The method is objective. Objectivity and subjectivity in psychological research

In the work of B. G. Ananiev "Methodology of psychological research" the ontological and epistemological aspects of psychology are revealed. Gnoseology, or the theory of knowledge, considers the relationship between the subject and the object in the process of cognitive activity, the possibility of human knowledge of the world, the criteria for the truth and reliability of knowledge. Ontology (“ontos” - being) is the doctrine of being, of its general laws. The ontological aspect in psychology is the objectively existing psychological reality and practice. The epistemological aspect is actually "psychological research", people's attempts to learn the laws of the psyche, to verify the truth of existing knowledge in the field of psychology.

The methodology of psychological research is based on the principles of determinism, development, objectivity, the connection between consciousness and activity, the unity of theory and practice, and a probabilistic approach.

"Objectivity" and "development" are most important for experimental psychology, since the general principles of the scientific study of mental phenomena include: reflection of objective truth, verification of the studied patterns in practice, strict objectivity in the study of the psyche, the study of mental phenomena in the process of human activity, and, finally, consideration of all psychological phenomena in development - phylogenetic and ontogenetic, socio-historical and individual.

“The principle of the scientific study of mental phenomena is the introduction into the study of active transforming factors, primarily “exercises”: in work, in the conditions of training and education, under the influence of specially organized and targeted influences on a person, contributing to the formation of his mental activity and mental personality traits. "(S. L. Rubinshtein). Trainings, role-playing and business games create for man various situations, in which, on the one hand, he manifests his qualities, and on the other hand, his mental qualities are transformed, trained, changed under the influence of these training situations and the influence of the group, psychotherapist, etc.

Options genetic approach(evolutionary)- phylogenetic, ontogenetic, genetic (here it is the genetics of behavior and individual properties), sociogenetic, historical (in historical psychology). The genetic method can cover all levels of development: from neural to behavioral, from ontogenetic to socio-historical. The importance of genetic and historical principles in psychology is great. They cover the entire structure and the entire process of the movement of scientific knowledge.

deterministic(emphasizes the natural dependence of mental phenomena on the factors that give rise to them, the stable causality of certain mental phenomena) and probabilistic (emphasizes the probabilistic nature of mental activity, the probabilistic type of connection between mental phenomena and other factors) approaches work together in the modern methodology of psychological research. “Only by comprehensively revealing a person in all essential connections with the world, one can reveal his true essence and place in life,” says S. L. Rubinshtein.

Rational (logical, theoretical) methods of scientific knowledge include:

• designing tasks and research paths;
• building models of the process of cognition, their verification;
• the use of mathematical logic, computer technology, semiotics and the technique of constructing sign systems;
• application of theoretical methods of analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction.

Creation of psychological semiotics (creation of sign systems and systems of quantities in psychology used as international standards) is a task for the future. Rational methods, due to the appeal to sign systems, allow processing and interpreting scientific data, but empirical approaches (observation, experiments, use of equipment and instruments) are no less important.

disadvantage rational methods there is a danger of isolating sign systems from the criteria for the truth of scientific knowledge and its objective content. All of them (logical, mathematical) are based on reason, they involve checking the objectivity and truth of the knowledge gained, while mystical (religious) knowledge is based on faith, a priori (inaccessibility to sensory verification) of certain provisions. This is how they differ. On the other hand, with the absolutization of rational methods, when it comes only to concepts, signs, mathematical symbols and formulas, it is possible to tear these systems away from the objective meaning and criteria for the truth of scientific knowledge, which inevitably leads to idealistic concepts in any science.

In general, the role of semiotics in the psychological field is important; it contributes to the creation of iconic models, unified international systems of quantities and scientific psychological terminology; it studies the relationship between signs, signs and objects, the relationship of signs to those who use them. Here are just isolated terminological clarifications and disputes, separation from psychological reality, from empirical experiments, can slow down the development of psychology as a science as a whole.

Theorizing, in order not to lose truth and objectivity, should be based on practical experimental data, when the results of research are applied and tested in practice (industrial, pedagogical, medical, etc.). Only then should the best and proven achievements of practical experience be theoretically generalized. There is a need for constant interaction between theory and practice. Their unity provides the possibility of a more objective knowledge of the subjective mental processes, qualities and experiences of a person.

Extreme subjectivism and extreme objectivism lead to agnosticism, to the recognition of the unknowability of the inner world of man. For example, idealistic psychology claimed that “an alien soul is unprovable and irrefutable,” as AI Vvedensky said; behaviorists who introduced objective research methods into psychology also considered "the human psyche as a black unknowable box." However, the provisions on the unity of consciousness and activity, on the psychological structure of activity itself and the objectification of consciousness with it, allow psychologists, analyzing activity, to penetrate into inner world and consciousness of the individual (this is how the epistemological principle of the unity of theory and practice is realized).

Modeling - these are new methods of theoretical research necessary for the knowledge of mental phenomena and for reproducing in technical devices the parameters closest to these mental phenomena, their information function and self-regulation. Allocate different forms modeling: physical and mathematical, simulation and schematic, cybernetic.

The molar level differs from the molecular level in its degree of complexity. If the second is an analogue of the original: for example, the microcosm in physics or the neural level of the psyche, which in itself is complex, systemic, then the first is an analogue of the upper system level (in physics this is the macrocosm of the Universe, in psychology it is the personal-social level of the psyche) .

Thus, the main starting points of psychological science, which underlie its methodology and methodology, are:

1. The principle of determinism (causation):

1. The psyche is conditioned by objective reality.
2. All mental phenomena are due to the activity of the brain.
3. When studying mental phenomena, it is imperative to establish the causes that caused them.
4. The psyche is determined by the way of life.

2. The principle of the unity of consciousness and activity:

1. Activity is a form of consciousness activity.
2. Consciousness is the result of behavior and activity.
3. Consciousness forms an internal plan of activity.
4. Changing the content of activity contributes to the formation of a qualitatively new level of consciousness (pedagogy).

3. The principle of genetic - development:

1. The psyche is constantly evolving and changing both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Rice. 1.4. Empirical Research Methods

The following types of observation are distinguished: slice (short-term observation), longitudinal (long-term, sometimes for a number of years), selective and continuous, a special type - included (when the observer becomes a member of the group under study).

The general monitoring procedure consists of the following processes:

1. definition of the task and purpose (for what, for what purpose?);
2. choice of object, subject and situation (what to observe?);
3. choosing the method of observation that has the least effect on the object under study and provides the most necessary information (how to observe?);
4. choice of methods for recording the observed (how to keep records?);
5. processing and interpretation of the received information (what is the result?).

Observation can be direct or indirect (using aids).

Rice. 1.5. Auxiliary research methods

Examples of "direct" are the observation by an experimenter or several experts of a person's behavior and the registration of its individual signs, symptoms, and their frequency. "Indirect", or indirect, involves the use of auxiliary means (questions, conversations, questionnaires, the study of activity products - for example, the study of drawings, essays, the results of intellectual, psychomotor and other tasks). "Direct" observation is a relatively subjective method, depending on the attentiveness, attitude, experience of the observer, so it is better to use 3-4 expert observers at the same time. A conversation is an even more subjective psychodiagnostic technique, since its course, results and conclusions significantly depend not only on the subject, but also on the personality of the diagnostician who conducted it. More objective information is obtained by analyzing the activities of the subjects according to certain objective criteria.

Conversation as a psychological method provides for direct or indirect, oral or written receipt from the student of information about his activities, in which the psychological phenomena characteristic of him are objectified. There are such types of it: casual conversation, interviews, questionnaires and psychological questionnaires. The purpose of the interview is to get the interviewee's answers to certain (usually pre-prepared) questions. If questions and answers are given in writing, then this is called a questionnaire.

In medical psychology, this type of conversation can be used as an anamnesis.

