What are the methods of psychology. Psychological methods. psychodiagnostic methods

Research methods- these are the methods and means by which scientists obtain reliable information, which are used further to build scientific theories and develop practical recommendations. Method - this is the way of cognition, this is the way through which the subject of science is cognized. (S.L. Rubinstein). Translated from Greek "methodos" means "way".

When organizing a study, it is important that a particular method used is subordinate to the problem being solved, adequate to it. First of all, the arisen task, the question to be studied, the goal to be achieved, are specified, and then, in accordance with this, a specific and accessible method is selected. At the same time, in order to competently use psychological methods, the researcher must be sufficiently well oriented in the question of the methods of psychology. Note that the methods of psychological research should meet the following requirements:

1. Objectivity ... Its use involves the unification of external and internal manifestations of the psyche, based on the objective nature of the psychic. The objectivity of the method consists in a set of general ways, means and requirements for psychological research, which ensure the maximum unambiguity and reliability of the results obtained.

2. Validity ... Validity of the test - the adequacy and effectiveness of the test - the most important criterion of its good quality, characterizing the accuracy of the measurement of the investigated property, as well as how the test reflects what it should evaluate; to what extent the individual components of its samples are adequate to the problem under study.

3. Reliability ... Reliability of the test - constancy, stability of the results obtained with its help; the quality of the research method, allowing one and the same results to be obtained with repeated use of this method.

In psychology, there are various classifications of methods for studying the psyche. In the classification proposed by B.G. Ananiev, there are four method groups:

Group I - organizational methods. They include comparative method (comparison of different groups by age, activity, etc.); longitudinal method(multiple examinations of the same persons over a long period of time); complex method(representatives of different sciences participate in the research; in this case, as a rule, one object is studied by different means. Research of this kind makes it possible to establish connections and dependencies between phenomena of different types, for example, between the physiological, psychological and social development of a person).

Group II - empirical methods (see Fig. 4), including: observation and introspection; experimental methods, psychodiagnostic methods(tests, questionnaires, questionnaires, sociometry, interviews, conversation), analysis of products of activity, biographical methods.


III group - data processing methods including: quantitative(statistical) and qualitative(differentiation of material by groups, analysis) methods.

IV group interpretation techniques, including genetic(analysis of the material in terms of development with the allocation of individual phases, stages, critical moments, etc.) and structural(establishes structural links between all personality characteristics) methods.

The methods of psychology are aimed not only at fixing facts, but also to explain, to reveal their essence. And this is quite natural. After all, the form of objects and phenomena does not coincide with their content. But this requirement cannot always be met with the help of one method, and therefore, in the study of mental phenomena, various methods are usually used that complement each other. For example, the manifestation of an employee's confusion when performing a certain task, repeatedly noted by observation, has to be clarified by conversation, and sometimes verified by natural experiment, using target tests.

Rice. 4. Classification of psychological research methods

The peculiarity of mental phenomena lies in the fact that they, as such, are inaccessible to direct observation. For example, sensation and thought cannot be seen. Therefore, it is necessary to observe them indirectly. At the same time, the key to understanding a person is given by his practical deeds and actions.

Generalization of the information obtained in the study of one personality in various types of activity will reveal the psychological essence of this personality. This is one of the basic principles of psychology - the unity of personality and activity.

Empirical research methods are divided into the main and subsidiary.

1. Basic methods.Observation- one of the main empirical methods of psychology, consisting in the deliberate, systematic and purposeful perception of mental phenomena in order to study their specific changes in certain conditions and search for the meaning of these phenomena, which is not directly given. Zhiteyskoe observation is limited to the registration of facts, is of a random, unorganized nature. Scientific- is organized, involves a clear plan, fixing the results in a special diary. A description of phenomena based on observation is considered scientific if the psychological understanding contained in it inside the observed act gives a natural explanation of its external manifestation. At included surveillance(it is most often used in general, age, educational and social psychology), the researcher acts as a direct participant in the process over which he is observing. Not included (third party) unlike the included, it does not imply the personal participation of the observer in the process that he is studying.

Observation is also divided into external and internal.. External observation Is a method of collecting data on the psychology and behavior of a person through direct observation of him from the outside. Internal surveillance, or self-observation, is used when the psychologist-researcher sets himself the task of studying the phenomenon of interest in the form in which it is directly presented in his mind. Internally perceiving the corresponding phenomenon, the psychologist, as it were, observes it (for example, his images, feelings, thoughts, experiences) or uses similar data communicated to him by other people who themselves introspect according to his instructions. Introspection- observation, the object of which is mental states, the actions of the subject himself.

Experiment- the main method of psychology, based on the accurate accounting of variable independent variables that affect the dependent variable. Let us list its advantages: the researcher does not expect a random manifestation of the mental processes of interest to him, but he himself creates the conditions to evoke them in the subjects; the researcher can purposefully change the conditions and course of mental processes; in an experimental study, strict consideration of the conditions of the experiment is required (what stimuli were given, what are the responses); the experiment can be carried out with a large number of subjects, which makes it possible to establish general patterns of development of mental processes.

There are two main types of experiment: natural and laboratory... They differ from each other in that they allow one to study the psychology and behavior of people in conditions that are remote or close to reality. Natural experiment- a psychological experiment, organized and carried out in ordinary life conditions, where the experimenter practically does not interfere in the course of the events taking place, fixing them in the form as they unfold by themselves. Usually it is included in play, work, or study activities unnoticed by the subject. Laboratory experiment- the method of psychology, carried out in artificial conditions with strict control of all influencing factors, i.e. this type of experiment involves the creation of some artificial situation in which the studied property can be best studied.

Depending on the degree of the experimenter's interference in the course of mental phenomena, the experiment is divided into: ascertaining, in which certain mental characteristics and the level of development of the corresponding quality are revealed, and teaching (formative), which involves a purposeful impact on the subject in order to form certain qualities in him.

2. Helper methods.Interview is a method in which a person answers a series of questions asked. The survey is divided into free and standardized, oral and written.Free survey- a kind of oral or written survey, in which the list of questions asked and possible answers to them is not limited in advance to a certain framework. Standardized survey, in which the questions and the nature of possible answers to them are determined in advance and are usually limited to a rather narrow framework, it is more economical in time and material costs than a free survey.

Oral survey it is used in cases where it is desirable to monitor the behavior and reactions of the person answering the questions. It can be carried out in the form of a conversation and an interview. Interviewing- the method of social psychology, which consists in collecting information obtained in the form of answers to the questions posed. Conversation- one of the methods of psychology, providing for the direct or indirect acquisition of information through verbal communication. The researcher asks questions, and the subject answers them.

Written survey allows you to reach more people. Its most common form is questionnaire survey... An essential feature of the questionnaire survey is the indirect nature of the interaction between the researcher and the subject, who communicate using the questionnaire, and the respondent himself reads the questions offered to him and himself records his answers. Application form is a questionnaire with a predetermined system of questions, each of which is logically connected with the central hypothesis of the research. The use of questionnaires in the research allows collecting a large amount of factual material - this is the value of the method. The disadvantage of the questionnaire is that the sincerity of the respondents is not controlled, because their opinion is being clarified, and not the actual attitude towards a particular object. Therefore, the questionnaire needs to be supplemented with other methods.

Testing- collecting facts about psychic reality using standardized tools - tests. Test- a standardized method of psychological measurement, consisting of a series of short tasks and designed to diagnose the severity of an individual and mental properties or states in solving practical problems. At the same time, the psychological measurement is normalized in terms of the values ​​of interindividual differences. With the help of tests, psychological characteristics can be studied and compared with each other. different people, give differentiated and comparable assessments.

The advantages of the tests are that it is possible to obtain comparable data on a large number of subjects. The difficulty of using tests is that it is not always possible to identify how and by what means the result obtained in the testing process was achieved.

Tests are divided into two main types: psychological tests and achievement tests . Achievement tests- tests designed to measure the quality of educational or professional knowledge, skills and abilities. They are designed taking into account the content of educational or professional tasks for certain conditions and the purposes of testing (selection, certification, examination, etc.); are widely used in selection for higher educational institutions.

Also distinguish: projective tests; intelligence tests, ability tests, personality and socio-psychological tests; school readiness tests, clinical tests, selection tests, etc .; individual and group, oral and written, blank, subject, hardware and computer, verbal and non-verbal .

