the impossibility of accurately conveying idiomatic phrases is a common phenomenon when translating from language to language. Sometimes it is so difficult to find linguistic and semantic analogues of test items that its complete adaptation becomes comparable to the development of an original methodology.

The concept of adaptation is applicable not only to foreign methods that are supposed to be used in the conditions of our country, but also to outdated domestic methods. They become obsolete quite quickly: due to the development of the language and the variability of socio-cultural stereotypes, the methods must be adjusted every 5-7 years, which means clarifying the wording of questions, correcting standards, updating stimulus material, and revising interpretation criteria.

Independent development of a test methodology usually consists of the following steps.

1. Choice of subject (phenomenon) and object of study (contingent).

2. The choice of the type of test (objective, subjective, projective), the type of tasks (with prescribed answers, with free answers) and scales (numerical, verbal, graphic).

3. Selection of the primary bank of tasks. It can be carried out in two ways: questions are formulated on the basis of theoretical ideas about the phenomenon being measured (factorial-analytical principle) or are selected in accordance with their discrimination, i.e., the ability to separate subjects by the presence of the required feature (criteria-key principle). The second principle is effective in designing selection tests (eg professional or clinical).

4. Evaluation of the tasks of the primary bank (substantive validity of the test, i.e., the correspondence of each of the tasks to the measured phenomenon, and the completeness of the coverage of the studied phenomenon by the test as a whole). It is carried out using the method of peer review.

5. Preliminary testing, formation of a bank of empirical data.

6. Empirical validation of the test. It is carried out using a correlation analysis of test scores and indicators for an external parameter of the studied property (for example, school performance when validating an intelligence test, medical diagnosis when validating clinical tests, data from other tests whose validity is known, etc.).

7. Evaluation of the reliability of the test (resistance of the results to the action of random factors, external and internal). The most frequently assessed are retest reliability (correspondence to the results of retesting, usually after several months), reliability of parts of the test (the stability of the results of individual tasks or groups of tasks, for example, according to the even-odd method), and the reliability of parallel forms, if any. The technique is recognized as reliable if the correlation coefficient of the results (primary and repeated testing, one and the other parts of the test, one and the other parallel forms) is at least 0,75. With a lower reliability indicator, test tasks are adjusted, questions that reduce reliability are reformulated.

8. Standardization of the test, i.e. bringing the procedure and assessments to generally accepted standards. Standardization of assessments implies the transformation of a normal or artificially normalized scale of primary assessments (empirical values ​​of the studied indicator) into scale assessments (reflecting the place in the distribution of the results of a sample of subjects). Types of scale marks: walls (1-10), stanayny (1-9), 7-marks (10-100), etc.

9. Determination of predictive validity, i.e., information about the degree of accuracy with which the technique makes it possible to judge the diagnosed psychological quality after a certain time after the measurement. Predictive validity is also determined by an external criterion, but data on it are collected some time after testing.

Thus, reliability and validity are collective concepts that include several types of indicators that reflect the focus of the methodology on the subject of research (validity) and the object of research (reliability). The degree of reliability and validity reflect the corresponding coefficients indicated in the method certificate.

The creation of a method is a labor-intensive work that requires a developed system of ordering methods with appropriate remuneration for developers and royalties for the use of author's methods.

Topic 7. Processing of psychological research data

7.1. Understanding Data Processing

Data processing of psychological research is a separate branch of experimental psychology, closely related to mathematical statistics and logic. Data processing is aimed at solving the following tasks:

- ordering the received material;

- detection and elimination of errors, shortcomings, gaps in information;

- revealing trends, regularities and connections hidden from direct perception;

- discovery of new facts that were not expected and were not noticed during the empirical process;

- finding out the level of reliability, reliability and accuracy of the collected data and obtaining scientifically substantiated results on their basis.

Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative data processing. Quantitative processing is work with the measured characteristics of the object under study, its "objectified" properties. Qualitative processing is a way to penetrate into the essence of an object by revealing its non-measurable properties.

Quantitative processing is mainly aimed at a formal, external study of an object, while qualitative processing is mainly aimed at a meaningful, internal study of it. In quantitative research, the analytical component of cognition dominates, which is also reflected in the names of quantitative methods for processing empirical material: correlation analysis, factor analysis, etc. Quantitative processing is carried out using mathematical and statistical methods.

Synthetic methods of cognition predominate in high-quality processing. Generalization is carried out at the next stage of the research process - interpretation. In qualitative data processing, the main thing is the appropriate presentation of information about the phenomenon under study, which ensures its further theoretical study. Usually the result of qualitative processing is an integrated representation of a set of object properties or a set of objects in the form of classifications and typologies. Qualitative processing largely appeals to the methods of logic.

The contrast between qualitative and quantitative processing is rather conditional. Quantitative analysis without subsequent qualitative processing is meaningless, since in itself it does not lead to an increase in knowledge, and a qualitative study of an object without basic quantitative data is impossible in scientific knowledge. Without quantitative data, scientific knowledge is a purely speculative procedure.

The unity of quantitative and qualitative processing is clearly represented in many methods of data processing: factor and taxonomic analysis, scaling, classification, etc. The most common methods of quantitative processing are classification, typology, systematization, periodization, and casuistry.

Qualitative processing naturally results in the description and explanation of the studied phenomena, which constitutes the next level of their study, carried out at the stage of interpreting the results. Quantitative processing is fully related to the stage of data processing.

7.2. Primary statistical data processing

All methods of quantitative processing are usually divided into primary and secondary.