Anamnesis(from Latin “from memory”) - information about the past of the student, received from him or (with an objective history) from persons who know him well. Analysis of the products of human activity (drawings, essays, solved problems, completed tasks) allows you to obtain objective data on the mental abilities and qualities of a person. One of the varieties of observation is self-observation, direct or delayed (in memories, diaries, memoirs, a person analyzes what he thought, felt, experienced).

We can agree with the statement of B. G. Ananiev: “Introspection and self-observation as a method are identical, but as psychological directions they differ. Introspectionism rejects the possibility of objective methods, and self-observation as an approach (a direction in psychology) recognizes the possibility of objective research in psychology.

biographical method(based on the analysis of diaries, autobiographies, memoirs, surviving school essays, documents, etc.) allows you to get useful information for a psychologist: how a given person developed an inclination to a certain activity; which of the people a person encountered in his life, and how he influenced the formation of his personality; what qualities, abilities, when and how were manifested. The real course of life, the biography of a person determine what kind of personality and what psychological characteristics he develops.

However, the most important method of psychological research is experiment- active intervention of the researcher in the activity of the subject in order to create conditions in which a psychological fact is revealed. A laboratory experiment takes place under special conditions, when special equipment is used, the actions of the subject are determined by the instructions, and he knows that an experiment is being carried out, although he may not know the true meaning of it. The experiment is carried out repeatedly with the participation of a large number of participants, which makes it possible to establish general, statistically significant patterns in the development of mental phenomena.

Technical means (instruments, devices, special technical devices - signaling screens, fixation and registration devices, instrumentation, computers, computer equipment) are a necessary element of empirical methods in psychology, they allow you to objectively record psychophysiological, emotional, behavioral, intellectual, social -psychological and other manifestations of the human psyche. They make it possible to simultaneously perform stimulation operations and register processes in a psychological experiment, process information, and obtain an objective basis for rational methods of cognition.

A natural experiment is carried out in the natural conditions of life, study, work of people, and the person does not suspect that he has become a participant in the experiment (the results must be recorded, for example, with a hidden camera). This kind of research helps to reveal reliable information, but cannot be carried out repeatedly, because they lose their naturalness and cease to be a secret for the subjects. Currently, the problem of the ethics of psychological experiments is being widely discussed, since the use of hidden equipment (cameras, video cameras, voice recorders) is considered unacceptable: recording equipment should be used only with the consent of the subject. This, of course, limits the breadth of research, but the risk of causing mental trauma to a person is reduced.

Praximetric methods are aimed at the analysis of processes and products of activity. They represent the timing of work or sports movements, a cyclographic record of behavioral acts or labor actions, a professional description of an integral production complex. These methods have well-developed methods and techniques.

Tests- a kind of method of psychological research associated with testing, establishing certain mental qualities of a person. This is a short-term task, the same for all subjects, the results of which determine the presence and level of development of such qualities. Tests can be predictive and diagnostic. They must be scientifically sound, reliable, valid. Their goal is to identify stable psychological characteristics.

Tests act as a kind of experiment in which the standardization of psychological tests and statistical criteria for evaluating their results make it possible to obtain fairly reliable information about a person's mental qualities.

To organizational methods, covering the entire study include:

1. Comparative(comparison of data on normal and pathological development, comparison of different stages of evolution or levels according to certain parameters - the method of cross-sectional age sections: for example, comparison of memory parameters in preschoolers, schoolchildren, adults, the elderly).
2. Longitudinal(continuous tracking psychological development groups of subjects over many years).
3. Complex(an interdisciplinary study concerning the relationship of phenomena of various kinds - between physical and mental development, social status and characterological characteristics of the individual, labor productivity and his individual style).

The latter method allows conducting research in the industrial sphere, in the field of health care, education and upbringing, comprehensively examining the object, taking into account psychological, pedagogical, medical, professional, socio-economic and other aspects.

Longitudinal method eliminates such a serious shortcoming of the method of cross sections (comparative age), as equalization of all individuals of a certain age and population, which in reality are far from always the same in their development. However, it is more difficult to apply it, especially on a large sample of subjects, therefore, in developmental and genetic psychology, it is advisable to combine comparative and longitudinal methods. The second helps to get more interesting results than when referring to cross sections, since it reveals individual and average statistical trends in changing various mental functions and personal qualities, their rates and different ways development.

Research methods in psychology- these are the techniques and means by which psychologists obtain reliable information used to build scientific theories and develop practical advice. The strength of science largely depends on the perfection of research methods, on how valid and reliable they are, how quickly a given branch of knowledge is able to absorb and use all the newest, most advanced that appears in the methods of other sciences. Where this can be done, there is usually a noticeable breakthrough in the knowledge of the world.

All of the above applies to psychology. Thanks to the application of the methods of natural and exact sciences, psychology, starting from the second half of the last century, stood out as an independent science and began to develop actively. Up to this point, psychological knowledge was obtained mainly through self-observation (introspection), speculative reasoning, and observation of the behavior of other people. The analysis of the facts obtained by such methods served as the basis for the construction of the first scientific theories explaining the essence of psychological phenomena and human behavior. However, the subjectivity of these methods, their lack of reliability were the reason that psychology for a long time remained a non-experimental science, divorced from practice, capable of assuming, but not proving, causal relationships that exist between mental and other phenomena.

In science there are General requirements to the objectivity of scientific psychological research. The principle of objective psychological research is implemented by a variety of methodological means.
1., consciousness is studied in the unity of internal and external manifestations. However, the relationship between the external flow of the process and its internal nature is not always adequate. The general task of all methods of objective psychological research is to adequately reveal this relationship - to determine its internal psychological nature from the external course of an act.
2. Our psychology affirms the unity of mental and physical, therefore psychological research often includes a physiological analysis of psychological processes. For example, it is hardly possible to study emotional processes without analyzing their physiological components. Psychological research cannot study mental phenomena in isolation from their psychophysiological mechanisms.
3. The material foundations of the psyche are not reduced to its organic foundations, the way people think is determined by their way of life, the consciousness of people is determined by social practice. Therefore, the methodology of psychological research should be based on the analysis of human activity.
4. Psychological patterns are revealed in the process. The study of development is not only a special field, but also a specific method of psychological research. The point is not to fix different levels of development, but to study driving forces this process.

Psychology, like any science, uses a whole system various methods. In domestic psychology, the following four groups of methods are distinguished:
1. include:
a) comparative genetic method (comparison of different species groups according to psychological indicators);
b) cross-sectional method (comparison of selected same psychological indicators in different groups of subjects);
c) longitudinal method - the method of longitudinal sections (multiple examinations of the same persons over a long period of time);
d) a complex method (representatives of various sciences participate in the study, while, 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 various types, for example, between the physiological, psychological and social development of an individual.
2. . They include:
a) observation and self-observation;
b) experimental methods (laboratory, natural, formative);
c) psychodiagnostic methods (tests, questionnaires, questionnaires, sociometry, interviews, conversation);
d) analysis of products of activity;
e) biographical methods.
3. :
a) auto-training;
b) group training;
c) methods of psychotherapeutic influence;
d) training.
4. , including:
a) quantitative method (statistical);
b) qualitative method (differentiation of material by groups, analysis).

Organizational Methods
The knowledge of the patterns of mental development can be approached through two main types of research: the so-called transverse sections and longitudinal (longitudinal). Both types have a number of advantages and disadvantages.

Cross-sectional studies of mental development consist in studying the same psychological characteristics in groups of children of different ages, different levels of development, with different personality traits, clinical reactions, etc. The cross-sectional method also has its advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of this method is the comparative speed of the study - the possibility of acquiring results within a short time.

However, studies in purely transverse sections are static and do not show the dynamics of the development process, its continuity, and many patterns of development obtained in this way are very approximate.

Modern longitudinal studies aim to record the somatic and mental development child. Many specialists, children's doctors and psychologists (Stern, Buhler, Menchinskaya, and others) devoted themselves to long-term observation of their own children. The 1930s brought significant progress in the study of development. Valuable are the observations of young children carried out by Gesell's laboratory (carried out for a whole day). Gesell also studied a group of children month by month, and on the basis of his observations he deduced "norms for the development of behavior" for different age levels, ranging from 0 to 16 years.