IN verbal tests, the subject's activity is carried out in a verbal, verbal-logical form, in non-verbal- the material is presented in the form of pictures, drawings, graphic images.

Ability tests- methods that diagnose the level of development of general and special abilities that determine the success of training, professional activity and creativity. Tests of intelligence and creativity are widely used and are used to determine a person's overall giftedness. There are tests of special abilities: sports, music, art, math, etc. there are also tests of general professional aptitude.

Intelligence tests- psychodiagnostic techniques designed to determine the level of an individual's intellectual development and identify the features of the structure of his intellect.

Personality tests- psychodiagnostic techniques aimed at assessing the emotional-volitional components of mental activity - relationships (including interpersonal), motivation, interests, emotions, as well as the characteristics of an individual's behavior in certain described social situations. Personality tests include projective tests, personality questionnaires and performance tests (situational) .

Projective tests- a group of techniques designed to diagnose personality, in which the subjects are asked to respond to an uncertain (ambiguous situation), for example: interpret the content of the plot picture (test of thematic apperception, etc.), complete unfinished sentences or statements of one of the characters in the plot picture ( Rosenzweig test), give an interpretation of uncertain situations (Rorschach inkblots), draw a person (Machover test), a tree, etc. It is assumed that the nature of the respondent's answers is determined by the characteristics of his personality, which are "projected" for the answers. For the subject, the purpose of projective tests is relatively disguised, which reduces his ability to make the desired impression of himself.

Personality questionnaires- one of the varieties of psychological tests. They are designed to diagnose the degree of severity in an individual of certain personality traits or other psychological characteristics, the quantitative expression of which is the total number of answers to the items of the personality questionnaire. Various personality questionnaires have been developed and used to diagnose stable personality traits; certain types of motivation (for example, achievement motivation); mental and emotional achievement (eg, anxiety); professional and other interests, inclinations.

Professional selection- a specialized procedure for studying and probabilistic assessment of the suitability of people for mastering a specialty, achieving the required level of skill and successfully performing professional duties in typical and specifically difficult conditions.

In recent decades, the method has become widespread in psychology modeling reproducing a certain mental activity with the aim of studying it by simulating life situations in a laboratory setting. Modeling as a method is used when the study of a phenomenon of interest to a scientist by simple observation, questioning, test or experiment is difficult or impossible due to complexity or inaccessibility. Then they resort to creating an artificial model of the studied phenomenon, repeating its main parameters and expected properties. Models are built using special simulators (devices, consoles, simulators) that can be used for didactic and research purposes. This model is used to investigate this phenomenon in detail and draw conclusions about its nature. Models can be technical, logical, mathematical, cybernetic.

Expert judgment method consists in carrying out by experts an intuitive-logical analysis of the problem with a quantitatively substantiated judgment and formal processing of the results. Experts can be persons who know the subjects well and the problem under study: class teacher, teachers, coach, parents, friends, etc. Process and product analysis involves the study of the materialized results of a person's mental activity, material products of his previous activities (for example, various crafts, technical devices, keeping a notebook, writing an abstract, etc.). In the products of activity, a person's attitude to the activity itself, to the surrounding world is manifested, the level of development of intellectual, sensory, motor skills is reflected.

Biographical method Is a way of researching and designing the life path of an individual, based on the study of documents of her biography (personal diaries, correspondence, etc.).

Twin method helps to identify the role of heredity, environment and upbringing in the mental development of the individual. Comparison of intrapair similarity in twins makes it possible to determine the relative role of the genotype and environment in the determination of the trait under study. Currently, psychology also uses: separated monozygous twins method, control twin method, twin pair method.

Sociometric method (sociometry)- the reception of standardized tests to measure interpersonal relationships in small groups in order to determine the structure of relationships and psychological compatibility. It is carried out by posing indirect questions, answering which the subject makes a sequential choice of group members preferred to others in a certain situation. The disadvantage of the method is that it does not allow one to reveal the real motives of the choice, to understand the reasons for the existing structure of relations.

Send your good work in the knowledge base is simple. Use the form below

Students, graduate students, young scientists who use the knowledge base in their studies and work will be very grateful to you.

Posted on http:// www. allbest. ru/

1. Observation

1.1 External surveillance

1.2 Internal observation (self-observation)

2. Experimental method

2.1 Laboratory experiment

2.2 Natural experiment

3. Method of research of products of activity

4. Biographical research method

4.1 Psychological modeling

4.2 Comparative genetic method

5. Survey methods

5.1 Conversation

5.2 Interview

5.3 Questionnaire

5.4 Testing

5.5 Sociometry

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Psychological science uses the entire arsenal of general psychological methods, filling them with specific content. This is due to the characteristics of the object and the objectives of the study. In addition to general psychological methods, psychology uses a number of specific techniques for studying human behavior in the conditions of activity. Most of the methods are used in three distinct planes:

for psychological analysis of professional activity;

to conduct a variety of applied research (professional selection, professional advice, rationalization of work and rest, etc.);

to study the personality of a particular employee, his abilities, motivation, states.

There are several classifications of methods of psychology, which offer almost the same set of methods and criteria for their grouping. Summarizing them, we can propose a classification of methods of psychology, which includes two large categories of methods: a group of non-experimental methods, which is a purposeful study of professional activity in natural conditions, and a group of experimental methods, including the purposeful study of the organization of conditions and ways of performing activities.

The first group includes two main methods: the observation method and the survey method, as well as a number of additional methods and aids.

The second group includes an experiment in two of its varieties: laboratory and natural (production), as well as a test method.

The methods of psychology are those techniques and means by which psychologists obtain reliable information, using them for the further construction of scientific theories and the development of practical recommendations. A good method does not replace a talented researcher, but it is an important helper for him. They are aimed at studying mental phenomena in development and change.

Research methods in psychology study not only the special person himself, but also the conditions affecting him.

For example, it is impossible to understand the properties of a student's personality without taking into account the situation around him in the family and at school.

There are various methods used in psychology:

Observation

Experiments

Research of products of activity

Testing

· Biographical method and others.

They are subdivided into scientific and directly applied in practice. When studying mental phenomena, various methods are usually used that complement each other.

For example, the manifestation of an employee's lack of assembly when performing a certain task, repeatedly noted by observation, has to be clarified by conversation, and sometimes checked by experiment, used testing.

If sensation and thought cannot be seen, then they are observed indirectly, not only through self-observation, but also through practical deeds and actions. It is necessary to use the methods of work in psychology systematically and for each task specifically. First, the question that has arisen, the task, the goal that must be achieved is clarified, and then, in accordance with this, a specific and accessible method is selected.

1. Observation

The observation method in psychology involves the explanation of a mental phenomenon in the process of specially organized perception. Scientific observation is based on a certain theoretical hypothesis. It is carried out according to a pre-developed plan, and its progress and results are clearly noted. Observation is aimed at the external manifestations of mental activity - actions, facial expressions, gestures, statements, behavior and human activity. According to objective indicators, the psychologist judges the individual characteristics of the course of mental processes, personality traits, etc.

The essence of observation consists not only in the registration of facts, but also in the scientific explanation of their causes, in the discovery of patterns, understanding of their dependence on the environment, upbringing, on the peculiarities of functioning. nervous system.

Supervision Requirements:

1) purposefulness

The observer must clearly understand what he is going to observe and for what purpose, otherwise the observation will turn into a fixation of random, secondary facts.

2) systematic

Means that observation should be carried out not from case to case, but systematically, which requires a certain more or less long time.

3) naturalness

Dictates the need to study the external manifestations of the human psyche in natural conditions - ordinary, familiar to him; in this case, the subject should not know that he is being watched on purpose and carefully.

4) mandatory fixation of results

The facts should be recorded in a diary or protocol.

For full observation, you must:

a) take into account the variety of manifestations of the human psyche and observe them in various conditions (at home, on the street, at work)

b) fix the facts with all possible accuracy (incorrectly pronounced words, phrases, train of thought)

c) take into account the conditions that affect the course of mental phenomena (human condition, environment)

1.1 External surveillance

This is a way of collecting data about another person, his behavior and psychology through observation from the outside.