Primary statistical processing is aimed at organizing information about the object and subject of study. At this stage, "raw" information is grouped according to certain criteria, entered into pivot tables. Primarily processed data, presented in a convenient form, gives the researcher, in a first approximation, an idea of ​​the nature of the entire set of data as a whole: their homogeneity - heterogeneity, compactness - dispersion, clarity - blurring, etc. This information is well read from visual forms of data presentation and gives information about their distribution.

In the course of applying the primary methods of statistical processing, indicators are obtained that are directly related to the measurements made in the study.

The main methods of primary statistical processing include: calculation of measures of central tendency and measures of scatter (variability) of data.

Primary statistical analysis of the entire set of data obtained in the study makes it possible to characterize it in an extremely compressed form and answer two main questions: 1) what value is most typical for the sample; 2) whether the spread of data relative to this characteristic value is large, i.e. what is the "fuzziness" of the data. To solve the first question, measures of the central tendency are calculated, to solve the second - measures of variability (or spread). These statistics are used for quantitative data presented on an ordinal, interval, or proportional scale.

Measures of central tendency are the values ​​around which the rest of the data is grouped. These values ​​are, as it were, indicators generalizing the entire sample, which, firstly, makes it possible to judge the entire sample by them, and secondly, makes it possible to compare different samples, different series with each other. Measures of the central tendency in processing the results of psychological research include: sample mean, median, mode.

The sample mean (M) is the result of dividing the sum of all values ​​(X) by their number (N).

The median (Me) is the value above and below which the number of different values ​​is the same, i.e. it is the central value in a consistent data series. The median does not have to be the exact same value. A match occurs in the case of an odd number of values ​​(answers), a mismatch occurs when their number is even. In the latter case, the median is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the two central values ​​in the ordered series.

The mode (Mo) is the value that occurs most frequently in the sample, i.e. the value with the highest frequency. If all values ​​in the group occur equally often, then it is considered that there is no mode. If two adjacent values ​​have the same frequency and are greater than the frequency of any other value, the mode is the average of the two values. If the same applies to two nonadjacent values, then there are two modes and the score group is bimodal.

Typically, the sample mean is used when striving for the greatest accuracy in determining the central trend. The median is calculated when there are "atypical" data in the series that drastically affect the mean. The mode is used in situations where high accuracy is not needed, but the speed of determining the measure of the central tendency is important.

The calculation of all three indicators is also carried out to assess the distribution of data. With a normal distribution, the values ​​of the sample mean, median, and mode are the same or very close.

Measures of scatter (variability) - these are statistical indicators that characterize the differences between the individual values ​​of the sample. They make it possible to judge the degree of homogeneity of the resulting set, its compactness, and indirectly, the reliability of the data obtained and the results arising from them. The indicators most used in psychological research are: mean deviation, variance, standard deviation.

The range (P) is the interval between the maximum and minimum values ​​of the attribute. It is determined easily and quickly, but is sensitive to randomness, especially with a small amount of data.

The mean deviation (MD) is the arithmetic mean of the difference (in absolute value) between each value in the sample and its mean.

where d = |X - M |, M - sample mean, X - specific value, N - number of values.

The set of all specific deviations from the mean characterizes the variability of the data, but if they are not taken in absolute value, then their sum will be equal to zero and we will not receive information about their variability. The mean deviation indicates the degree of data crowding around the sample mean. By the way, sometimes when determining this characteristic of a sample, instead of the mean (M), other measures of the central tendency are taken - the mode or the median.

Dispersion (D) characterizes deviations from the mean value in a given sample. The calculation of the variance makes it possible to avoid the zero sum of specific differences (d \uXNUMXd X - M) not through their absolute values, but through their squaring:

where d = |X - M|, M - sample mean, X - specific value, N - number of values.

Standard deviation (b). Due to the squaring of individual deviations d when calculating the variance, the resulting value turns out to be far from the original deviations and therefore does not give a visual representation of them. To avoid this and obtain a characteristic comparable to the average deviation, an inverse mathematical operation is performed - the square root is extracted from the dispersion. Its positive value is taken as a measure of variability, called the root mean square, or standard deviation:

where d = |X - M|, M - sample mean, X - specific value, N - number of values.

MD, D and ? applicable to interval and proportional data. For ordinal data, the semi-quartile deviation (Q), also called the semi-quartile coefficient, is usually taken as a measure of variability. This indicator is calculated as follows. The entire data distribution area is divided into four equal parts. If we count observations starting from the minimum value on the measuring scale, then the first quarter of the scale is called the first quartile, and the point separating it from the rest of the scale is denoted by the symbol Qv. The second 25% of the distribution is the second quartile, and the corresponding point on the scale is Q2. Between the third and fourth quarters of the distribution is the point Q3. The semi-quartile coefficient is defined as half the interval between the first and third quartiles:

With a symmetrical distribution, the point Q2 will coincide with the median (and hence with the mean), and then you can calculate the coefficient Q to characterize the spread of data about the middle of the distribution. With an asymmetric distribution, this is not enough. Then the coefficients for the left and right sections are additionally calculated:

7.3. Secondary statistical data processing

The secondary ones include such methods of statistical processing, with the help of which, on the basis of primary data, statistical patterns hidden in them are revealed. Secondary methods can be divided into methods for assessing the significance of differences and methods for establishing statistical relationships.

Methods for assessing the significance of differences. Student's t-test is used to compare sample means belonging to two sets of data and to decide whether the means differ statistically significantly from each other. Its formula looks like this:

where M1, M2 - sample mean values ​​of the compared samples, m1, m2 - integrated indicators of deviations of private values ​​from two compared samples, are calculated by the following formulas:

where D1, D2 are the variances of the first and second samples, N1, N2 are the number of values ​​in the first and second samples.