In our country, ontogenetic research has a long tradition (V.M., N.M. Shchelovanov, L.S., A.N., D.B., A.A. Lyublinskaya, N.D. Levitov, etc.) . Particularly well-known are studies of the development of speech and its influence on the ability to learn and develop the personality of children, conducted in the laboratory of A.R. Luria (1959, 1961).

R. Gotgshaldt (1960) conducted longitudinal psychological research on twins for more than 20 years. In France, René Zazzo dealt with the same problem. Gemini is a particularly suitable model for studying the influence of constitutional and social factors. This problem directly requires the use of a longitudinal study of twins, called the twin method.

The longitudinal method, in comparison with the method of transverse sections, has many advantages:
- longitudinal study allows processing data for individual age periods;
- it makes it possible to determine the dynamics of the development of each child;
- only a longitudinal study makes it possible to resolve the issue of the so-called critical periods in development.
However, it is obvious that even objective observation of one child does not allow us to come to a conclusion with universal significance. The main disadvantage of longitudinal studies is the significant time required to organize and conduct them.

The comparative method consists in considering individual mechanisms of behavior and psychological acts in comparison with similar phenomena in other organisms. This method is most widely used in zoopsychology and child psychology. This method is called "comparative genetic". The most productive use of this method in the field of comparative psychology (zoopsychology) belonged to V.A. Wagner. In his works, he was the first to substantiate and use the evolutionary method, the essence of which is to compare the psyche of the studied animal with representatives of the previous and subsequent stages of evolution of the animal world. For example, using the comparative method, it was found that chickens are not capable of extrapolation thinking, but dogs are.

Empirical Methods in Psychology
The group of empirical methods in psychology has been considered the main one since psychology emerged as an independent science.

Features of the experimental research method:
1. The researcher himself causes the phenomenon he is studying and actively influences it.
2. The experimenter can vary, change the conditions under which the phenomenon occurs.
3. In the experiment, it is possible to repeatedly reproduce the results.
4. The experiment makes it possible to establish quantitative patterns that allow mathematical formulation.

The main task of a psychological experiment is to make mental regularities accessible to objective observation. In the structure of the experiment, it is possible to designate a system of research stages and tasks:
I - theoretical stage of the study (problem statement). At this stage, the following tasks are solved:
a) the formulation of the problem and the topic of the study, the title of the topic should include the basic concepts of the subject of the study,
b) definition of the object and subject of research,
c) determination of experimental tasks and research hypotheses.

At this stage, the known facts on the topic of research obtained by other scientists are clarified, which makes it possible to determine the range of solved problems and unsolved problems and formulate hypotheses and problems of a particular experiment. This stage can be considered as a relatively independent research activity of a theoretical nature.

II - methodological stage of the study. At this stage, the experimental methodology and experimental plan are developed. There are two sets of variables in an experiment: independent and dependent. The factor that the experimenter changes is called the independent variable; The factor that the independent variable causes to change is called the dependent variable.

The development of an experimental plan involves two steps: 1) drawing up a work plan and a sequence of experimental procedures, and 2) a mathematical model for processing experimental data.

III - experimental stage. At this stage, direct experiments are carried out. The main problem of this stage is to create in the subjects an identical understanding of the task of their activity in the experiment. This problem is solved through the reproduction of the same conditions for all subjects and instruction, which aims to bring all subjects to a common understanding of the task, acting as a kind of psychological attitude.

IV - analytical stage. At this stage, a quantitative analysis of the results (mathematical processing), scientific interpretation of the facts obtained is carried out; formulation of new scientific hypotheses and practical recommendations. Regarding the mathematical coefficients of statistics, it should be remembered that they are external in relation to the essence of the studied mental phenomena, describing the probability of their manifestation and the relationship between the frequencies of the compared events, and not between their essences. The essence of phenomena is revealed through the subsequent scientific interpretation of empirical facts.

The expansion of the use of the experiment moved from the elementary processes of sensation to the higher mental processes. The modern experimental method exists in three forms: laboratory, natural and formative experiment.

Three considerations are put forward against the laboratory experiment. The artificiality of the experiment, the analyticity and abstractness of the experiment, the complicating role of the experimenter's influence are pointed out.

A peculiar version of the experiment, representing, as it were, an intermediate form between observation and experiment, is the method of the so-called natural experiment proposed by the Russian scientist A.F. Lazursky (1910). His main tendency is to combine the experimental nature of the study with the naturalness of the conditions. Instead of translating the phenomena under study into laboratory conditions, researchers try to find natural conditions that suit their goals. A natural experiment that solves the problems of psychological and pedagogical research is called a psychological and pedagogical experiment. Its role is exceptionally great in the study of the cognitive abilities of students at various age stages.

Another variation of the experimental method is called formative experimentation. In this case, the experiment acts as a means of influencing, changing the psychology of people. Its originality lies in the fact that it simultaneously serves as a means of research and a means of forming the phenomenon under study. The formative experiment is characterized by the active intervention of the researcher in the mental processes he is studying. As an example of a formative experiment, one can consider the modeling of psychological and pedagogical situations. This method is based on the design of new education and training programs and ways to implement them.

Interview, questionnaire. Among the most common means of psychodiagnostics are all kinds of surveys, i.e. obtaining information from the words of the respondents. The scope of surveys in psychological research is quite extensive:
- the survey acts as the main means of collecting primary information in the early stages of the study;
- with the help of these interviews, working hypotheses are put forward;
- the survey serves to clarify and control the data obtained by other methods.

The whole variety of survey methods used in psychological research can be reduced to two main types:
1) a face-to-face survey - an interview conducted by a researcher according to a specific plan;
2) correspondence survey - questionnaires intended for self-completion.

There are two types of interviews: standardized and non-standardized. In a standardized interview, the wording of the questions and their sequence are predetermined, they are the same for all respondents. The researcher is not allowed to change any questions or introduce new ones. The non-standardized interview methodology, on the contrary, is characterized by complete flexibility and varies widely. The researcher, who is guided only by the general plan of the interview, has the right, in accordance with the specific situation, to formulate questions and change the order of the points of the plan.

Questioning (correspondence survey) also has its own specifics. It is more expedient to resort to a correspondence survey in cases where it is necessary to find out the attitude of people to debatable or intimate issues, or to interview a large number of people in a relatively short time. The main advantage of the survey is the possibility of mass coverage of a large number of people. The questionnaire guarantees anonymity to a greater extent than the interview, and therefore the respondents can give more sincere answers.

However, surveys as methods of collecting primary information are characterized by certain limitations. Their data often testify not so much to the true opinions and moods of the respondents, but to how they portray them.

Conversation. is an adjunct in the study and should be combined with other objective methods. The conversation should always be organized according to plan. Questions asked in a conversation can be, as it were, tasks aimed at revealing the uniqueness of mental processes. But at the same time, such tasks should be as natural as possible.

The study of products of activity. This method is widely used in historical psychology to study human psychology in the past. historical times, inaccessible to direct observation or experimentation. The purpose of this method is to make it possible to understand the laws of a person's psychological development, based on the laws of his socio-historical development.

This method is also widely used in child psychology - products are studied children's creativity for the psychological study of the child.

biographical method. A variation of the method of studying the products of activity is the biographical method. The material here is letters, diaries, biographies, handwriting, etc. In many cases, this method is used not alone, but in combination with other methods that complement each other. At the same time, each of the methods used reveals new aspects of mental activity.

Correction methods
more often it is required in a situation of not only objectively existing, but also subjectively experienced distress. This experience can be acute and expressed in deep dissatisfaction with oneself, others, life in general, and sometimes in suffering. In such cases, it is required to provide not only advisory, but also psychotherapeutic assistance.