External surveillance:

* solid, when all manifestations of the psyche are recorded for a certain time (during the day, during the game)

* selective, aimed at those facts that are relevant to the issue under study

* long-term, systematic, over a number of years

* short-term observation

* included when the psychologist temporarily becomes an active participant in the process being monitored and fixes it from the inside

* not included when surveillance is conducted from the outside

* direct - it is carried out by the researcher himself, observing a mental phenomenon during its course;

* indirect - in this case, the results of observations carried out by other people (audio and video recordings) are used

1.2 Internal observation (self-observation)

This is obtaining data when observing a subject for his own mental processes and states at the time of their flow (introspection) or after them (retrospection). Such self-observations are of an auxiliary nature, but in some cases it is impossible to do without them.

Pros of observation:

1) the phenomenon under study occurs in natural conditions

2) the possibility of using accurate methods of recording facts

Minusesobservation:

1) the main drawback is the passive position of the observer

2) impossibility to exclude random factors influencing the course of the studied phenomenon

3) impossibility of repeated observation of identical facts

4) subjectivity in the interpretation of facts

5) observation most often answers the question "what?", And the question "why?" remains open

Observation is an integral part of two other methods - experiment and conversation.

2. Experimental method

It is the main method of psychology. His distinctive feature: the researcher deliberately creates circumstances that stimulate the manifestation of a certain mental phenomenon. In this case, the influence of individual factors on its occurrence and dynamics is established. The experiment is carried out as many times as necessary to identify the corresponding pattern.

2.1 Laboratory experiment

It is characterized by the use of special laboratory equipment, which makes it possible to accurately record the quantity and quality of external influences and the mental reactions they cause. In such an experiment, the activities of the subjects are stimulated by special tasks and regulated by instructions. So, to determine the amount of attention of the subject, he is presented with a very a short time(tenths of a second) a group of objects (figures, letters, words, phrases, etc.) and the task is set - to draw attention to a much larger number of objects. The results obtained are statistically processed.

Laboratory experiment requirements:

1) a positive and responsible attitude of the subjects towards him

2) equality of conditions for participation in the experiment of all subjects

3) accessible, understandable instructions for the subjects

4) a sufficient number of subjects and the number of experiments

The advantages of a laboratory experiment:

1) the possibility of creating conditions for the occurrence of the necessary mental phenomenon

2) great precision and purity

3) the possibility of strict accounting of its results

4) multiple repetition

5) the possibility of mathematical processing of the data obtained

Flawslaboratory experiment:

1) the artificiality of the environment affects the natural course of mental processes in some subjects (fear, stress, excitement in some, and recovery, high performance, good progress- other's

2) the intervention of the experimenter in the activity of the subject inevitably turns out to be a means of influence (useful or harmful) on the studied person.

2.2 Natural experiment

The usual for this person the conditions of his activity, but it is specially organized in accordance with the purpose of the experiment. The subjects, as a rule, are not aware of the experiment and therefore do not experience the stress typical of laboratory conditions.

3. Method of research of products of activity

It allows you to determine a person's abilities, the level of his knowledge, skills and abilities. Studying the material products of a person's previous activity, one can indirectly judge the characteristics of both the activity and the actions of the subject. Therefore, this method is sometimes called " indirect observation».

1) Activity products created in the course of the game

There are various buildings made of cubes, sand, attributes for role-playing games made by the hands of children.

2) Labor activity

3) Productive activity

These include drawings, applications, various crafts, handicrafts, piece of art, a note in the wall newspaper.

4) Learning products

Relate test papers, compositions, drawings, drafts, homework.

Certain requirements are imposed on the method of studying the products of activity:

1) availability of the program

2) the study of products created not by chance, but in the course of typical activities

3) knowledge of the conditions for the course of activities

4) analysis of not single, but many products of the subject's activity

4 . Biographical research method

It consists in identifying the main factors in the formation of an individual, his life path, crisis periods development, features of socialization. Current events in the life of an individual are also analyzed and possible events in the future are predicted, life charts are drawn up, an analysis of interspecific relations is performed, an analysis of the psychological time of a personality, when the starting events of individual periods of personality development or its degradation are identified.

The biographical research method is aimed at identifying the individual's lifestyle, its adaptation in the environment. It is used both for analysis and for correction of a person's life path. This method allows you to identify the factors that most affect the behavior of the individual. The data obtained are used to correct the behavior of the individual, personally directed psychotherapy, and weaken age-related crises.

4.1 Psychological modeling

Currently, a widely used method, which is expressed in the symbolic imitation of mental phenomena. With its help, it is possible to simulate some aspects of perception, memory, as well as logical thinking.

4.2 Comparative genetic method

The essence of this method is in the study of mental laws by comparing the individual phases of the mental development of individuals.

5. Survey methods

These are methods of obtaining information based on verbal communication. Within the framework of these methods, it is possible to distinguish conversation, interview (oral survey) and questionnaire (written survey).

5.1 Conversation

It is a method of collecting facts about mental phenomena in the process of personal communication according to a specially compiled program. It can be viewed as directional observation centered around a limited number of issues of great importance in this study. The peculiarities of the conversation are the immediacy of communication with the studied person and the question-answer form.

Conversation is usually used: to obtain data about the past of the subjects, a deeper study of their individual and age characteristics (inclinations, interests, beliefs, tastes), to study the attitude to their own actions, the actions of other people, to the team, and so on. psychological questionnaire testing ability

The conversation either precedes an objective study of the phenomenon (at the initial acquaintance before conducting the research), or follows it, but can be used both before and after observation and experiment (to confirm or clarify what has been identified). In any case, the conversation must be combined with other objective methods.

The success of the conversation depends on the degree of its preparedness on the part of the researcher and on the sincerity of the answers given to the subjects.

Requirements for the conversation:

1) it is necessary to determine the purpose and objectives of the study

2) a plan should be drawn up (but, being planned, the conversation should not be of a stereotyped and standard nature, it is always individualized)

3) for a successful conversation, you need to create a favorable environment

4) you should think carefully in advance and outline the questions that will be asked to the subject

5) each next question should be posed taking into account the changed situation that was created as a result of the subject's answer to the previous question

6) during the conversation, the subject can also ask questions of the psychologist conducting the conversation

7) after the conversation, all answers of the subject are carefully recorded

During the conversation, the researcher observes the behavior, facial expression of the subject, the nature of speech utterances - the degree of confidence in the answers, interest or indifference, the peculiarity of the grammatical construction of phrases, etc.

The questions used in the conversation should be understandable to the subject, unambiguous and appropriate for the age, experience, and knowledge of the people being studied. Neither in tone nor in content should they inspire the subject with certain answers, they should not contain an assessment of his personality, behavior or any quality.

Questions can complement each other, change, vary depending on the course of research and individual characteristics test subjects. Data on the phenomenon of interest can be obtained both in the form of answers to direct and indirect questions. Direct questions sometimes confuse the other person, and the answer may be insincere (“Do you like your boss?”). In such cases, it is better to use indirect questions, when the true goals for the interlocutor are disguised ("What do you think is 'a good teacher'?").

If it is necessary to clarify the subject's answer, one should not ask leading questions, suggest, hint, shake his head, etc. It is better to formulate the question in a neutral way: "How should this be understood?", "Please explain your thought", or ask a projective question: " What do you think a person should do if he was undeservedly offended? ”, Or describe the situation with a fictional person. Then, when answering, the interlocutor will put himself in the place of the person mentioned in the question, and thus express his own attitude to the situation.

The conversation can be:

1) standardized, with precisely formulated questions that are asked to all respondents

2) not standardized when questions are posed in a free form

The advantages of this method:

1) individualized character

2) maximum adaptation to the subject and direct contact with him, which makes it possible to take into account his responses and behavior

3) flexibility

Flawsthis method:

1) conclusions about the mental characteristics of the subject are made on the basis of his own answers.

But it is customary to judge people not by words, but by deeds, specific actions, therefore, the data obtained during the conversation must be necessarily correlated with the data of objective methods and the opinion of competent persons about the respondent.

5.2 Interview

This is a method of obtaining socio-psychological information through targeted oral questioning. Interview is more commonly used in social psychology.

Types of interviews:

1) free, not regulated by the topic and form of the conversation

2) standardized, close to the questionnaire with closed questions.

5.3 Questionnaire

The essence of this method is to collect data based on a survey using questionnaires. The questionnaire is a system of questions logically related to the central task of the research, which are given to the subjects for a written answer.

The main component of the questionnaire is not a question, but a series of questions that correspond to the general design of the study.