After calculating the value of the exponent t according to the table of critical values ​​(see Statistical Appendix 1), the given number of degrees of freedom (N1 + N2 - 2) and the chosen probability of an acceptable error (0,05, 0,01, 0,02, 001, etc.) e.) find the tabular value of t. If the calculated value of t is greater than or equal to the tabular one, it is concluded that the compared average values ​​of the two samples are statistically significantly different with the probability of an acceptable error less than or equal to the chosen one.

If in the course of the study the task arises to compare non-absolute averages, frequency distributions of data, then the ?2 criterion is used (see Appendix 2). Its formula looks like this:

where Pk - distribution frequencies in the first measurement, Vk - distribution frequencies in the second measurement, m - total number of groups into which the measurement results were divided.

After calculating the value of the indicator ?2 according to the table of critical values ​​\u2b\u1b(see Statistical Appendix 0,05), a given number of degrees of freedom (m - 0,0) and the chosen probability of an acceptable error (2, XNUMX? XNUMXt is greater than or equal to the table), it is concluded that that the compared data distributions in the two samples are statistically significantly different with the probability of an acceptable error less than or equal to the chosen one.

Fisher's F-test is used to compare the variances of two samples. Its formula looks like this:

where D1, D2 are the variances of the first and second samples, N1, N2 are the number of values ​​in the first and second samples.

After calculating the value of the indicator F according to the table of critical values ​​​​(see Statistical Appendix 3), a given number of degrees of freedom (N1 - 1, N2 - 1) is Fcr. If the calculated value of F is greater than or equal to the tabulated one, it is concluded that the difference in the variances in the two samples is statistically significant.

Methods for establishing statistical relationships. The previous indicators characterize the totality of data on any one attribute. This changing feature is called variable or simply variable. Association measures reveal relationships between two variables or between two samples. These relationships, or correlations, are determined by calculating correlation coefficients. However, the presence of a correlation does not mean that there is a causal (or functional) relationship between the variables. Functional dependence is a special case of correlation. Even if the relationship is causal, correlation measures cannot indicate which of the two variables is the cause and which is the effect. In addition, any relationship found in psychological research is usually due to other variables, and not just the two considered. In addition, the interrelations of psychological signs are so complex that their conditionality by one cause is hardly consistent, they are determined by many reasons.

According to the tightness of the connection, the following types of correlation can be distinguished: complete, high, pronounced, partial; lack of correlation. These types of correlations are determined depending on the value of the correlation coefficient.

With full correlation, its absolute values ​​are equal to or very close to 1. In this case, a mandatory interdependence between variables is established. There is likely to be a functional relationship here.

High correlation is established at the absolute value of the coefficient 0,8-0,9. The expressed correlation is considered at the absolute value of the coefficient 0,6-0,7. Partial correlation exists at the absolute value of the coefficient 0,4-0,5.

Absolute values ​​of the correlation coefficient less than 0,4 indicate a very weak correlation and, as a rule, are not taken into account. The absence of correlation is stated at the value of the coefficient 0.

In addition, in psychology, when assessing the closeness of a connection, the so-called "private" classification of correlations is used. It is focused not on the absolute value of the correlation coefficients, but on the level of significance of this value for a certain sample size. This classification is used in the statistical evaluation of hypotheses. With this approach, it is assumed that the larger the sample, the lower the value of the correlation coefficient can be taken to recognize the reliability of relationships, and for small samples, even an absolutely large value of the coefficient may be unreliable.[86]

On focus the following types of correlations are distinguished: positive (direct) and negative (inverse). A positive (direct) correlation is registered with a coefficient with a "plus" sign: with an increase in the value of one variable, an increase in the other is observed. Negative (inverse) correlation takes place when the value of the coefficient is with a "minus" sign. This means an inverse relationship: an increase in the value of one variable entails a decrease in the other.

On form There are the following types of correlations: rectilinear and curvilinear. In a linear relationship, uniform changes in one variable correspond to uniform changes in the other. If we talk not only about correlations, but also about functional dependencies, then such forms of dependence are called proportional. In psychology, strictly straightforward connections are rare. With a curvilinear relationship, a uniform change in one feature is combined with an uneven change in another. This situation is typical for psychology.

The coefficient of linear correlation according to K. Pearson (r) is calculated using the following formula:

where x is the deviation of an individual value of X from the sample mean (Mx), y is the deviation of a single value of Y from the sample mean (My), bx is the standard deviation for X, ?y is the standard deviation for Y, N is the number of pairs of X and Y values.

The assessment of the significance of the correlation coefficient is carried out according to the table (see Statistical Appendix 4).

When comparing ordinal data, the rank correlation coefficient according to Ch. Spearman (R) is used:

where d is the difference in ranks (ordinal places) of two values, N is the number of compared pairs of values ​​of two variables (X and Y).

The assessment of the significance of the correlation coefficient is carried out according to the table (see Statistical Appendix 5).

The introduction of automated data processing tools into scientific research makes it possible to quickly and accurately determine any quantitative characteristics of any data arrays. Various computer programs have been developed that can be used to carry out appropriate statistical analysis of virtually any sample. Of the mass of statistical methods in psychology, the following are most widely used: 1) complex calculation of statistics; 2) correlation analysis; 3) analysis of variance; 4) regression analysis; 5) factor analysis; 6) taxonomic (cluster) analysis; 7) scaling. You can get acquainted with the characteristics of these methods in the special literature ("Statistical methods in pedagogy and psychology" Stanley J., Glass J. (M., 1976), "Mathematical psychology" G.V. Sukhodolsky (St. Petersburg, 1997), "Mathematical methods of psychological research" by A.D. Nasledova (St. Petersburg, 2005) and others).