Psychotherapeutic assistance is individual and is based on a deep penetration into the patient's personality, his feelings, experiences, attitudes, picture of the world, the structure of relationships with others. Such penetration requires special psychodiagnostic methods, which we wrote about above. These psychodiagnostics are necessary in order to enable the psychologist to determine a program for further work with the client, including corrective methods. Currently, psycho-corrective methods are a rather extensive set of techniques, programs and methods for influencing people's behavior. Let us characterize the main directions of psycho-correctional work.

Autotraining. The method of autogenic training was proposed by the German psychotherapist I.G. Schultz. Autogenic training has become widespread primarily as a method of treatment and prevention of various kinds of neuroses and functional disorders in the body, as well as a means of managing a person's condition in extreme conditions of activity. At present, autogenic training has firmly entered the system of training athletes, and is increasingly being used in production teams in the form of psycho-hygienic emotional-unloading procedures.

In autogenic training, three main ways of influencing the state of the nervous system are used. The first way is associated with the peculiarities of the influence of skeletal muscle tone and respiration on the central nervous system. The waking state of a person is associated with maintaining a sufficiently high muscle tone. The more intense the activity, the higher this tone. This most important physiological pattern underlies the entire system of autogenic training. The relationship between the state of the central nervous system and the tone of the skeletal muscles allows, through a conscious change in muscle tone, to influence the level of mental activity. In order to master auto-training, you must first develop the ability to completely relax the muscles of the body. Similarly affects the level of mental tone of the nervous system and the rhythm of breathing. Frequent breathing ensures high activity of the body.

The second way of influencing the nervous system is associated with the use of sensory images (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.). A sensual image is an active tool for influencing a person's mental state and health. The constant holding in the mind's eye of gloomy, bleak pictures sooner or later undermines health, and vice versa. It should be borne in mind that in a state of muscular relaxation, the effectiveness of sensory images increases significantly.

Finally, the third way of influencing the nervous system is associated with the programming role of the word, pronounced not only aloud, but also mentally. This property of inner speech (in the form of self-orders) has long been used in sports to increase the effectiveness of training, to mobilize internal reserves during competitions.

Group (social-psychological) training. Group training is understood as peculiar forms of teaching knowledge and individual skills in the field of communication, as well as forms of correction of violations that have arisen on the basis of communication.

A number of features can be distinguished:
all methods of group training are focused on teaching group interaction;
these methods are based on the student's activity (through the inclusion of research elements in the training). If traditional methods are focused mainly on conveying ready-made knowledge, then here the research participants themselves must come to them.

All the many forms of socio-psychological training can be divided into two large classes:
- games focused on the development of social skills (for example, the ability to conduct a discussion, resolve interpersonal conflicts). Among game methods the most widely used method of role-playing games;
- group discussions aimed at the skills of analyzing communication situations - analyzing oneself, a communication partner, a group situation as a whole. The group discussion method is most often used in the form of case studies.

Forms of group training are very diverse. Classes can be recorded on tape or videotaped. The last form of training is called "video training". This audio and video recording is used by the training leader for review by the group members and subsequent group discussion.

Currently, the practice of group training is a booming branch of applied psychology. Socio-psychological training is used to train specialists of various profiles: managers, teachers, doctors, psychologists, etc. It is used to correct the dynamics of marital conflicts, improve relations between parents and children, correct socio-psychological maladaptation of adolescents, etc.

Psychology, like any other science, has its own methods. Methods of scientific research are the methods and means by which they obtain the information necessary to make practical recommendations and build scientific theories. The development of any science depends on how perfect the methods used by it, how they reliable and are valid. All this is true in relation to psychology.

The phenomena studied by psychology are so complex and diverse, so difficult for scientific knowledge, that throughout the entire development of psychological science, its success directly depended on the degree of perfection of the research methods used. Psychology stood out as an independent science only in the middle of the 19th century, so it very often relies on the methods of other, older sciences - philosophy, mathematics, physics, physiology, medicine, biology and history. In addition, psychology uses the methods of modern sciences, such as computer science and cybernetics.

It should be emphasized that any independent science has only its inherent methods. Psychology also has such methods. All of them can be divided into two main groups: subjective and objective(Fig. 1.9).

* Rubinstein S. L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 1999.

Subjective methods are based on self-assessments or self-reports of the subjects, as well as on the opinion of researchers about a particular observed phenomenon or information received. With the separation of psychology into an independent science, subjective methods received priority development and continue to be improved at the present time. The very first methods of studying psychological phenomena were observation, self-observation and questioning.

Observation method in psychology is one of the oldest and, at first glance, the simplest. It is based on the systematic observation of people's activities, which is carried out in ordinary life conditions without any deliberate interference on the part of the observer. Observation in psychology involves a complete and accurate description of the observed phenomena, as well as their psychological interpretation. This is precisely the main goal of psychological observation: it must, proceeding from the facts, reveal their psychological content.

Observation is a method that all people use. However, scientific observation and the observation that most people use in everyday life have a number of significant differences. Scientific observation is systematic and carried out on the basis of a certain plan in order to obtain an objective picture. Consequently, scientific observation requires special training, during which special knowledge is acquired and qualities that contribute to the objectivity of psychological interpretation.

Rice. 18. Basic methods of psychological research

Observation can be carried out in various ways. For example, the widely used method included observation. This method used in cases where the psychologist himself is a direct participant in the events. However, if, under the influence of the researcher's personal participation, his perception and understanding of the event may be distorted, then it is better to turn to third-party observation, which makes it possible to more objectively judge the events taking place. In its content, the included observation is very close to another method - self-observation.

Self-observation, that is, observation of one's experiences, is one of the specific methods used only in psychology. It should be noted that this method, in addition to advantages, has a number of disadvantages. First, it is very difficult to observe your experiences. They either change under the influence of observation, or completely stop. Secondly, in self-observation it is very difficult to avoid subjectivity, since our perception of what is happening has a subjective coloring. Thirdly, in self-observation it is difficult to express some shades of our experiences.

Nevertheless, the method of self-observation is very important for a psychologist. Faced in practice with the behavior of other people, the psychologist seeks to understand its psychological content. At the same time, in most cases, he turns to his own experience, including the analysis of his experiences. Therefore, in order to work successfully, a psychologist must learn to objectively assess his condition and his experiences.

Self-observation is often used in experimental conditions. In this case, it acquires the most accurate character and it is customary to call it experimental self-observation. characteristic feature its is that the questioning of a person is carried out under precisely taken into account the conditions of experience, at those moments that are most interesting to the researcher. In this case, the method of self-observation is very often used in conjunction with the method survey.

A survey is a method based on obtaining the necessary information from the subjects themselves through questions and answers. There are several options for conducting a survey. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. There are three main types of survey: oral, written and free.

oral questioning, as a rule, it is used in cases where it is necessary to monitor the reactions and behavior of the subject. This type of survey allows you to penetrate deeper into human psychology than a written one, since the questions asked by the researcher can be adjusted during the research process depending on the characteristics of the behavior and reactions of the subject. However, this version of the survey requires more time to conduct, as well as the availability of special training for the researcher, since the degree of objectivity of the answers very often depends on the behavior and personal characteristics of the researcher himself.

Written survey allows you to cover large quantity people in a relatively short time. The most common form of this survey is a questionnaire. But its disadvantage is that it is impossible to foresee the reaction of the subjects to its questions and change its content in the course of the study.

Free survey - a type of written or oral survey, in which the list of questions asked is not determined in advance. When polling this

type, it is possible to change the tactics and content of the study quite flexibly, which makes it possible to obtain a variety of information about the subject. At the same time, a standard survey requires less time and, most importantly, the information received about a particular subject can be compared with information about another person, since in this case the list of questions does not change.