According to their function, questions can be:

1) basic or suggestive

2) control or clarifying

Any well-written questionnaire has a strictly defined structure:

1) the introduction sets out the topic, objectives and goals of the survey, explains the technique of filling out the questionnaire

At the beginning of the questionnaire, simple, meaningless questions (the so-called contact questions) are placed, the purpose of which is to interest the respondent

2) in the middle are the most difficult questions requiring analysis, reflection

3) at the end of the questionnaire there are simple, “unloading” questions;

4) the conclusion (if necessary) contains questions about the passport data of the respondent - gender, age, civil status, occupation, and so on.

After drawing up, the questionnaire must be subjected to logical control. Is the technique for filling out the questionnaire clear enough? Are all questions stylistically correct? Are all terms clear to the interviewees? Shouldn't you add the “Other Answers” ​​item to some of the questions? Will the question provoke negative emotions among the respondents?

Then you should check the composition of the entire questionnaire. Is the principle of placing the questions observed (from the simplest at the beginning of the questionnaire to the most significant, target ones in the middle and simple at the end? Is the influence of the previous questions on the subsequent ones observed? Is there a cluster of questions of the same type?

After logical control, the questionnaire is checked in practice during the preliminary research.

The types of questionnaires are quite diverse:

1) an individual questionnaire, if the questionnaire is filled in by one person

2) group, if it expresses the opinion of some community of people

The anonymity of the questionnaire lies not only and not so much in the fact that the subject may not sign his questionnaire, but, in general, in the fact that the researcher has no right to disseminate information about the content of the questionnaires.

1) open profile

With the use of direct questions aimed at identifying the perceived qualities of the subjects and allowing them to build an answer in accordance with their desires, both in content and in form. On this score, the researcher does not give any instructions. The open questionnaire must contain the so-called control questions, which are used to ensure the reliability of the indicators. Questions are duplicated by hidden-similar ones - if there is a discrepancy, the answers to them are not taken into account, because they cannot be recognized as reliable.

2) closed profile

Assumes a number of variable answers. The subject's task is to choose the most suitable one. Closed questionnaires are easy to process, but they limit the responder's autonomy.

3) questionnaire scale

In it, the subject not only has to choose the most correct answer out of the ready-made ones, but also propose, evaluate in points the correctness of each of the proposed answers.

Advantages of all types of questionnaires:

1) the massiveness of the survey

2) the speed of obtaining a large amount of material

3) the use of mathematical methods for its processing

Flawsall types of questionnaires:

1) the difficulty of qualitative analysis and subjectivity.

2) when analyzing all types of questionnaires, only the upper layer of the material is opened.

5.4 Testing

Testing method - diagnostics of mental capabilities, abilities, inclinations and skills individual.

A psychological test is a short and time-limited test task to establish individual individual characteristics of the subject. Currently, tests are widely used to determine the level of intellectual development, memory, ability for professional activity, diagnostics of personal qualities, clinical tests and others.

The value of tests depends on their preliminary experimental verification.

The most common tests of intelligence (Cattell test) and personality tests (MMPI), tests by G. Eysenck, J. Guilford, G. Rorschach, S. Roznzweig (16-factor personality questionnaire), etc.

IN last years for the purpose of psychological diagnostics, the products of the graphic activity of an individual - handwriting, drawings, began to be widely used. The graphic method of psychological diagnostics allows one to study each individual individually and make a reliable prediction about it. At the same time, standardized techniques and procedures developed in Western psychology are used: "drawing of a person"

5.5 Sociometry

It is a specific variant of the questionnaire developed by the American social psychologist and psychotherapist J. Moreno. This method is used to study collectives and groups - their orientation, intragroup relations, the position in the collective of its individual members.

The procedure is simple: each member of the studied team answers in writing a series of questions called sociometric criteria. The selection criterion is the desire of a person to do something together with someone.

Allocate:

1) strong criteria (if a partner is selected for joint activities - labor, educational, public)

2) weak (in the case of choosing a partner for a joint pastime).

The respondents are placed so that they can work independently and given the opportunity to make several choices. If the number of choices is limited (as a rule, three), then the technique is called parametric, if not, nonparametric.

The sociometry rules provide for:

1) establishing trust with the group

2) explanation of the purpose of conducting sociometry

3) guaranteeing the secrecy of the answers

4) emphasizing the importance and importance of independence and secrecy when answering

5) checking the correctness and unambiguity of understanding of the questions included in the study

6) accurate and clear presentation of the technique of recording responses

Based on the results of sociometry, a sociometric matrix (election table) is compiled - disordered and ordered, and a sociogram is a graphic expression of the mathematical processing of the results obtained, or a group differentiation map, which is depicted in the form of either a special graph or a figure, a diagram in several versions.

When analyzing the results obtained, the members of the group are referred to the sociometric status:

1) in the center - a sociometric star (those who received 8-10 elections in a group of 35-40 people)

2) in the inner intermediate zone there are preferred ones (those who received more than half of the maximum number of elections)

3) in the outer intermediate zone there are accepted (having 1-3 choices)

4) in the external - isolated (pariahs, "robinsons"), who did not receive any choice.

With the help of this method, it is possible to identify antipathies, but in this case the criteria will be different ("Who would you not like to ..?", "Who would you not invite ..?"). Those who are not deliberately chosen by the group members are rejected (rejected).

Other sociogram options are:

* "Grouping" - a plane image, which shows the groupings that exist within the group under study, and the connections between them. The distance between individuals corresponds to the closeness of their choices;

* "Individual", where around the subject are members of the group with whom he is associated. The nature of the links is indicated by conventional signs :? - mutual choice (mutual sympathy),? - one-sided choice (sympathy without reciprocity).

Sociometry reflects only a picture of emotional preferences within the group, allows you to visualize the structure of these relations and make an assumption about the style of leadership and the degree of organization of the group as a whole.

Conclusion

Applied branches of psychology cannot consider a person outside the conditions of his activity and even life in general. Research in psychology imposes certain requirements on the researcher:

1) the use of methods must comply with the principles of Marxist philosophy. This means that the study of a specific phenomenon must be considered in conjunction with other phenomena, in the development and unity of opposites, in the possible transition of quantity to a new quality, etc .;

2) each method must be an objective method, i.e. reveal the real patterns of mental activity, as pointed out in his article "On the Objective Method in Psychology" B.M. Teplov;

3) to solve a specific problem or test a hypothesis put forward, the researcher must choose specific methods or design new methodological tools, i.e. methods should be adequate to the task, and not vice versa.

This, it seemed, an obvious requirement is often violated, especially in scientific and practical research, when, without sufficient grounds, a number of methodological means are taken in the expectation that they, perhaps, will allow solving the problem. In this regard, it is difficult to agree with those who believe that in practical research it is possible to allow individuals who do not have sufficient psychological training to independently use psychological methods.

Bibliography

1. R.S. Nemov Psychology: Textbook. for stud. higher. ped. study. institutions:

2. In 3 kn. - 4th ed. - M .: Humanit. ed. center VLADOS, 2003. - Book 1 : General foundations of psychology. - 688 p.

3. Dmitrieva MA., Krylov AA., Naftulev AI. Labor psychology and engineering psychology. - L., 1979 - 142s.

4. Regush L.A. Workshop on Observation and Observation. "PETER",

St. Petersburg, 2001 - 129p.

5. Gippenreiter YB "Introduction to general psychology" .M. "CheRo", 1998 - 90s

6. Rubinstein S.L. "Basics general psychology". "PETER", St. Petersburg, 2002 - 157s

7. Slobodchikov V.I. "Human Psychology", M. "SCHOOL_PRESS", 1995 / 98s.

8. Koltsova, V.A., Oleinik, Yu. N. Psychologists during the Great Patriotic War: a feat for centuries // Knowledge. Understanding. Skill. - 2005. -No. 2. -S. 40-51.

9. Karandashev VN Psychology: Introduction to the profession. - Academy, Smysl, 2009 .-- 512 p. - 3000 copies.

10. Maklakov, A. G . General psychology. - SPb: Peter, 2002 .-- 592 p.

Posted on Allbest.ru

...