Topic 8. Interpretation and presentation of the results of psychological research

8.1. Interpretation and generalization of research results

Methods of data interpretation are more correctly called approaches, since they are primarily explanatory principles that predetermine the direction of interpretation of research results. In scientific practice, genetic, structural, functional, complex and systemic approaches have been developed. Using one method or another does not mean discarding others.

The genetic approach is a way of studying and explaining phenomena (including mental ones), based on the analysis of their development both in ontogenetic and phylogenetic plans. This requires the establishment of: 1) the initial conditions for the occurrence of the phenomenon; 2) the main stages and 3) the main trends in its development. The purpose of the genetic approach is to reveal the connection of the studied phenomena in time, to trace the transition from lower forms to higher ones.

Most often, the genetic approach is used in the interpretation of results in developmental psychology: comparative, age, historical. Any longitudinal study involves the application of the considered approach.

The genetic approach is considered as a methodical implementation of one of the basic principles of psychology, namely the principle of development.[87] With this vision, other options for implementing this principle are considered as modifications of the genetic approach (historical and evolutionary approaches).

Structural approach - a direction focused on identifying and describing the structure of objects (phenomena). It is characterized by: in-depth attention to the description of the current state of objects; elucidation of their inherent timeless properties; interest not in isolated facts, but in the relationships between them. As a result, a system of relationships is built between the elements of the object at various levels of its organization.[88]

The advantage of the structural approach is the possibility of visual presentation of the results in the form of various models. These models can be given in the form of descriptions, a list of elements, a graphic scheme, classification, etc. Examples of such modeling can be found in Z. Freud, G. Eysenck, and others.

The structural approach is often used in studies devoted to the study of the constitutional organization of the psyche and its material substrate - the nervous system. This approach led to the creation of I.P. Pavlov typology of higher nervous activity, which was then developed by B.M. Teplov and V.D. Nebylitsyn. Structural models of the human psyche in spatial and functional aspects are presented in the works of V.A. Ganzen,[89] V.V. Nikandrov[90] and others.

The functional approach is focused on identifying and studying the functions of objects (phenomena). It is used mainly in the study of the relationship of an object with the environment. This approach proceeds from the principle of self-regulation and maintaining the balance of the objects of reality. Examples of the implementation of the functional approach in the history of science are such well-known areas as functional psychology and behaviorism. A classic example of the implementation of the functional approach in psychology is the dynamic field theory of K. Levin. In modern psychology, the functional approach is enriched with components of structural and genetic analysis. The notion of multi-level and multi-phase nature of all mental functions of a person, acting simultaneously at all levels as a whole, is considered to be well-known. Elements of structures, most of the authors of the corresponding models are also considered as functional units, embodying certain connections between a person and reality.

An integrated approach is a direction that considers the object of study as a set of components to be studied using an appropriate set of methods. Components can be both relatively homogeneous parts of the whole, and its heterogeneous sides that characterize the object under study in different aspects.

Often an integrated approach involves the study of a complex object by the methods of various sciences, i.e., the organization of an interdisciplinary study. It is obvious that it involves the use, to one degree or another, of all previous interpretive methods.

A striking example of the implementation of an integrated approach in science is the concept of human knowledge, according to which a person, as an object of study, is subject to a coordinated study of a large complex of sciences. In psychology, this idea of ​​the complexity of studying a person was clearly formulated by B.G. Ananiev.[91] A person is considered simultaneously as a representative of a biological species (individual), a carrier of consciousness and an active element of cognitive and reality-transforming activity (subject), a subject of social relations (personality) and a unique unity of socially significant biological, social and psychological characteristics (individuality).

A systematic approach is a methodological direction in the study of reality, considering any of its fragments as a system. The founder of the systems approach as an integral methodological and methodological component of scientific knowledge can be considered an Austrian scientist who moved to the USA, L. Bertalanffy, who developed a general theory of systems.[92] The system is a kind of integrity that interacts with the environment and consists of many elements that are interconnected in certain relationships and connections. The organization of these links between elements is called a structure. An element is the smallest part of a system that retains its properties within the given system. Further division of this part leads to the loss of the corresponding properties. The properties of the elements are determined by their position in the structure and, in turn, determine the properties of the system. But the properties of the system are not reduced to the sum of the properties of the elements. The system as a whole synthesizes (combines and generalizes) the properties of parts and elements, as a result of which it has properties of a higher level of organization, which, in interaction with other systems, can appear as its functions. Any system can be considered, on the one hand, as an association of simpler (small) subsystems with their own properties and functions, and, on the other hand, as a subsystem of more complex (large) systems.

System research is carried out with the help of system analysis and synthesis. In the process of analysis, the system is isolated from the environment, its composition (set of elements), structure, functions, integral properties and characteristics, system-forming factors, relationships with the environment are determined. In the process of synthesis, a model of a real system is created, the level of generalization and abstraction of the system description is increased, the completeness of its composition and structures, patterns of development and behavior are determined.

Description of objects as systems, i.e. system descriptions, perform the same functions as any other scientific descriptions - explanatory and predictive. But more importantly, system descriptions perform the function of integrating knowledge about objects.

A systematic approach in psychology makes it possible to reveal the commonality of mental phenomena with other phenomena of reality. This makes it possible to enrich psychology with ideas, facts, methods of other sciences and, conversely, to penetrate psychological data into other areas of knowledge. It allows you to integrate and systematize psychological knowledge, reduce the volume and increase the visibility of descriptions, reduce subjectivity in the interpretation of mental phenomena, helps to see gaps in knowledge about specific objects, determine the tasks of further research, and sometimes predict the properties of objects about which there is no information, by extrapolation. and interpolation of available information.