Having considered the survey method, we came close to the problem of the accuracy of measuring the information received, as well as quantitative and qualitative characteristics in psychology. On the one hand, this problem is closely related to the problem of the objectivity of the study. Psychologists have long asked themselves the question: “How can one prove that an observed phenomenon is not accidental or that it objectively exists?” In the process of formation and development of psychology, the methodology for confirming the objectivity of the results of the experiment was determined. For example, such confirmation may be the repetition of results in studies with other subjects in similar conditions. And the greater the number of coincidences, the higher the probability of the existence of the detected phenomenon. On the other hand, this problem is related to the problem of matching30

viability of the results. How to compare the severity of a certain psychological characteristic in different people?

Attempts to quantify psychological phenomena began to be made from the second half of the 19th century, when the need arose to make psychology a more accurate and useful science. But even earlier, in 1835, the book of the creator of modern statistics A. Quetelet (1796-1874) "Social Physics" was published. In this book, Quetelet, relying on the theory of probability, showed that its formulas make it possible to detect the subordination of people's behavior to certain patterns. Analyzing the statistical material, he obtained constant values ​​that give a quantitative description of such human acts as marriage, suicide, etc. These acts were previously considered arbitrary. And although the concept formulated by Quetelet was inextricably linked with the metaphysical approach to social phenomena, it introduced a number of new points. For example, Quetelet expressed the idea that if the average number is constant, then behind it there should be a reality comparable to the physical one, which makes it possible to predict various phenomena.

NAMES

Bekhterev Vladimir Mikhailovich(1857-1927) - Russian physiologist, neuropathologist, psychiatrist, psychologist. Based on the reflex concept of mental activity put forward by I. M. Sechenov, he developed a natural science theory of behavior, which was originally called objective psychology (1904), then psychoreflexology (1910), and later reflexology (1917). Bekhterev made a significant contribution to the development of experimental psychology. He was the creator of the first experimental psychological laboratory in Russia, which was opened in 1885 at the clinic of Kazan University. Later, in 1908, Bekhterev founded the Psychoneurological Institute in St. Petersburg, which currently bears his name.

(including psychological) on the basis of statistical laws. For the knowledge of these laws, it is hopeless to study each person individually. The object of study of behavior should be large masses people, and the main method is variational statistics.

Already the first serious attempts to solve the problem of quantitative measurements in psychology made it possible to discover and formulate several laws that connect the strength of human sensations with stimuli expressed in physical units that affect the body. These include the laws of Bouguer-Weber, Weber-Fechner, Stevens, which are mathematical formulas that determine the relationship between physical stimuli and human sensations, as well as the relative and absolute thresholds of sensations. Subsequently, mathematics was widely included in psychological research, which to a certain extent increased the objectivity of research and contributed to the transformation of psychology into one of the most practical sciences. The widespread introduction of mathematics into psychology determined the need to develop methods that would make it possible to repeatedly conduct the same type of research, that is, it required solving the problem of standardizing procedures and methods.

The main point of standardization is that in order to ensure the least probability of error when comparing the results of psychological examinations of two people or several groups, it is necessary, first of all, to ensure the use of the same methods, stably, i.e., regardless of external conditions that measure the same psychological characteristic.

Among these psychological methods relate tests. This method is used most often. Its popularity is due to the possibility of obtaining an accurate and qualitative description of a psychological phenomenon, as well as the ability to compare the results of the study, which is primarily necessary for solving practical problems. Tests differ from other methods in that they have a clear procedure for collecting and processing data, as well as a psychological interpretation of the results.

It is customary to distinguish several variants of tests: questionnaire tests, task tests, projective tests.

Test questionnaire as a method based on the analysis of the answers of the subjects to questions that allow obtaining reliable and reliable information about the presence or severity of a certain psychological characteristic. Judgment about the development of this characteristic is carried out on the basis of the number of answers that coincided in their content with the idea of ​​it. Test task involves obtaining information about the psychological characteristics of a person based on an analysis of the success of certain tasks. In tests of this type, the subject is asked to perform a certain list of tasks. The number of completed tasks is the basis for judging the presence or absence, as well as the degree of development of a certain psychological quality. Most IQ tests fall into this category.

One of the earliest attempts to develop tests was made by F. Galton (1822-1911). At the International Exhibition in London in 1884, Galton organized an anthropometric laboratory (later transferred to the South Kensington Museum in London). More than nine thousand subjects passed through it, in which, along with height, weight, etc., various types of sensitivity, reaction time, and other sensorimotor qualities were measured. The tests and statistical methods proposed by Galton were subsequently widely used to solve practical problems of life. This was the beginning of the creation of applied psychology, called "psychotechnics".

This term entered the lexicon of scientists after the publication of an article by D. Cattell (1860-1944) «Mental Tests and Measurements»("Mental Tests and Measurements") in 1890 in the journal Mind with afterword by Galton. “Psychology,” Cattell writes in this article, “cannot become as solid and precise as the physical sciences if it is not based on experiment and measurement. A step in this direction can be taken by applying a series of mental tests to a large number of people. The results can be of considerable scientific value in discovering the constancy of mental processes, their interdependence and changes in different circumstances.

In 1905, the French psychologist A. Binet created one of the first psychological tests - a test for assessing intelligence. At the beginning of the XX century. The French government instructed Binet to draw up a scale of intellectual abilities for schoolchildren in order to use it for the correct distribution of schoolchildren according to the levels of education. Subsequently, various scientists create a whole series of tests. Their focus on the prompt solution of practical problems led to the rapid and widespread use of psychological tests. For example, G. Münsterberg (1863-1916) proposed tests for professional selection, which were created as follows: initially they were tested on a group of workers who achieved the best results, and then newly hired ones were subjected to them. It is obvious that the premise of this procedure was the idea of ​​the interdependence between the mental structures necessary for the successful performance of the activity, and those structures due to which the subject copes with the tests.

During the First World War, the use of psychological tests became widespread. At this time, the United States was actively preparing to enter the war. However, they did not have such a military potential as other belligerents. Therefore, even before entering the war (1917), the military authorities turned to the country's leading psychologists E. Thorndike (1874-1949), R. Yerkes (1876-1956) and G. Whipple (1878-1976) with a proposal to lead the solution to the problem of applying psychology in military affairs. The American Psychological Association and universities quickly began work in this direction. Under the direction of Yerkes, the first group tests were created for the mass assessment of the suitability (mainly by intelligence) of conscripts for service in various branches of the military: the army alpha test for the literate and the army beta test for the illiterate. The first test was similar to A. Binet's verbal tests for children. The second test consisted of non-verbal tasks. 1,700,000 soldiers and about 40,000 officers were examined. The distribution of indicators was divided into seven parts. In accordance with this, according to the degree of suitability, the subjects were divided into seven groups. The first two groups included persons with the highest abilities to perform the duties of officers and to be sent to the appropriate military educational institutions. Three subsequent groups had average statistical indicators of the abilities of the studied population of persons.

At the same time, the development of tests as a psychological method was also carried out in Russia. The development of this direction in the domestic psychology of that time is associated with the names of A. F. Lazursky (1874-1917), G. I. Rossolimo (1860-1928), V. M. Bekhterev (1857-1927) and P. F. Lesgaft ( 1837-1909).

A particularly noticeable contribution to the development of test methods was made by G. I. Rossolimo, who was known not only as a neurologist, but also as a psychologist. To diagnose individual mental properties, he developed a method for their quantitative assessment, which gives a holistic view of the personality. The technique made it possible to evaluate 11 mental processes, which, in turn, were divided into five groups: attention, receptivity, will, memorization, associative processes (imagination and thinking). For each of these processes, tasks were proposed, depending on the fulfillment of which, the “strength” of each process was assessed on a special scale. The sum of positive responses was marked with a dot on the graph. The connection of these points gave a "psychological profile" of a person. The tasks varied according to the categories of subjects (for children, for intelligent adults, for non-intelligent adults). In addition, Rossolimo proposed a formula for converting graphic data into arithmetic.