Similar documents

    The history of the scientific and psychological study of abilities, the study of the phenomenon of abilities in Russian psychology. High achievements of a capable person as a result of the correspondence of the complex of his neuropsychic properties to the requirements of the activity.

    abstract, added 07/27/2010

    A variety of methods of psychology, objectivity in the study of mental phenomena. Using the observation method, studying the mental activity of a person in ordinary life conditions. Experiment and other special methods of psychological research.

    test, added 10/30/2009

    The essence and stages of the implementation of psychological research, its structure, main components. Classification of psychological research methods, their distinctive features and conditions of implementation. Varieties and features of a psychological experiment.

    term paper, added 11/30/2009

    Methodological foundations for the study of human psychology, classification and organization of research in developmental psychology. Analysis of the most popular research methods in developmental psychology; observation, experiment, testing and projective methods.

    term paper, added 11/09/2010

    The basics of the relationship between the characteristics of a person as a person and as a subject of activity, which are due to the natural properties of a person as an individual. Methods of psychological research according to B.G. Ananiev, classification and their practical orientation.

    presentation added on 10/23/2013

    The subject of research in developmental psychology, as well as the essence, classification and features of the application of the main methods of its research. The history of the formation and development of developmental and educational psychology in Russia, analysis of its current state.

    term paper added on 12/05/2010

    The concept and classification of methods of psychological research. Organizational, empirical, interpretive research methods. Methods for processing the received data. The procedure for converting qualitative data into quantitative ones, expert assessment, rating.

    abstract added on 11/20/2014

    Consideration of the methods of psychological research, their classification. Grouping methods of psychological research: non-experimental psychological methods; diagnostic methods; experimental methods; formative methods.

    abstract, added on 04/01/2008

    Subject, characteristics, theoretical and practical tasks developmental psychology as a science. Organization and research methods in developmental psychology and developmental psychology, observation and experiment as methods of empirical research of the child's psyche.

    term paper, added 10/14/2010

    Defining psychology as Scientific research behavior and internal mental processes and the practical application of the knowledge gained. Psychology as a Science. The subject of psychology. The relationship of psychology with other sciences. Research methods in psychology.

The classification of psychological research methods uses different bases, different psychological directions and schools interpret methods and techniques differently. A detailed and multifaceted classification of research methods in psychology was formed by the classic of Russian psychology B.G. Anan'ev. In accordance with the use at different stages of the study, he identified several groups of methods:

  1. Organizational methods of psychology, which are the main research in general, all of its methodology. This could include:
    • comparison, which has various options (for example, the result of several subjects, groups can be compared, a comparison is made of indicators that can be obtained using the same (or different) methods in the considered time intervals (for example, cross sections);
    • a longitudinal method, which is based on a long-term tracking of mental development, changes in the same parameters in the same group. It is a "longitudinal slice" in time that is analogous to the logic of formative research;
    • a complex method, consisting in the system of the two previous methods of cognition, in the interdisciplinary nature of approaches, methods and techniques.
  2. The empirical method by which facts are obtained is the research itself. These methods are the most extensive and ramified group.
  3. Processing of the results obtained in the form of an organic unity of quantitative and qualitative, statistical and meaningful analysis. This method is always creative, a search process that involves the selection of the most adequate and sensitive mathematical means.
  4. Interpretive methods concentrating on theoretical explanation, psychological interpretation of the phenomenon or property under study. There is always a complex (in the form of a system) set of corresponding variants of the genetic, functional and structural method, which close the general cycle of psychological research.
Remark 1

The classification developed by Ananiev cannot be considered exhaustive, therefore, in the following parts of the article, some of the most common methods of psychology will be described.

Observation as a method of psychology

Definition 1

Like other methods, it requires special training for execution. Professionalism is important here, because observation can be carried out both for the landscape opening outside the train window, and for the dynamics of the movement of stars with the help of the latest telescope. Scientific observation requires setting a goal, planning, drawing up a protocol, etc. The most important thing here is the adequacy in the psychological interpretation of the observation results, since the psyche, as you know, cannot be reduced to behavioral reactions.

Remark 2

An important advantage of the observation method consists in the course of human activity in normal, natural conditions for them. A person may not know that he is being monitored, and therefore “does not play along” with the researcher at least at a certain moment, as they say, openly.

A kind of observation is self-observation (introspection) in the form of the historically first method of studying the soul and psyche. This is the "internal" observation of the individual for his own mental phenomena. For all their seeming everyday simplicity, they are in reality a very complex and multifactorial process. For such a reflection of oneself (reflection) of a person, special training is necessary. Skilled introspection, which is compared with the results of other methods, is always useful and important for psychological research.

Experiment as the main method of psychology

Experiment is rightfully considered the main method of modern psychology. He was historically at its origins, but due to the specifics of its subject, psychology remains a largely descriptive science. Not everything in the psyche can be experimented with in accordance with its classical, scientific understanding. Thus, the work of a psychotherapist or psycho-consultant can not always be considered strictly experimental. The special role of the experimental method is characterized by its undoubted advantages:

  • the ability to use in subjects any process, property or state of interest to researchers (for example, there is no need to wait for the manifestation of will or emotion, creating artificial conditions for this, which the experiment provides);
  • preliminary identification of all the assumed conditions that affect the phenomenon under study, the possibility of their systematic change (increase, decrease, exclusion, that is, purposeful organization and change in the course of the process under study);
  • the ability to reliably identify the measure of influence of each of the controlled variation of factors, that is, the detection of objective patterns, relationships and dependencies This is the path from a living phenomenon, facts to knowledge of the essence;
  • strict quantitative processing and interpretation of the obtained empirical materials, mathematical description and modeling of the studied phenomena in general.

The listed advantages of the experimental method inevitably lead to its main difficulty in the form of limitations. Both mental and external work of the subject in experiments proceeds as if artificially, in an imposed order, in unusual conditions. A person may know that this is not a real practice, but only an experiment, which, for example, can always be stopped at his will. Hence, the inevitable methodological problem of studying the adequacy, correctness and reliability of the transfer of the results of the experiment to practical activity appears.

In accordance with various grounds, a large number of types of experiment can be considered, including analytical and synthetic, ascertaining and formative, psychological and pedagogical, modeling, teaching, laboratory, field, etc. A special place in this list is occupied by a natural experiment, which was first proposed by the Russian psychologist A. F. Lazursky.

The essence of a natural experiment consists in the course of the investigated activity of the subject under conditions familiar to him. The subject does not know about the experiment, being exposed to a strictly dosed experimental influence through the studied conditions and factors.

Remark 3

The organization and conduct of this type of experiments is associated with great difficulties due to the contradictory combination of "experimentation" and "naturalness." Along with this, the transfer of the obtained laboratory conclusions into real practice is greatly simplified.

For some objective and subjective reasons, modern psychology is becoming less and less experimental science. To a greater extent, among the methods of psychological research used, tests, polls, interviews are used. Any innovation introduced into something, including uncontrolled changes, is often unjustifiably called an experiment. Forgetting the experiment significantly impoverishes the methods and theory of psychology, simplifying and distorting the understanding of its subject.

Other methods of psychology

The test (test, trial) is used most often in scientific psychology. It has been in use for over a hundred years and has become more widespread in recent years. There are many types and classifications of tests in accordance with their construction, tasks, execution. This can be attributed to a special section of psychological knowledge and practice, which is called psychodiagnostics. However, the latter concept is broader than the teaching of tests (testology). Not all psychological tests, tests, questions, tasks can be attributed to tests, since tests should be characterized by standardization, reliability, validity, psychometric consistency, clear psychological interpretation, etc.

For example, standardization of a test is not just a presentation of the same verbal formulation to all subjects, but a selection, a statistical adjustment of the degree of difficulty of the question, as a result of which the distribution of answers in the maximum samples of subjects has the form of a normal Gaussian curve.

Remark 4

A requirement such as the validity of a test means confidence that it measures exactly what it is aimed at (for example, assessing motivation, not motivation, current mood, and not stable feeling).

Each test should be based on a certain theory, the author's interpretation of the studied psyche. For this reason, different content is often hidden behind the same terms. Thus, the types of temperament of the same name by I.P. Pavlov and according to G. Yu. Eysenk are formed on grounds that cannot be compared. Therefore, when interpreting the test results, it is important to strictly comply with the author's semantics without changing the given interpretation of words. This is especially true for projective tests, in which the free answers of the subjects are considered as a projection of the characteristics of his personality, explainable from the standpoint of the original theory.

Remark 5

The test is considered as an extremely simplified modification of the experimental method. Provided that it is used correctly, it makes it possible to obtain a large amount of empirical data, allowing for a preliminary gradation of the subjects.