The approaches discussed above are actually organic components of the systems approach. Some authors compare these approaches with the corresponding levels of human qualities that are the subject of psychological research (V.P. Kuzmin [93] and others).

Currently, most scientific research is carried out in line with a systematic approach. The most complete coverage in relation to psychology, a systematic approach was found in the works of V.A. Ganzen,[94] A.A. Krylov,[95] B.F. Lomov,[96] A. Rappoport[97] and others.

8.2. Forms of presentation of research results

The end of any research work is the presentation of the results in the form accepted by the scientific community. Two main forms of presentation of results should be distinguished: qualification and research.

Qualifying work - term paper, diploma work, dissertation, etc. - serves to ensure that a student, graduate student or applicant, having submitted his scientific research, receives a document certifying the level of competence. The requirements for such works, the method of their execution and presentation of the results are set out in the relevant instructions and regulations adopted by the academic councils.

The results research work - these are the results obtained in the course of the research activities of the scientist. The presentation of scientific results usually occurs in three forms: 1) oral presentations; 2) publications; 3) electronic versions. In any of these forms there is a description. V. A. Ganzen understands description as any form of presentation of information about the results obtained in the study.[98]

There are the following options for presenting information: verbal form (text, speech), symbolic (signs, formulas), graphic (diagrams, graphs), subject-like (layouts, material models, films, etc.).

The verbal form is the most common way of presenting descriptions. Any scientific message is, first of all, a text organized according to certain rules. There are two types of texts: in natural language ("natural", everyday) and in scientific language. Usually, the presentation of the results of scientific research is a text of a "mixed" type, where fragments formulated in a strictly scientific language are included in the natural speech structure. These languages ​​cannot be strictly distinguished: scientific terms enter into everyday circulation, and science draws words from natural language to designate newly discovered aspects of reality. But in contrast to everyday use, each scientific term has an unambiguous subject content. In psychology, such words as "personality", "attention", "feeling", etc. are used as scientific terms. Here the line between scientific and everyday terminology is very thin, which creates additional difficulty for the author-psychologist.

The main requirement for a scientific text is consistency and consistency of presentation. The author should, if possible, not load the text with redundant information, but can use metaphors, examples, in order to draw attention to a link of reasoning that is especially significant for understanding the essence. A scientific text, unlike a literary text or everyday speech, is very clichéd - it is dominated by stable structures and turns (in this it is similar to "clerical" - the bureaucratic language of business papers). The role of such cliches is extremely important, since the reader's attention is not distracted by literary delights or incorrect presentation, but focuses on significant information: judgments, conclusions, evidence, numbers, formulas. "Science" clichés actually play an important role as a "framework", a standard setting for new scientific content.

The text is made up of sentences. Each statement has a certain logical form. There are basic logical forms of the statement: 1) inductive - generalizing some empirical material; 2) deductive - a logical conclusion from the general to the particular or a description of the algorithm; 3) analogy - "transduction"; 4) interpretation or commentary - "translation", disclosure of the content of one text by creating another.

Geometric (spatial-figurative) descriptions are a traditional way of encoding scientific information. Since the geometric description complements and explains the text, it is "tied" to the linguistic description. The geometric description is clear. It allows you to simultaneously present a system of relationships between individual variables studied in the experiment. The information capacity of the geometric description is very high.

In psychology, several basic forms of graphical representation of scientific information are used. For the primary presentation of data, the following graphical forms are used: diagrams, histograms and distribution polygons, as well as various graphs.

The initial way to represent data is to display the distribution. For this, histograms and distribution polygons are used. Often, for clarity, the distribution of the indicator in the experimental and control groups is depicted in one figure.

A histogram is a "bar" diagram of the frequency distribution of a feature in a sample. When constructing histograms, the values ​​of the measured value are plotted on the abscissa axis, and the frequencies or relative frequencies of occurrence of a given range of values ​​in the sample are plotted on the ordinate axis.

In the distribution polygon, the number of subjects with a given value of a feature (or falling within a certain range of values) is indicated by a point with coordinates. The points are connected by straight lines. Before building a distribution polygon or a histogram, the researcher must divide the range of the measured value, if the feature is given on a scale of intervals or ratios, into equal segments. It is recommended to use at least five, but not more than ten gradations. In the case of using the name scale or the ordinal scale, this problem does not arise.

If the researcher wants to more clearly present the relationship between different quantities, for example, the proportion of subjects with different qualitative characteristics, then it is more profitable for him to use a diagram. In a pie chart, the size of each sector is proportional to the amount of occurrence of each type. The size of a pie chart can represent the relative sample size or the importance of a feature.

Transitional from graphic to analytical option for displaying information are, first of all, graphs representing the functional dependence of features. The ideal way to complete an experimental study is to find a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variables, which can be described analytically.

Two types of graphs, different in content, can be distinguished: 1) displaying the dependence of changes in parameters over time; 2) displaying the relationship between the independent and dependent variables (or any two other variables). The classic version of the representation of time dependence is the relationship discovered by G. Ebbinghaus between the amount of material reproduced and the time elapsed after memorization ("forgetting curve"). Numerous "learning curves" or "fatigue curves" are similar, showing changes in performance over time.

In psychology, graphs of the functional dependence of two variables are also often found: the laws of G. Fechner, S. Stevens (in psychophysics), a pattern that describes the dependence of the probability of reproducing an element on its place in a series (in cognitive psychology), etc.

L.V. Kulikov gives novice researchers a number of simple guidelines for plotting.[99]

1. Graphics and text should complement each other.

2. The graph must be self-explanatory and include all necessary symbols.

3. It is not allowed to draw more than four curves on one graph.

4. The lines on the graph should reflect the significance of the parameter, the most important parameters must be indicated by numbers.