Tests are the most widely used method of psychological research today. Nevertheless, it should be noted that the tests occupy an intermediate position between subjective and objective methods. This is due to the wide variety of test methods. There are tests based on the self-report of the subjects, such as questionnaire tests. When performing these tests, the subject can consciously or unconsciously influence the test result, especially if he knows how his answers will be interpreted. But there are more objective tests. Among them, first of all, it is necessary to include projective tests. This category of tests does not use self-reports of the subjects. They suggest a free interpretation of research34

the supervisor of the tasks performed by the test subject. For example, according to the most preferred choice of color cards for the subject, the psychologist determines his emotional state. In other cases, the subject is presented with pictures depicting an uncertain situation, after which the psychologist offers to describe the events reflected in the picture, and based on the analysis of the interpretation of the depicted situation by the subject, a conclusion is made about the features of his psyche. However, projective type tests impose increased requirements on the level of professional training and practical experience of a psychologist, and also require a sufficiently high level of intellectual development in the subject.

Objective data can be obtained using experiment - a method based on the creation of an artificial situation in which the studied property is distinguished, manifested and evaluated in the best way. The main advantage of the experiment is that it allows more reliable than other psychological methods to draw conclusions about the cause-and-effect relationships of the studied phenomenon with other phenomena, to scientifically explain the origin of the phenomenon and its development. There are two main types of experiment: laboratory and natural. They differ from each other by the conditions of the experiment.

A laboratory experiment involves creating an artificial situation in which the property under study can be best evaluated. A natural experiment is organized and carried out in ordinary life conditions, where the experimenter does not interfere in the course of events, fixing them as they are. One of the first to use the method of natural experiment was the Russian scientist A.F. Lazursky. The data obtained in a natural experiment correspond best to the typical life behavior of people. However, it should be borne in mind that the results of a natural experiment are not always accurate due to the lack of strict control over the influence of various factors on the studied property by the experimenter. From this point of view, the laboratory experiment wins in accuracy, but at the same time concedes in the degree of correspondence to the life situation.

Another group of methods of psychological science is formed by methods modeling. They should be attributed to an independent class of methods. They are used when other methods are difficult to use. Their peculiarity is that, on the one hand, they are based on certain information about a particular mental phenomenon, and, on the other hand, when using them, as a rule, the participation of the subjects or taking into account the real situation is not required. Therefore, it can be very difficult to attribute various modeling techniques to the category of objective or subjective methods.

Models can be technical, logical, mathematical, cybernetic, etc. In mathematical modeling, a mathematical expression or formula is used that reflects the relationship of variables and the relationship between them, reproducing elements and relationships in the phenomena under study. Technical modeling involves the creation of a device or device that, in its action, resembles what is being studied. Cybernetic modeling is based on the use of concepts from the field of computer science and cybernetics to solve psychological problems. Logic modeling is based on the ideas and symbolism used in mathematical logic.

The development of computers and software for them gave impetus to the modeling of mental phenomena based on the laws of computer operation, since it turned out that the mental operations used by people, the logic of their reasoning when solving problems are close to the operations and logic on the basis of which people work. computer programs. This led to attempts to represent and describe human behavior by analogy with the operation of a computer. In connection with these studies, the names of the American scientists D. Miller, Yu. Galanter, K. Pribram, as well as the Russian psychologist L. M. Wekker, became widely known.

In addition to these methods, there are other methods of studying mental phenomena. For example, conversation - poll option. The method of conversation differs from the survey in greater freedom of the procedure. As a rule, the conversation is conducted in a relaxed atmosphere, and the content of the questions varies depending on the situation and the characteristics of the subject. Another method is method of studying documents, or analysis of human activity. It should be borne in mind that the most effective study of mental phenomena is carried out with the complex application of various methods.

test questions

1. Tell us about the main structural elements of B. G. Ananyev’s approach to the study of a person: an individual, a subject of activity, a personality, an individuality.

2. Give a description of the primary and secondary properties of a person as an individual.

3. Explain why the concept of "personality" refers only to humans and cannot refer to representatives of the animal world.

4. Describe the main properties of a person as a subject of activity.

5. Explain the essence of the concept of "individuality".

6. Tell us about modern sciences that study humans as a biological species.

7. What do you know about research into the problems of anthropogenesis and human sociogenesis?

8. Tell us about the relationship of man with nature. What are the main ideas underlying the biogeochemical theory of V. I. Vernadsky?

9. Define psychology as a science. 10 What are the differences between scientific and worldly psychology?

11. What is the subject of psychology? Give a classification of mental phenomena.

12. What mental processes do you know?

13. What is the main difference between mental states and mental processes?

14. What are the main personality traits.

15. What methods of psychological research do you know?

16. What is a test? What are the tests?

1. Ananiev B. G. Selected psychological works: In 2 volumes / Ed. A. A. Bodaleva, B. F. Lomova. T. 1. - M .: Pedagogy, 1980.

2. Vatsuro E. G. Study of the higher nervous activity of the anthropoid (chimpanzee). - M 1948.

3. Vernadsky V.I. Chemical structure of the Earth's biosphere and its environment / Ed. ed. A. A. Yaroshevsky. - 2nd ed. - M.: Nauka, 1987.

4. Vernadsky V.I. Biosphere: Selected Works on Biogeochemistry. - M.: Thought, 1967.

5. Voronin L. G. Comparative physiology of higher nervous activity of animals and humans: Selected works. works. - M.: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1989.

6. Gippenreiter Yu. B. Introduction to General Psychology: Course of lectures: Tutorial for universities. - M.: CheRo, 1997.

7. Keler W. A study of the intelligence of great apes. - M.: Kom. Acad.,

8. Ladygina-Kote N. N. The development of the psyche in the process of evolution of organisms. M., 1958.

9. Luria A. R. An evolutionary introduction to psychology. - M.: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1975.

10. Lewis D. Socialism and personality / Per. from English. - M.: Ed. foreign lit., 1963.

11. Mayorov F.P. Materials for the comparative study of higher and lower monkeys. // Physiological journal. I. M. Sechenov. - 1955. - T. XIX, no. four.

12. Mute R.S. Psychology: Textbook for students. higher ped. textbook institutions: In 3 books. Book. one:

General foundations of psychology. - 2nd ed. - M.: Vlados 1998.

13. Psychology / Ed. prof. K. N. Kornilova, prof. A. A. Smirnova, prof. B. M. Teplov. - Ed. 3rd, revised. and additional - M.: Uchpedgiz, 1948.

14. Psychology: Dictionary / Ed. A. V. Petrovsky, M. G. Yaroshevsky. - M.:

Politizdat, 1990.

15. Rubinstein S. L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 1999.

16. Semenov Yu. I. How did humanity originate? - M.: Nauka, 1966.

17. Smirnov A. A. Selected psychological works: In 2 volumes - M., 1987.

18. Fress P., Piaget J. Experimental psychology / Sat. articles. Per. from French:

Issue. 6. - M.: Progress, 1978.

19. Shoshar P. Biological factors of progress. The human brain is the organ of progress. // What future awaits humanity / Ed. ed. corresponding member Academy of Sciences of the USSR A. M. Rumyantsev. - Prague: Peace and Socialism, 1964.

Objectivity is one of the basic principles of scientific knowledge. What are the basic principles of scientific knowledge? Many authors name as such: I) objectivity, 2) determinism, 3) consistency, 4) evidence and validity of the results obtained in research, 5) constant reflection of the methods used, etc. However, in recent times objectivity as a universal principle of scientific knowledge begins to be questioned.

The problem of the objectivity of scientific knowledge in psychological science has always been one of the most difficult and still ambiguously solved problems. After all, psychology seemed to many to be a special science, because in it the cognitive activity of the subject is directed not at external reality, but at himself, at his inner world. Many psychologists, on this basis, initially refused to recognize psychology as an objective science. " Is it possible to objectively study the subjective? - they asked, meaning by subjective the inner world of the subject, open for knowledge supposedly only to himself and to no one else. Within the framework of this point of view, the main (and sometimes even the only) method of cognition of mental phenomena was proclaimed the method of introspection, i.e. "looking inside yourself" The doubtfulness of this method has long been emphasized by many researchers, for example, I.M. Sechenov, who once said that if psychology really had such a special “tool” for “direct” knowledge of the psyche, it would have long overtaken other sciences in its development.