Often in psychology, methods such as questionnaires and questionnaires are used in the form of all kinds of test variations. Their compilation, use and interpretation always require due professionalism, since it is not the formulation of the question itself that is important, but the order in which it is presented. Psychology and sociology, for example, or pedagogy should use different questionnaires and questionnaires due to the difference in the subject of research. A special type of questionnaire in terms of focus is sociometric methods, through which there is a study of interpersonal relations in a group, the identification of the relationship "leader - follower."

The method of conversation requires a special training of a psychologist, special rules for conducting and the behavior of researchers. Individual psychological work takes place here.

Example 1

The famous clinical conversation of the Piaget school is one thing; a completely different option is a psychoanalytic conversation on the ideology of Z. Freud; the third is a conversation during psychological counseling according to a certain theoretical concept, etc.

Praximetric research methods were developed mainly for the psychology of labor in the study of various movements, operations, actions, and professional behavior of a person. This can include the methods of chronometry, cyclography, compilation of thorough professiograms (then - and psychograms).

The analysis of the products of activity is used by many branches of psychology, from general to age. This method is a comprehensive study of the results of labor as a materialization of mental activity, which can be attributed to both children's drawing and school essays, works of writers, erroneous actions of the operator.

The biographical method is characterized by a psychological analysis of the life path, facts of the biography of a person who develops and has its own history, certain psychological milestones, including crises and ups.

Remark 6

S. L. Rubinshtein believed that a person who has accomplished something significant changes himself in a certain sense.

The biographical method is a psychological study, analysis of a person's ideas about their way of life, about the past and the future. He examines the psychology of life plans; psychological strategies of human life and behavior.

The modeling method is also presented in a variety of versions, which uses structural, functional, physical, sign, logical, mathematical, information models. Any of them is poorer than the original, since it highlights a certain aspect in it, forcibly abstracting itself from other aspects of the phenomenon under study.

If you notice an error in the text, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter

Psychology uses a whole complex for the accumulation of scientific data. For this science, it is extremely important how knowledge is obtained. L. Vygotsky believed that facts obtained with the help of different cognitive principles are completely different facts.

These are ways of researching and studying the mental characteristics of different people, analyzing and processing the collected psychological information, as well as obtaining scientific conclusions based on research facts. The methods are used to solve specific research problems in the field of psychology.

Basic methods of psychological research is experiment and observation. Each of these methods appears in specific forms and is characterized by various subspecies and characteristics.

Psychological research methods are aimed at revealing the characteristics, patterns, mechanisms of the psyche of individual individuals and social groups, as well as for a similar study of mental processes and phenomena. Each method has its own capabilities, but also has certain limitations. These features must be taken into account in practice, professional and other activities.

Research in the field of psychology is aimed at obtaining an objective result, about certain possibilities of the psyche. For this, it is necessary to master certain methods of psychology and methods of professional psychological research and study of a person.

Psychological research methods can be classified. There are different approaches to this issue. For example, B. Ananiev distinguishes between the following groups of research methods in psychology.

Organizational - include (comparison of subjects according to a certain criterion: occupation, age, etc.), longitudinal method (long-term study of one phenomenon), complex (representatives of different sciences, different means of study are involved in the study).

Empirical is the collection of primary information. They distinguish observational methods (by which they mean observation and self-observation.

Experiments - methods that include field, laboratory, natural, formative and ascertaining research.

Psychodiagnostic - test methods, which are divided into projective, standardized tests, conversation, interviews, questionnaires, sociometry, questionnaires, etc.

Praximetric - methods of analyzing phenomena, products of the activity of the psyche, such as chronometry, biographical method; professiogram, cyclography, evaluation of products of activity; modeling.

Methods of data processing, which include quantitative (statistical) and qualitative (analysis and differentiation of materials by groups), they allow to establish patterns that are hidden from direct perception.

Interpretive methods involve separate techniques for explaining the dependencies and patterns revealed during statistical processing of data and comparing them with already known facts... This includes typological classification, genetic method, structural, psychography, psychological profile.

Principles of Psychological Research: no harm to the subject, competence, impartiality, confidentiality, informed consent.

To solve the problems of psychology, the following methods are used:

  • laboratory and natural experiment;
  • research of products of activity;
  • and testing;
  • biographical method;
  • psychological modeling;
  • comparative genetic method, etc.

Experimental method- the main method; differs in that the researcher deliberately creates circumstances that stimulate the manifestation of a certain mental phenomenon. In this case, the influence of individual factors on its occurrence and dynamics is established. The experiment is carried out as many times as necessary to identify the corresponding pattern.

Laboratory experiment characterized by the use of special laboratory equipment, which makes it possible to accurately record the quantity and quality of external influences and the mental reactions they cause. In a laboratory experiment, the activities of the subjects are stimulated by special tasks and regulated by instructions. So, to determine the amount of attention of the subject, using a special device (tachistoscope), a group of objects (letters, figures, words, etc.) is presented for a very short time (tenths of a second) and the task is set - to pay attention to a much larger number of objects ... The results obtained are statistically processed.

IN natural experiment the conditions of his activity habitual for a given person are preserved, but it is specially organized in accordance with the purpose of the experiment. The subjects, as a rule, are not aware of the experiment and therefore do not experience the stress typical of laboratory conditions.

Observation methods suggest an explanation of a mental phenomenon in the process of its specially organized perception. Purposeful scientific observation is based on a specific theoretical hypothesis; it is carried out according to a pre-developed plan, and its progress and results are clearly recorded.

Adjoining the observation method: product research method, which allows you to determine the ability of a person, the level of his knowledge, skills and abilities; survey method, and in particular the method of clinical conversation.

Test Method(English test - test, test) - a method of diagnosing the mental capabilities of an individual (certain abilities, inclinations, skills). The widespread use of tests began in 1905, when the Beans-Simon test was proposed to diagnose the development of children's intelligence.

A psychological test is a short, standardized, usually time-limited test task to establish individual individual characteristics of the subject. Currently, tests are widely used that determine the level of intellectual development, spatial orientation, psychomotor skills, memory, ability to professional activity, achievement scores (determining the level of mastering knowledge and skills), diagnostics of personality traits, clinical tests, etc.

The value of tests depends on their validity and reliability - their preliminary experimental verification.

The most common tests of intelligence (Cattell test and others) and personality tests (MMPI), TAT-test of thematic apperception, tests of G. Rorschach, G. Eysenck, J. Guilford, S. Roznzweig (16-factor personality questionnaire), etc.

In recent years, for the purpose of psychological diagnostics, the products of the graphic activity of an individual - handwriting, drawings - have begun to be widely used. The graphic method of psychological diagnostics, being a modification of the projective method, allows one to study the features of the projection of reality and all interpretation by a person. At the same time, standardized techniques and procedures developed in Western psychology are used: "drawing of a person" (test by F. Goodinough and D. Harris), test "house-tree-person" (D. Buk), "drawing of a family" (W. Wolfe) ...

Biographical method the research consists in identifying the key factors in the formation of an individual, his life path, crisis periods of development, and the characteristics of socialization. Current events in the life of an individual are also analyzed and possible events in the future are predicted, life charts are drawn up, causometry is performed (from Latin causa - cause and Greek metro - measurement) - causal analysis of interspecial relations, analysis of the psychological time of a personality, when the starting events of individual periods of personality development or degradation.

The biographical research method is aimed at identifying the individual's lifestyle, the type of his adaptation in the environment. It is used both for analysis and for correction of a person's life path. Diagnostics of the examined person is possible with the help of the computer program "Biograf". The method allows you to identify the factors that most affect the behavior of the individual. The data obtained are used to correct the behavior of an individual, personally directed psychotherapy, relaxation (weakening) of age crises.

Recently, the method has become widely used in psychological research. psychological modeling... It is expressed in a symbolic imitation of mental phenomena or organization different types human activity in an artificially constructed environment. With its help, it is possible to simulate some aspects of perception, memory, logical thinking, and also to create bionic models of mental activity (for example, perceptrons - recognition systems).

Comparative genetic method- a way of studying mental patterns by comparing individual phases of mental development of individuals.

Social psychology uses both methods of general psychology and methods of sociology- group experiment, conversation, questioning and interviewing, study of documents, included observation (by introducing the researcher into the studied environment), observation in test situations, etc. There are also specific methods of social psychology, one of them is sociometry method- measurement of informal relationships between people in a group. The graphic representation of these relationships is called sociogram.