5. Axle labels should be placed at the bottom and left.

6. Points on different lines are usually denoted by circles, squares and triangles.

If it is necessary to present the magnitude of the data spread on the same graph, then they should be displayed as vertical segments so that the point denoting the average is on the segment (in accordance with the asymmetry index).

The type of graphs are diagnostic profiles that characterize the average severity of the measured indicators in a group or a certain individual.

When presenting information using topological characteristics, graphs are used. For example, D. Veksler's hierarchical model of intellect is presented in the form of a graph.

Along with graphs in psychology, spatial-graphic descriptions are used, which take into account the structure of parameters and relationships between elements. An example is the description of the structure of the intellect - the "cube" of D. Gilford. Another option for applying spatial description is the space of emotional states according to W. Wundt or the description of personality types according to G. Eysenck ("Eysenck's circle").

If a metric is defined in the feature space, a more rigorous representation of the data is used. The position of the point in the space shown in the figure corresponds to its real coordinates in the feature space. In this way, the results of multidimensional scaling, factorial and latent structural analysis, as well as some variants of cluster analysis are presented.

The most important way of presenting the results of scientific work is the numerical values ​​of the quantity, in particular:

1) central trend indicators (mean, mode, median);

2) absolute and relative frequencies;

3) scatter indicators (standard deviation, variance, percentile scatter);

4) the values ​​of the criteria used when comparing the results of different groups;

5) coefficients of linear and non-linear connection of variables, etc.

The standard form of tables for presenting primary results is as follows: the rows are the subjects, the columns are the values ​​of the measured parameters. The results of mathematical statistical processing are also summarized in tables. Existing computer packages for statistical data processing allow you to choose any standard form of tables for presenting them in a scientific publication.

Applications

1. Ethical Principles for Conducting Human Research (American Psychological Association, 1973)[100]

The decision to conduct research should be based on the conscious desire of every psychologist to make a tangible contribution to psychological science and promote human well-being. A responsible psychologist considers various directions where the energy and capabilities of a person are needed.

Having decided to conduct research, psychologists must carry out their intentions with respect for the people who take part in them, and with concern for their dignity and well-being.

The principles outlined below explain to the researcher the ethical and responsible attitude towards experimental participants in the course of research, from the initial intent to the steps necessary to protect the confidentiality of research data. These principles should be considered in the context of the documents attached as a supplement to the principles.

1. In designing an experiment, the researcher is personally responsible for making an accurate assessment of its ethical acceptability, based on research principles. If, based on this assessment and weighing scientific and human values, the researcher proposes to deviate from the principles, then he additionally assumes a serious obligation to develop ethical recommendations and take stricter measures to protect the rights of research participants.

2. It is always the responsibility of each investigator to establish and maintain acceptable research ethics. The researcher is also responsible for the ethical treatment of subjects by colleagues, assistants, students, and all other employees.

3. Ethics requires that the researcher inform the subjects about all aspects of the experiment that may affect their desire to participate in it, as well as answer all questions about other details of the study. The impossibility of getting acquainted with the full picture of the experiment further strengthens the responsibility of the researcher for the well-being and dignity of the subjects.

4. Honesty and openness are important features of the relationship between the researcher and the subject. If concealment and deception are necessary according to the methodology of the study, then the researcher must explain to the subject the reasons for such actions in order to restore their relationship.

5. Ethics requires that the researcher respect the client's right to reduce or discontinue their participation in the research process at any time. The obligation to protect this right requires particular vigilance when the researcher is in a position that is dominant over the participant. The decision to limit this right increases the investigator's responsibility for the dignity and well-being of the participant.

6. Ethically acceptable research begins with the establishment of a clear and fair agreement between the researcher and the participant, explaining the responsibilities of the parties. It is the investigator's responsibility to honor all promises and understandings included in this agreement.

7. An ethical researcher protects his clients from physical and mental discomfort, harm, and danger. If the risk of such consequences exists, then the researcher is obliged to inform the subjects about this, reach an agreement before starting work and take all possible measures to minimize harm. A research procedure should not be used if it is likely to cause serious and lasting harm to participants.

8. Ethical work requires that, after data collection, the researcher provides the participants with a full explanation of the essence of the experiment and eliminates any misunderstandings that arise. If scientific or human values ​​justify withholding or withholding information, then the researcher has a special responsibility to ensure that there are no dire consequences for his clients.

9. If the research procedure may have undesirable consequences for the participants, then the researcher is responsible for identifying, eliminating or correcting such results (including long-term ones).

The information obtained during the study is confidential. If there is a possibility that other people may have access to this information, then the ethics of research practice requires that this possibility, as well as privacy plans, be explained to participants as part of the process of achieving mutual informational agreement.

2. Statistical applications

1. Significance of Student's t-distribution

2. Significance table of criterion ?2

3. Boundary values ​​of Fisher's F-criterion for the probability of an acceptable error of 0,05 and the number of degrees of freedom N1 and N2