Other authors, such as, for example, representatives of the emerging at the beginning of the 20th century. in the US behaviorism, insisted that psychology should still be an objective science. But, since, as the behaviorists believed, consciousness (as internally observable) cannot be studied objectively, they proposed another way out: one must study objectively what is really objective (which means, in their opinion, externally) observable. Behaviorists saw such a reality in the behavior of the subject and therefore proclaimed that the subject of psychology was not consciousness (which was understood in principle in the same way as in the psychology that preceded them), but behavior.

In domestic psychology, a different point of view has arisen on the solution of this problem: it is consciousness and the psyche that can and should be studied objectively, but then one should change the view of their subjectivity. Within the framework of this point of view, the idea arose that the term subjective can have (and had in the history of psychology) 3 different meanings:

1. In the first sense, the subjective is interpreted as the complete opposite of objective reality, as the world of "direct" experience, which must be studied by completely different methods than objective reality.

2. In the second sense, subjective means distorted, biased, incomplete, etc. In this respect, it is opposed to the objective as true, impartial, complete, etc. Partiality can also be studied objectively, as shown, for example, by L.S. Vygotsky, who once said about the psyche: “The purpose of the psyche is not at all to reflect reality in a mirror, but to distort reality in favor of the organism.” Thus understood the subjectivity of the psyche means, therefore, the conditionality of the psyche primarily by the needs (motives) of its subject and the adequacy of mental reflection to the extent that it helps the subject to orient himself in the world and act in it. The modern psychology of motivation proves the possibility of a scientifically objective study of the specifics of the subjective distortion of reality by the subject, depending on the specific motives of his activity.

3. In the third sense, “subjective” is something that belongs to the subject, performs specific functions in his life, has completely objective forms of existence and therefore can be studied by various objective methods (the term “subjective” is more suitable to express this sense). As was shown by supporters of the activity approach in psychology (S.L. Rubinshtein, A.N. Leontiev, A.R. Luria, P.Ya. Galperin, D. B. El’konin and others), the existence of mental processes in various subjective (in the first sense) forms is a secondary phenomenon, while the original and main way of their being is their objective existence in various forms subject-practical activity of the subject.

The development of modern psychology can be described as a movement towards an objective cognition of the mental as a subjective one that performs its specific functions in a person's life.

Let us now return to the concept of “objectivity. What kind of ideal of objectivity is possible in psychological science? After all, the very object of psychological science is, by definition, subjective: it is the activity of the subject in the world of objects. In psychology, one subject cognizes another subject, and this significantly changes our understanding of the laws of such research. After all, the very mental activity of the subject we study depends on its interaction with us, and, conversely, our interaction with the subject can change our own consciousness. Consciousness in general is, in a certain sense, an artificial product: it is formed in ontogenesis in the joint activity of a child with an adult, and subsequently changes when interacting with other people. Finally, knowledge of the processes taking place in a person's own consciousness leads to changes in the functioning of this consciousness. We actively influence our being, including the being of our consciousness.

The well-known Russian philosopher M. M. Bakhtin wrote that the knowledge of a person can only be dialogical. Following him, M.K. Mamardashvili said that in the sciences dealing with the subject, one cannot talk about the eternal and unchanging laws of the existence of subjective reality before interacting with another subject: these laws should be considered “as a function of some wider whole, as a function of activity itself, in the continuum of which connection becomes possible, which we then call laws.

Thus, the process of psychological cognition of another person inevitably includes the cognizer in a constructive dialogue with him, however, one cannot say that objective research is generally impossible in psychology. This dialogue itself unfolds not at the discretion of the researcher and not according to the free will of the researcher - in the dialogue itself there are some rules relatively independent of the desires of the persons participating in it, some objective contours of it (due to a multitude of circumstances beyond the control of the subjects).

In the practice of psychological work, the main goal is the correct, independent of the opinion of the psychologist, identification of the magnitude of the characteristics under study, the psychologist seeks to objectively assess the mental situation, the characteristics of the personality of the subjects. This can be achieved by repeated application of various methods, long-term observation of the manifestations of signs by various subjects, as well as by identifying the high-frequency probability of their assessment in various or typical situations.

In this way, objectivity in psychological research - this is the adequacy and independence of the results of assessing the qualities or properties of the object or phenomenon under study from the subjectivity of the researcher. It can be achieved by abstracting the psychologist from the individual interpretation of the results of the study, when a situation arises in which the sign is definitely and unambiguously revealed in the majority of subjects by different researchers. However, the experience of a psychologist allows one to intuitively or on the basis of accumulated facts and a formulated algorithm cut off insignificant, biased information, thereby objectifying one's subjective conclusion.

Thus, the objectivity of psychological research in general and empirical indicators in particular is achieved by acquiring experience in obtaining, using and interpreting data, as well as by steadfast adherence to the criteria for the reliability of psychological measurement.

The experience of a psychologist as an indicator of the objectivity of psychological research is manifested in at least three aspects. First, over time, the researcher compares the results of the subjective assessment with the objective results of the subjects' vital activity. Moreover, the accumulated empirical result in this comparison acquires its objectivity, since the experimental estimate is "edited" and corrected, becoming real and objective. Secondly, the researcher adjusts the research tool itself. Insignificant indicators and scales are "cut off", their interpretation changes, new norms and evaluation criteria are developed. Thirdly, in the process of psychological practice, the researcher learns someone else's experience through publications and in the course of a direct exchange of information. These facts illustrate the transition of the subjective psychological assessment psychologist in the direction of an objective conclusion.

Reliability should be understood as "sufficient fidelity" of measurements, i.e. the correctness (truth) of the results sufficient for a given level of psychological representations. The allowable error should not exceed the degree of assumption about the actual value of the feature. Thus, reliability can be made up of the accuracy of measurements and the adequacy of the assessment of the actually studied trait.

In practice, the reliability of a psychological measurement is determined, first of all, by validity (correspondence of test data to the measured property), reliability (accuracy of psychodiagnostic measurements), predictability (assuming the development of the measured property) and normativity of the applied psychological methods.

Validity of psychological methods. Quite a lot of research is devoted to the problem of validity in psychology. Moreover, the classification of types and types of validity and their names are given quite diversely (Fig. 4.10).

Rice. 4.10.

Validity as an element of the reliability of the psychological measurement of the properties of a psychological phenomenon is a measure of the correspondence of empirical assessments to ideas about the essence of properties or their role in a particular phenomenon under study. In the theory of psychometrics, two main types and several types of method validity are defined. The types of validity include: external and internal validity.

External validity is a measure of the possibility of transferring the results of a measurement to the population under study. It is determined by forming a representative study sample and cross-validation.

Sample representativeness is the representativeness of the experimental sample, reflecting the main properties of the studied population (general population). It is determined by comparing the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the experimental sample with the characteristics of the population in order to establish their homogeneity. Qualitative characteristics may include socio-demographic, species, intellectual (educational), professional and other characteristics of the population (group) that are the subject of research or significantly affect it. Quantitative characteristic experimental group- this is its minimum number, which preserves the properties of the general population. In the psychological literature, there are several theoretical approaches to calculating the size of the minimum representative sample, tables of experimentally obtained data are often given.

Cross Validation is performed by testing the methodology on a sample other than the experimental one in order to determine the boundaries of its applicability according to the criterion "characteristic of the population" (to determine the level of development of the property in children, adolescents, men or women, a certain group of specialists, etc.). In the course of cross-validation, correlation coefficients between indicators are calculated, obtained as a result of testing different groups of subjects. The conclusion about the possibility of applying the technique to a particular population is made using certain statistical criteria.