To study the influence of a social group on the position of an individual, the method is used front group.

To diagnose socially significant personality traits, it is used expert judgment method and group personality assessment method.

To study a particular psychological problem, an appropriate system of methods and research rules is used, i.e. case study technique: putting forward a hypothesis, choosing an experimental technique and appropriate material, identifying control and experimental groups of subjects, determining a series of experiments, statistical and theoretical processing of experimental material, etc.

According to the tasks and methods of research, psychology is at the intersection of social and natural sciences.

Scientific understanding of the human psyche is possible only with holistic consideration of the totality of mental phenomena... The absolutization of certain aspects of the psyche leads to limited concepts and theories.

Research methods of psychology

The main, as well as the tasks of any science, can be solved only through the use of reliable research methods of cognition.

With the help of certain techniques, rules and norms, the most effective method increment and practical application of psychological knowledge. Moreover, the set of these techniques is not accidental, it is dictated by the very character, the nature of the object under study. As claimed Georg Hegel, "The method is not an external form, but the soul and the concept of content." The method, as it were, returns us to the object of research, deepens its understanding.

General scientific methods of psychology

Therefore, the research methods of psychology, of course, differ from the methods used, for example, in physics, biology or sociology, although it also uses the main general scientific methods, which include:

Dialectical method, requiring the study of all objects and phenomena, taking into account their constant change and development; this method, also known as genetic or historical, as applied to psychology, assumes that the psyche of the subject is the result of a long development of both the entire human race (in phylogenesis) and an individual individual (in ontogenesis);

Determinism method, i.e. recognition of the certainty, direction of the processes occurring in the world: this method requires the researcher to constantly take into account the dependence of the psyche on certain causes and the associated possibility of explaining it;

Systematic method proceeding from the fact that the world is a set of interacting elements that form a certain integrity, and therefore, the psyche is an integrity, the individual elements of which are closely related to each other and cannot exist in isolation, outside of this connection;

Falsifiability method proposed by the English philosopher Karl Popper, assuming the constant preservation of the possibility of refuting any scientific theory in the process of continuous progressive development of science.

Specific methods of psychology

Formulating some universal methods of science, the methodology at the same time identifies some specific methods that are most consistent with the object of knowledge of a particular science. So, the following research methods are of particular importance for psychology:

Method for considering psychological phenomena as the unity of the mental and physiological. However, modern psychology proceeds from the fact that, although the nervous system provides the emergence and course of mental processes, they nevertheless cannot be reduced to physiological phenomena;

Permanent accounting method the unity of the psyche, consciousness and activity. Psychological research proceeds from the fact that consciousness is active, activity is conscious. The psychologist studies the behavior that is formed in the close interaction of the individual with the situation.

The optimal ratio of the theory and method developed by this or that science is the ideal to which every researcher strives.

The specific methods of psychological science, which are determined by the characteristics of the object, are usually divided into two main types: non-experimental (observation, polling) and experimental (observation in specially created conditions, as well as a specialized testing method).

Non-experimental methods studies of the psyche are rated as the most reliable because they are applied in vivo.

Consists in the systematic and purposeful perception and fixation of external manifestations of the psyche. Surveillance is most commonly used for the following purposes:

  • to analyze the nature of changes in behavior under changed conditions and identify the most effective methods labor, planning and stimulation of labor activity;
  • to observe the behavior of different operators in the same conditions and thus identify individual differences between operators, to compare the quality of the activity of each of them.

By the nature of the organization, observation can be external or internal, ad hoc or systematic.

External observation helps to describe the actions, techniques of the worker. It is usually supplemented by a number of methods for objective registration of the phenomena under study. These include, in particular, photography or filming. With the help of appropriate technology, you can record all the actions of the employee, his movements and even facial expressions. In the process of observation, measurements of human physiological indicators are widely carried out: pulse and respiration rates, blood pressure, heart and brain activity. Much attention is paid to the erroneous actions of a person, which makes it possible to reveal the causes of their occurrence and outline ways to eliminate them.

When conducting observation, it is necessary to ensure such conditions so as not to distract the observed from work, not to constrain his actions, not to make them less natural.

An increase in the objectivity of observations is facilitated by the multiple observations, their combination with other research methods.

Internal observation (self-observation, introspection) enables a person to evaluate those elements of his activity that he did not notice before. In the process of self-observation, a person describes and analyzes his behavior, sensations, feelings, thoughts. A well-known form of such introspection is journaling. The results of self-observation are also contained in letters, autobiographies, questionnaires and other documents. The recognition of one's abilities and capabilities achieved as a result of self-observation is necessary to formulate on this basis real, feasible life tasks, as well as to use the various methods of psychophysical self-regulation proposed by modern psychology, which allow us to preserve and multiply our energy potential.

The observation method is used not only in isolation, but also in combination with other methods.

- can be oral (conversations, interviews) and written (questionnaires).

Conversation- one of the common psychological methods, especially necessary in determining the professional qualities of an employee, identifying the features of the motivation of an employee of this specialty, assessing the quality of jobs.

When conducting a conversation, it must be borne in mind that it must:

  • be built according to a pre-planned plan;
  • carried out in an atmosphere of mutual trust, be
  • free dialogue, not interrogation;
  • exclude questions that have the character of a hint or suggestion.

An important requirement for conducting this study is the observance of ethical standards: confidentiality of the environment, observance of professional secrecy, respect for the interlocutor.

- the most convenient and cheapest way of obtaining information from numerous groups of people in comparison with interviews.

When questioning, the employee remains anonymous, so he answers questions more frankly. In addition, he can think more thoroughly and formulate his answers. Questioning allows you to receive data in a short time and from a large number of people, and in a handicap available for machine processing.

To increase the level of reliability of the data, the questionnaire should be preceded by preliminary organizational work: a conversation about the goals and procedure of the questionnaire: the questions of the questionnaire should be clear and specific; the questionnaire should be clearly structured with the main sections highlighted. Today, when questioning, it is possible to use such modern technological methods like sending out questions by e-mail, over the Internet. These technologies greatly accelerate the acquisition and practical use of the required data.

Observation in all its forms does not change the process under study, therefore, in the course of it, exactly those situations that most interest the researcher may not always appear. To eliminate this disadvantage, one should resort to experiment.

Experiment- This is also an observation, but carried out in specially created conditions. The purpose of the experiment is to determine the influence of any parameter of the external environment (independent variable) on the behavior of the participants in the experiment (dependent variable). Both of these variables must be available for objective observation and accurately recorded. To reliably control the variables, psychologists usually work with two groups - experimental and control, identical in composition and other conditions (the control group, unlike the experimental, is not exposed to the independent variable).

Traditionally, two types of experiment are used: laboratory and natural.

Laboratory an experiment is a simulation of a particular activity in a laboratory. A laboratory experiment often involves the study of one aspect of work activity - for example, the effect of a particular teaching method on labor productivity. It is possible to study complex types of work, for example, astronauts on special simulators.

The disadvantage of this method is the artificiality of the created labor process, which sometimes leads to a decrease in the feeling of responsibility in the subjects.

Natural the experiment is carried out in everyday conditions, in an ordinary workplace, and the subject may not even know that his behavior is becoming the object of research. The advantage of this method is that the conditions are completely natural. Therefore, its results can be used to the greatest extent in practice.

Another method of psychological diagnostics is testing, which is conducted on the basis of standardized questions and test tasks. A test is a special type of experimental research, which is a special task or system of tasks. The subject performs the task, the time of which is usually taken into account. Testing is widely used for standardized measurement of individual differences, for professional expertise, and in the education system to determine the level of knowledge.

Thus, a variety of methods are used in psychology. Which of them should be applied is decided in each individual case, depending on the tasks and the object of research. In this case, not one method is usually used, but a number of methods that mutually complement and control each other.

The specificity of psychological research lies in the fact that when conducting them, specialists must take care of people, preserve their dignity and well-being. Research psychologists have developed an appropriate set of ethical requirements, which includes the following basic ethical standards:

  • When planning an experiment, the researcher is responsible for its ethical acceptability;
  • the researcher should inform the subjects of all aspects of the experiment that may influence their desire to take part in it:
  • the researcher must respect the right of the subject to reduce or interrupt his participation in the research process at any time;
  • the researcher is obliged to protect the research participants from any physical or mental discomfort, harm and danger;
  • information obtained in the course of the study about its participants is strictly confidential.