4. Correlation coefficient significance table (according to Pearson)

5. Table of significance of the correlation coefficient of ranks (according to Ch. Spearman)

Notes

1. Nikandrov V.V. Experimental psychology. SPB., 2003.
2. Ananiev B.G. On the problems of modern human knowledge. M., 1977.
3. Psychological Dictionary / Ed. V.V. Davydova et al. M., 1983.
4. Psychology. Dictionary / Ed. A.V. Petrovsky, M.G. Yaroshevsky; Comp. L.A. Karpenko. M., 1990.
5. Experimental psychology. Issue. 1, 2 / Ed. P. Fresse and J. Piaget. M., 1966.
6. Psychological dictionary-reference guide / Ed. A.A. Krylov and V.P. Sochivko. L., 1982.
7. Experimental psychology. Issue. 1, 2 / Ed. P. Fresse and J. Piaget. M., 1966.
8. Gottsdanker R. Fundamentals of psychological experiment. M., 2005.
9. Campbell D. Models of experiments in social psychology and applied research. SPb., 1996.
10. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
11. Nikandrov V.V. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2003.
12. Fekhner G.T. On the formula for measuring sensations // Problems and methods of psychophysics. M., 1974. S. 13-19.
13. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
14. Zinchenko V.P., Smirnov S.D. Methodological issues of psychology. M., 1982.
15. Nemov R.S. Psychology. Book. 3. M., 1995.
16. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
17. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
18. Feyerabend P. Selected works on the methodology of science. M., 1986.
19. Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. M., 1989.
20. Gottsdanker R. Fundamentals of psychological experiment. M., 2005.
21. Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. M., 1946.
22. Cit. by: Ananiev B.G. On the problems of modern human knowledge. M., 1977.
23. Ibid.
24. Rogovin M.S., Zalevsky G.V. Theoretical foundations of psychological and pathopsychological research. M., 1988.
25. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
26. Ibid.
27. Gorbunova V.V. Experimental psychology in schemes and tables. Rostov n / D., 2005.
28. Basov M.Ya. Selected psychological works. M., 1975.
29. Age and individual characteristics of younger adolescents / Ed. D.B. Elkonina, T.V. Dragunova. M., 1967.
30. Piaget J. Selected psychological works. M., 1969.
31. Bales RF Personality and Interpersonal Behavior. NY, 1970.
32. Strelyau Ya. The role of temperament in psychological development. M., 1982.
33. Basov M.Ya. Selected psychological works. M., 1975.
34. Boltunov A.P. Pedagogical characteristics of the child. M.; L., 1926.
35. Anastasi A. Psychological testing. T. 1, 2. M., 1982.
36. Cit. Quoted from: Orphans. Consulting and diagnostics. M., 1998.
37. Lashley D. Working with young children. M., 1991.
38. Lashley D. Working with young children. M., 1991.
39. Atvater I. I'm listening to you ... M., 1988.
40. Rogers K.R. A look at psychotherapy. The formation of man. M., 1994.
41. Atvater I. I'm listening to you ... M., 1988.
42. Atvater I. I'm listening to you ... M., 1988.
43. Active methods in the work of a school psychologist / Ed. I.V. Dubrovina. M., 1990.
44. Nikandrov V.V. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2003.
45. Methods of social psychology / Ed. E.S. Kuzmina, V.E. Semenov. L., 1977.
46. Shvantsara J. et al. Diagnostics of mental development. Prague, 1978.
47. Ibid.
48. Shvantsara J. et al. Diagnostics of mental development. Prague, 1978.
49. Flavell J. Genetic Psychology of Jean Piaget. M., 1967.
50. Rogers K.R. A look at psychotherapy. M., 1994.
51. Michal V. Diagnostic interview // J. Shvantsara et al. Diagnostics of mental development. Prague, 1978.
52. Cit. by: Practical Psychology of Education / Ed. I.V. Dubrovina. SPb., 2004.
53. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
54. Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. M., 1946. S. 37.
55. Nikandrov V.V. Observation and experiment in psychology. SPb., 2002.
56. Fress P. Experimental method // Experimental psychology / Ed. P. Fress, J. Piaget. Issue. 1, 2. M., 1966.
57. Experimental psychology / Ed. P. Fress, J. Piaget. Issue. 1,2. M., 1966.
58. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
59. Campbell D. Models of experiments in social psychology and applied research. M., 1980.
60. Gottsdanker R. Fundamentals of psychological experiment. M., 1982.
61. Goodwin J. Research in psychology: methods and planning. SPb., 2004.
62. Martin D. Psychological experiments. SPb., 2002.
63. Gottsdanker R. Fundamentals of psychological experiment. M., 1982.
64. Kornilova T.V. Experimental psychology: theory and methods. M., 2002.
65. Martin D. Psychological experiments. SPb., 2002.
66. Campbell D. Models of experiments in social psychology and applied research. M., 1980.
67. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
68. Gorbunova V.V. Experimental psychology in schemes and tables. Rostov n / D., 2005.
69. Campbell D. Models of experiments in social psychology and applied research. M., 1980.
70. Stevens S. Mathematics, measurement and psychophysics. T. 1 // Experimental psychology / Ed. S. Stevens. M., 1950.
71. Stevens S. Mathematics, measurement and psychophysics. Vol. 1 // Experimental psychology. M., 1950.
72. Burlachuk L.F., Morozov S.M. Dictionary-reference book on psychological diagnostics. Kyiv, 1989.
73. Melnikov V.M., Yampolsky L.T. Introduction to experimental personality psychology. M., 1985.
74. Meili R. Personality Structure // Experimental Psychology / Ed. P. Fressa, J. Piaget. Issue. 5. M., 1975.
75. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.
76. Psychological diagnostics / Ed. K.M. Gurevich, E.M. Borisova. M., 2000.
77. Nikandrov V.V., Novochadov V.V. Method of testing in psychology. SPb., 2003.
78. Burlachuk L.F., Morozov S.M. Dictionary-reference book on psychodiagnostics. SPb., 1999.
79. Lichko A.E. Psychopathies and character accentuations in adolescents. SPb., 1999.
80. Nikandrov V.V., Novochadov V.V. Method of testing in psychology. SPb., 2003.
81. Projective psychology / Ed. R. Rimskoy, I. Kirillov. M., 2000.
82. Projective psychology / Ed. R. Rimskoy, I. Kirillov. M., 2000.
83. Nikandrov V.V., Novochadov V.V. Method of testing in psychology. SPb., 2003.
84. Projective psychology / Ed. R. Rimskoy, I. Kirillov. M., 2000.
85. Nikandrov V.V., Novochadov V.V. Method of testing in psychology. SPb., 2003.
86. Sidorenko E.V. Methods of mathematical processing in psychology. SPb., 2001.
87. The principle of development in psychology / Ed. ed. L.I. Antsyferov. M., 1978.
88. Rogovin M.S. Structural-level theories in psychology. Yaroslavl, 1977.
89. Ganzen V.A. System descriptions in psychology. L., 1984.
90. Nikandrov V.V. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2003.
91. Ananiev B.G. On the problems of modern human knowledge. M., 1977.
92. Bertalanfi L. General Theory of Systems - A Review of Problems and Results. M., 1969.
93. Kuzmin V.P. Various directions in the development of a systematic approach and their epistemological foundations // Questions of Philosophy. 1983. No. 3. S. 18-29.
94. Ganzen V.A. System approach in psychology. L., 1983.
95. Krylov A.A. System approach as a basis for research in engineering psychology and labor psychology // Methodology of research in engineering psychology and labor psychology. Part 1. L., 1974. S. 5-11.
96. Lomov B.F. About the system approach in psychology // Questions of psychology. 1975. No. 2. S. 31-45.
97. Rappoport A. System approach in psychology // Psychological journal. 1994. No. 3. S. 3-16.
98. Ganzen V.A. System descriptions in psychology. L., 1984.
99. Kulikov L.V. Psychological research. SPb., 1994.
100. Cit. by: Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. SPb., 2000.