Internal validity - a measure of the compliance of test scores with the level of development of the measured property. She is consists, at least, of five kinds of elements : a) conceptual (theoretical) validity (theoretical substantiation of the possibility of measuring the property under study by this psychological tool); b) content validity (the degree of representativeness of the content of the posterior methodology of the measured area of ​​mental properties; c) construct validity (the degree of representation of the studied psychological construct in the results of the measuring tool ("to what extent the test results are considered as a measure of the studied psychological construct - factor, property" )); G) operational validity (degree of representation in experimental operations of real operational conditions of mental reality); e) empirical validity (a set of characteristics of the validity of the methodology obtained by a comparative statistical method of evaluation. These characteristics include the so-called auto-validity, obvious, criterion and other types of validity. Empirical validity is measured using validity coefficients).

predictive validity is an element of the content of the reliability of the method and is defined as the degree of accuracy and validity of the judgment about the studied mental property according to its result, after a certain time after the measurement.

The indicator of predictiveness is the degree of regression of test data to objective criteria. Regression is a function f(x1, x2 x3,... xn), which describes the dependence of the average indicator of a technique that measures a certain psychological phenomenon on the given fixed values ​​of the real manifestation of this phenomenon (external criterion - y). This function can be linear or non-linear.

In practical psychology, to predict the development or manifestation of a measured property, linear or multiple linear regression is more often used (y = b + a1x1 + + a2x2 + ..., + anxn). Its physical meaning is to equate the dependent and independent variables. A change in the independent variable determines the corresponding fluctuation in the dependent variable. The coefficients of the equation reflect the degree of predictability of the function, i.e. the level of explained variance "x" due to the change in "y". When using a test battery, the forecast of the measured property is carried out by means of several dependent variables (x1, x2, x3, ..., xn) interconnected, which form a multiple linear regression. When using a multiple linear function to predict the development of the phenomenon or property under study, the level of predictiveness of the measurement and its reliability increases due to the overlap by different methods of various aspects of the phenomenon or property under study.

Reliability is a feature psychological methodology, reflecting the accuracy of measurements, as well as the stability (stability) of the results to the action of extraneous random factors . Reliability and validity are the most important characteristics of the methodology as a tool for psychological research.

The greatest stability of the results is observed when using graphic and graphological tests, the indicators of which change extremely slowly. The handwriting is slowly changing, and the quality of the lines of the drawings and their composition remain practically unchanged. The greatest dynamism of indicators is observed in intellectual tests, which directly depend on a person's ability to accumulate and process information.

The stability (stability) of the method indicators is affected by: the state and mood of the subjects, the motivation of the subjects for testing, ergonomic factors (light, room temperature, vibration, noise, etc.), activity characteristics (monotonicity - dynamism, interference, etc.) , the degree of learning (or training) of the subjects, the variability of the instrument of psychological measurement, the stability of the measurement procedure itself, etc. Reliability, therefore, is the degree of consistency of test results obtained during the first and subsequent measurements.

In practice, the most widely used six types of reliability: retest reliability (test-retest reliability); reliability of parallel forms; reliability of parts of the test (reliability as homogeneity of tests); reliability according to Kuder-Richardson; the reliability of the interpreter ("estimator") and the standard error of measurements.

The definition of the reliability coefficient of the first two types is calculated according to the formulas for calculating the correlation coefficients (depending on the scale in which the data are measured) between the first and subsequent measurements or between parallel forms of the methodology.

The calculation of the reliability coefficient in the study of homogeneity is carried out by dividing the methodology into equal subtests and calculating the correlation between these parts. To determine the overall reliability of the method, the obtained correlation coefficients are entered into the Spearman-Brown formula:

where R is the correlation of the "halves" of the test.

If parts of the methodology are separate dichotomous tasks, for example, questions that can be answered two times (yes or no), or tasks with an assessment of the result as correct or incorrect, the formula is used

where is the share of the first answer to question i; – share of the second option to question i.

The reliability of the methodology parts can also be calculated using the Kuder-Richardson formula:

where K is the number of equal parts of the dough; is the variance of part of the test i; is the variance of the whole test.

When working with clinical questionnaires, tests of creativity and projective technologies, the reliability of the methods is determined by comparing the interpretation of the results by two or more expert psychologists. Significant correlation coefficients between them show the reliability of expertise.

The reliability coefficients of psychological measurements are the magnitude of the variance of indicators, which is calculated by squaring the correlation coefficient. It is interpreted as follows. For example, the correlation coefficient between parallel forms of the methodology is 0.75. The reliability factor is calculated as 0.752 = 0.56. This means that 56% of the variance of the studied empirical data depends on the true variance of the features (parallel test data), and 44% depends on errors or random variables.

Reliability can be expressed by calculating the standard error of measurements (SEM) (standard error of the indicator), which is calculated by the formula

where is the standard deviation of test indicators, and is the value of the reliability coefficient.

The physical meaning of SEM is to determine the variance of the indicators of the methodology around the "true indicator", which is characterized by the density of the normal distribution of data. If, for example, 68% of all cases of normal distribution of psychological data fall within the interval , then there are about two chances to one (68 / 32) that the measurement error will "fluctuate" within ± 1SEM. With an increase in the density of data distribution, for example, , the probability of prediction also increases (99.7 / 0.3) with a corresponding increase in the error interval in both directions .

Thus, the reliability, validity and predictability of empirical data make it possible to measure psychological variables at the appropriate level of reliability, which is dictated by the practice of social research.

• See for example: Anastasi A. Psychological testing: in 2 volumes. Moscow: Pedagogy, 1982; Anastasi A., Urbina S. Psychological testing. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001; BurlachukL. F., Morozov S. M. Dictionary-reference book on psychodiagnostics. St. Petersburg: Peter Kom, 1999; Bodalev A. A., Stolin V. V. General psychodiagnostics. St. Petersburg: RECH, 2002: Gilbukh Yu. Z. Topical issues of validation of psychological tests // Questions of psychology. No. 5. M.: Pedagogy, 1978. S. 108–118; Gaida V. K., Zakharov V. P. Psychological testing: textbook, manual. L.: Publishing House of Leningrad State University, 1982. S. 13–18 and others.
• The formation of a representative sample on a quantitative basis is carried out using P. A. Chebyshev’s theorem on the probability of representativeness error, which says: “With a probability arbitrarily close to one, it can be argued that with a sufficiently large number of independent observations, the sample mean will differ arbitrarily little from the general average. According to the first corollary from the theorem of P. L. Chebyshev "...With with a probability arbitrarily close to one (“virtually certain”), the sample fraction will differ arbitrarily little from the general fraction if the sample size is large enough" (See: Karasev A. I. Fundamentals of mathematical statistics. M.: Rosvuzizdat, 1962. S. 172).
• See for example: Moskvin S. Sampling in sociological research // Military Sociological Research, 1993, pp. 27–30; Introduction to the profession. M.: Military Publishing House, 1992; Karasev A. I. Fundamentals of mathematical statistics. Moscow: Rosvuzizdat. 1962, pp. 212–213: Burlachuk L. F., Morozov S. M. Dictionary- reference book on psychodiagnostics. St. Petersburg: Peter Kom, 1999. S. 64–65 and others.
• S. Moskvin notes that with a general population of 400, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 or more people, the minimum sample is 200, 222, 286, 333, 370, 398 and 400 subjects, respectively. G. Loza points to the following ratio of the general population and the size of the experimental sample when conducting sociological research: 100/16–17 people, 300/50 people, 1000/100 people. and 5000/200 subjects. For A. Goncharov, the minimum representative sample relative to the general population, respectively, is: 500/222, 1000/286, 2000/333, 3000/350, 4000/360, 5000/370, 10,000/385, 100,000/398 and more than 100,000 – 400 respondents.
• Anastasi A., Urbina S. Psychological testing. St. Petersburg: Piter, 2001, p. 140.
• Cm . Anastasi A., Urbina S. Psychological testing. pp. 103–132.
• Мх – mathematical expectation (average value).