It should also be borne in mind that psychological research is always a socio-psychological interaction between the experimenter and the subject, during which, under the influence of some factors, a distortion of objective information may occur.

Experience has shown that participants in the experiment often behave in this way. as the experimenter expects of them. The so-called pygmalion effect leading to the occurrence of errors through the fault of the experimenter himself: by trying to make the subject “work on a hypothesis,” the researcher somehow creates privileged conditions for the experimental group, which often serves as a source of errors. Thus, conducting research in the field of psychology requires a highly qualified researcher.

Groups of methods of psychology

There are several classifications of methods of psychology., since methods and techniques are interpreted differently, there are various psychological schools, additions and changes appear. Here is one of the fairly short, but quite detailed and multifaceted classifications, which was developed by one of the classics of Russian psychology B.G. Anan'ev (1907-1972).

At different stages of the study, four groups of methods are distinguished.

First group - organizational methods

To the first include organizational methods, on the basis of which the study as a whole is built, its entire methodology. These include the comparative method, which has very different variations, when, for example, the results of several subjects, two groups are compared, the indicators obtained using the same (or different) methods in different periods of time are compared (“cross-sectional” method). The longitudinal method is based on a long-term tracking of mental development or changes in the same parameters in the same group of subjects. It is a "longitudinal slice" in time, analogous to the logic of formative research. The integrated method consists in the systematic organization of the two previous modes of cognition, in the interdisciplinarity of approaches, methods and techniques.

The second group - empirical methods

The second and the most extensive and developed group are empirical methods, with the help of which facts are obtained, the actual research is carried out. The list of these methods cannot be exhaustive, so we will describe some of the main ones.

- one of the basic, often used methods of psychology, but, like any other method, it requires special training and professionalism for the performance. After all, you can also watch the landscape running through the car window. Scientific observation requires goal setting, planning, protocol, and much more. The most important thing is an adequate psychological interpretation of the observation results, since the psyche, as you know, is not limited to behavioral reactions. The obvious advantage of the observation method is that human activity takes place in normal, natural conditions for him.

Self-observation (interospection) is historically the first method of studying the soul and psyche. This is a person's “internal” observation of his own mental phenomena, which for all the seeming everyday simplicity is in fact a very complex and multifactorial process. Such a reflection of oneself a person needs to be specially taught. Skilled introspection, compared with the results of other methods, is always useful, sometimes necessary.

Experiment is the main method of modern psychology, is at its origins. Although it must be admitted that, in view of its subject matter, psychology remains a largely descriptive science. An experiment in its classical understanding is not possible over everything in the psyche. However, the special significance of the experimental method is due to a number of its undoubted advantages.

The advantages of the experimental method

  • First, the experiment allows the subject to use any process or state of interest to the researcher. You do not need to wait, for example, for the manifestation of will, but you can create experimental conditions for this.
  • Secondly, the experimenter, having previously identified all the conditions affecting the phenomenon under study, can systematically change them: increase, decrease, exclude, i.e. to purposefully organize the course of the studied process.
  • Third, the controlled variation of factors makes it possible to reliably reveal the extent of the influence of each of them on the phenomenon under study, i.e. discover objective patterns, dependencies. This is the path from a living phenomenon, a fact to the knowledge of the essence.
  • Fourth, the materials obtained allow and necessarily presuppose strict quantitative processing, mathematical description and modeling of the phenomenon under study as a whole.

However, from the listed advantages of the experiment, its main difficulty inevitably follows - limitation. Both psychological and external activity of the subject proceeds as if artificially, in an imposed sequence, in unusual conditions. A person knows that this is not a real practice, but only an experiment, which, for example, can be terminated at his will.

For various reasons, many types of experiment are distinguished: analytical and synthetic, ascertaining and formative, psychological and pedagogical, modeling, teaching, laboratory, field. A special place in this series is occupied by the natural experiment proposed by the famous Russian psychologist A.F. Lazursky (1874-1917). Its essence lies in the fact that the investigated activity of the subject proceeds in the conditions familiar to him, he does not know about the experiment.

Unfortunately, modern psychology is becoming less experimental. Various tests and interviews remain almost the only methods of psychological research. This impoverishes the methodological apparatus of psychological science, simplifies the understanding of its subject.

Test(trial, trial) has also been used by scientific psychology for a hundred years and has become more widespread in recent years. Not every psychological test, test, question is a test. The latter require reliability, validity, standardization, psychometric consistency, clarity of psychological interpretation. In the conditions of competent application, it makes it possible to obtain a large amount of empirical data, the possibility of preliminary gradation of the subjects. There are a huge number of types and classifications of tests for their construction, tasks, execution. Standardization - selection, statistical adjustment of the degree of complexity of the question. Requiring a test to be valid means having confidence that it is measuring exactly what it is designed to do.

Questionnaires and different questionnaires are all kinds of test variations. It is important to take into account not only the wording of the question, but also the order in which it is presented. A special type of questionnaire in terms of focus is made up of sociometric methods, with the help of which interpersonal relationships in a group are investigated, and the leader-follower relationship is revealed.

Conversation method assumes individual psychological work, in turn has its own rules of conduct and behavior of the researcher.

A set of praximetric methods developed within the framework of labor psychology in the study of various human movements, operations, actions, professional behavior. This includes chronometry, cyclography, professiogram making.

Analysis of activity products is a comprehensive study of the results of labor as the materialization of mental activity. This applies to children's drawing, and to school essays, and to the work of the writer, and to the "picture" drawn by the monkey.

Biographical method involves a psychological analysis of the life path, biography of a person. This is an analysis of a person's ideas about their own life path, about the past and the future; psychology of life plans; psychological strategies of behavior and life.

Modeling method has a wide variety of options. Models are structural, functional, physical, symbolic, logical, mathematical, informational. Any model is poorer than the original original, highlighting some specific aspect in it and abstracting from other aspects of the phenomenon under study.

The third group - methods of processing the results obtained

The third group (according to B.G. Anan'ev) consists of methods for processing the results obtained. This is a limited unity of quantitative and qualitative, meaningful analysis. The processing of results is always a creative, search process, involving the selection of the most adequate and sensitive mathematical means.

Fourth group - interpretive methods

Finally, the fourth group consists of the so-called interpretive methods aimed at a theoretical explanation, a psychological interpretation of the phenomenon under study. There is always a complex, systemic set of various options for functional and structural methods that close the general cycle of psychological research.

Observations (more passive)

Experiments (more active)

The scientific method of research is not limited to simple registration of facts, but scientific explanatory reasons for a particular psychological phenomenon

Active intervention of the researcher in the activity of the subject in order to create conditions in which a psychological fact is revealed

Everyday observations are limited to the registration of facts, are of a random unorganized nature

The scientific method of observation moves from writing facts to explaining its inner nature. Necessary condition a clear plan, fixing the results in special. diary

The laboratory runs under special conditions. Used special. equipment

Natural proceeds under normal conditions. It is used in the study of cognitive capabilities at different age stages

Auxiliary methods of psychology

Activity product analysis and biographical method

Twin method, sociometry, modeling, questionnaires, tests



 
Articles on topic:
Irga - the benefits and harms of an unusual berry
The name of this product, unfortunately, does not mean anything to many. It's a shame that people don't know about the more plants that grow, bloom and smell right under their windows. This is a rather unusual plant that can really be
Diseases and pests of raspberries
170 209 Add to selected The fight against diseases and pests of raspberries should be given no less attention than other agricultural methods that stimulate active growth and increase the productivity of shrubs. Raspberry gall midge, nutcracker, raspberry beetles, raspberries are especially harmful.
Cedar: planting and care, types and varieties, photos Planting and care
Cypriot cedar, due to its qualities, is actively used in construction. The shoots and trunk of the kdr are distinguished by their reliability and strength. In addition, the treated and dried tree trunk is incredibly solid and attractive. He also highlights incredible people.
Zucchini leaves turn yellow: what to do
Zucchini that are easy to care for can sometimes bring unpleasant surprises. When growing seedlings, there are sometimes cases when the foliage of the seedlings turned yellow and began to fall off. At times, on mature plants, the leaves suddenly curled or became covered with spots. What are the reasons for