Author: Konovalova M.D.

We recommend interesting articles Section Lecture notes, cheat sheets:

▪ Metrology, standardization and certification. Crib

▪ Psychology of work. Lecture notes

▪ History of culture. Lecture notes

See other articles Section Lecture notes, cheat sheets.

Read and write useful comments on this article.

<< Back

Latest news of science and technology, new electronics:

Artificial leather for touch emulation 15.04.2024

In a modern technology world where distance is becoming increasingly commonplace, maintaining connection and a sense of closeness is important. Recent developments in artificial skin by German scientists from Saarland University represent a new era in virtual interactions. German researchers from Saarland University have developed ultra-thin films that can transmit the sensation of touch over a distance. This cutting-edge technology provides new opportunities for virtual communication, especially for those who find themselves far from their loved ones. The ultra-thin films developed by the researchers, just 50 micrometers thick, can be integrated into textiles and worn like a second skin. These films act as sensors that recognize tactile signals from mom or dad, and as actuators that transmit these movements to the baby. Parents' touch to the fabric activates sensors that react to pressure and deform the ultra-thin film. This ... >>

Petgugu Global cat litter 15.04.2024

Taking care of pets can often be a challenge, especially when it comes to keeping your home clean. A new interesting solution from the Petgugu Global startup has been presented, which will make life easier for cat owners and help them keep their home perfectly clean and tidy. Startup Petgugu Global has unveiled a unique cat toilet that can automatically flush feces, keeping your home clean and fresh. This innovative device is equipped with various smart sensors that monitor your pet's toilet activity and activate to automatically clean after use. The device connects to the sewer system and ensures efficient waste removal without the need for intervention from the owner. Additionally, the toilet has a large flushable storage capacity, making it ideal for multi-cat households. The Petgugu cat litter bowl is designed for use with water-soluble litters and offers a range of additional ... >>

The attractiveness of caring men 14.04.2024

The stereotype that women prefer "bad boys" has long been widespread. However, recent research conducted by British scientists from Monash University offers a new perspective on this issue. They looked at how women responded to men's emotional responsibility and willingness to help others. The study's findings could change our understanding of what makes men attractive to women. A study conducted by scientists from Monash University leads to new findings about men's attractiveness to women. In the experiment, women were shown photographs of men with brief stories about their behavior in various situations, including their reaction to an encounter with a homeless person. Some of the men ignored the homeless man, while others helped him, such as buying him food. A study found that men who showed empathy and kindness were more attractive to women compared to men who showed empathy and kindness. ... >>

Random news from the Archive Low profile WLan adapter from ELECOM 17.01.2004 ELECOM started selling a tri-band WLan adapter LD-WL54AG/PCI for 80 USD. LD-WL54AG/ PCI supports IEEE 802.11a/b/g standards, 64/128/152 bit WEP encryption, the maximum possible connection is 54 Mbps. The LD-WL54AG/PCI adapter is very easy to install and on site. A big advantage of the adapter is its low-profile layout, board dimensions - 120x64 mm, weight - 80 grams.

News feed of science and technology, new electronics

Interesting materials of the Free Technical Library:

▪ site section Electrician's tool. Article selection

▪ article Walking for three days, not sleeping for three days for the sake of a few lines in the newspaper. Popular expression

▪ article Which birds are completely black in color, as well as black bones and internal organs? Detailed answer

▪ article Design Engineer. Job description

▪ article A device for testing high-voltage transistors. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

▪ article A device for controlling a single-phase asynchronous electric motor. Encyclopedia of radio electronics and electrical engineering

Leave your comment on this article:

All languages ​​of this page

Arabic	Hebrew	Polish
Bengali	Hindi	Portuguese
Chinese	Italian	Spanish
English	Japanese	Turkish
French	Korean	Ukrainian
German	Malay	Vietnamese

Home page | Library | Articles | Website map | Site Reviews

www.diagram.com.ua
2000-2024