Methods of general psychodiagnostics and their classification. Synopsis: Methods of psychodiagnostics and their classification

There is an urgent need to streamline, if you like, to technologize the diagnostic work of the educational psychologist. To do this, it is necessary to determine the diagnostic situations and conditions for the use of one or another toolkit. It seems to us that the approach presented in this article is quite effective and can be used by psychologists from various educational institutions, primarily school ones.
To do this, it is necessary to once again carefully evaluate the available diagnostic tools, but not only from the standpoint of theoretical psychodiagnostics as a science that “develops the theory, principles and tools for assessing and measuring individual psychological features personalities" ( S.F. Burlachuk), but from the point of view of the daily practice of an ordinary psychologist.

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO GUREVICH

The problem of classifications, typologies, differentiation of certain diagnostic methods and techniques has been repeatedly raised in the literature.
So, K.M. Gurevich et al. (1997) considers two groups of diagnostic tools: methods high level of formalization and methods little formalized .
He refers to the first group tests (which can be divided into several subclasses), questionnaires, projective methods and psychophysiological methods.
The methods of this group are characterized by:
- strict regulation of the examination procedure (strict adherence to instructions, strictly defined methods of presenting stimulus material, non-interference of the researcher in the activities of the subject);
- standardization (presence of norms or other criteria for evaluating results, for example, level criteria);
- Reliability and validity.
Such diagnostic tools make it possible to obtain diagnostic information in a form that makes it possible to quantitatively and qualitatively (in the case of level evaluation criteria) compare an individual or a group of people with other groups of people according to various distinguished parameters. That is, when using high-level formalization techniques, it is necessary to apply statistical norm .
The second group (slightly formalized methods) includes such techniques as observation, surveys, and analysis of activity products.
They are characterized by:
- the absence of any quantitative evaluation standards, that is, the inability to fully apply standardization, the statistical norm;
- extreme variability (variability of the mood of the subjects, motivation in different situations, the state in general), that is, again, a low possibility of objectifying the measurement;
- availability of professional experience, psychological intuition of the researcher.
At the same time, such techniques can provide valuable information about mental states and processes that are difficult to standardize, but have great importance in the study of children.
Separately, K.M. Gurevich highlights methods of clinical diagnostics based on the principle of exclusively qualitative analysis features of a mental phenomenon (as opposed to the task of only quantitative measurement).
Great value here he has the qualifications and experience of a specialist, his ability to put forward and change hypotheses, assumptions, and outline methods of verification. K.M. Gurevich considers this type of diagnostic process as a kind of psychological art, a special "technology" generally focused on "intensive study of an individual case" and not always available to a practical psychologist.
Considering individual methods and tests within the framework of clinical diagnostics, K.M. Gurevich focuses on only one side of this approach - on the individual variant of using the methods of this plan and denies clinical diagnostics the possibility of any comparison of the results, that is, he considers it impossible to typify the data.
In accordance with this approach, the assessment procedure itself, the technology of analysis and the conclusions of a specialist are determined.
It should be immediately noted that when using the clinical approach and, accordingly, clinically oriented psychological methods, one can speak (using the classification criterion of K.M. Gurevich - the level of formalization) about methods medium level of formalization .
For such methods, from our point of view, the following criteria are characteristic:
- The presence of clear requirements for the examination procedure and at the same time the possibility relative changes depending on the age, condition of the child, that is, a certain variability.
- Possibility of variation and procedure, first of all, depending on the operational capabilities of the child (working capacity, mental tone, tempo characteristics of activity).
- Standardized stimulus material, but at the same time the admissibility of varying the presented stimuli depending on the age, condition of the child or the diagnostic hypothesis of the researcher.
- The absence of standardized age norms in the presence of qualitative or level-qualitative normative performance indicators, which depend primarily on the age of the child.
- The possibility of providing training assistance at various levels - from motivating to detailed, which is taken into account when assessing the quality of assignments.
- Typologically oriented analysis of the results of the survey, excluding a purely quantitative assessment, which, as a rule, does not explain anything for a particular individual. Possibility of multifunctional evaluation of performance results.
- Understanding the consistency and interdependence of results.
In a similar way, the chosen tools provide a much wider range of possibilities for analyzing the results obtained with their help, although they require more qualifications and experience from the psychologist.

CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO BURLACHUK

There is also a slightly different basis for the classification of diagnostic tools, based on the division of the research method into non-experimental (descriptive) and experimental , with selection within the framework of the last special psychodiagnostic method (Burlachuk, 2002). It is concretized by the author in three main diagnostic approaches (which, in his opinion, exhaust all known diagnostic methods): objective, subjective and projective methods.
The author of the most complete and well-known monograph on psychodiagnostics examines the hierarchical system of organization of diagnostic approaches, methods and tools.
Considering specific methods and techniques for diagnosing manifestations of human individuality, he proposes a traditional division into two types of methods: intelligence tests and methods for diagnosing personal characteristics .
The first are considered as general ability tests (diagnosis of the level of intellectual development), special ability tests (measuring the level of development of certain aspects of the intellect and psychomotor functions that ensure efficiency in specific, narrow areas of activity).
They are adjacent achievement tests (identifying the degree of mastery of certain knowledge, skills), which to some extent can also be considered as an assessment of certain aspects of intelligence.
Personal methods are conventionally divided by the author into action tests (targeted personality tests that involve some kind of perceptual action to detect masked figures) and situational tests (in which the subject is placed in some life situation).
Each of the approaches proposed by the author defines a group of homogeneous, close to each other methods.
Objective Approach , in which diagnostics is carried out on the basis of the success, effectiveness and / or method (features) of performing an activity, includes:
- intelligence tests;
- tests of special abilities;
- personality tests (objective);
- achievement tests.
Subjective approach as an assessment of information reported about oneself, self-description (self-assessment) of personality traits, state, behavior in certain situations is based on:
- personal questionnaires;
- mood and state questionnaires;
- questionnaires.
projective method (analysis of the features of interaction with externally neutral, impersonal material, which, due to its indeterminacy, becomes the object of projection) includes:
- motor-expressive techniques;
- perceptual-structural techniques;
- apperceptive-dynamic techniques.

ANOTHER LOOK

There are other classifications of methods and techniques used in psychological diagnostics. For example, the classification given in study guide edited by L.V. Kuznetsova (2002), which is focused on developmental and special psychology. There research methods are divided into non-instrumental (observation, conversation); non-hardware (instrumental) experimental (game, construction, tests, questionnaires, actions according to the model); hardware experimental (determination of the physical spatio-temporal characteristics of visual, auditory, tactile perception, memory, thinking, motor sphere) (Fundamentals of Special Psychology, 2002).
As can be seen from this short review, most classifications, focusing on the characteristics of the diagnostic process, the diagnostic methods and techniques themselves, do not directly take into account the types and forms. organizations diagnostic activity of a practical psychologist.
It seems to us more important for the practical activity of the psychologist of education to typologize the very organization diagnostic process.
This implies the need to include diagnostic tools in the assessment of the child's mental development, depending on the nature of the diagnostic work of the psychologist, the specific goals and objectives of the examination. Organized in this way typology diagnostic tools does not at all negate, rather complements other classifications within the diagnostic process.
At the same time, the categories and types of diagnostic tools are also determined by the age of the child being examined, the characteristics of his condition (mainly, his operational capabilities), and the diagnostic hypothesis of the psychologist.
From this point of view, we can say that the nature of the diagnostic procedure is determined by the following criteria.
- Form of examination: individual or group diagnostics.
- Type of diagnostic process: screening psychological diagnosis or in-depth.
- Stages of the examination procedure: primary or repeated assessment (the latter can again be subdivided into dynamic and final).
- Evaluation prolongation: monitoring or slice (single).
- The nature of the assessment. AT this case can talk about expert assessment (differential-level) and .
Each of the listed categories of the diagnostic process is characterized by its own, most effective in each case, technologies, methodological tools, and technologies for analyzing the results.
So, it is quite natural that group examination of children, the possibility of using clinically oriented methods (which we called methods of an average level of formalization) is limited.
In turn, the group form of the survey is possible only for screening diagnostics, which is aimed solely at identifying groups of children with certain characteristics, which allows us to speak of this type of diagnostic process as a expert, differential-level. Such group screening can be monitoring, and slice .
Advanced psychological diagnostics is focused on identifying the specifics of mental development in the broad sense of the word, understanding the mechanisms and causes that led to this type of conditionally normative or deviant development.
An in-depth assessment can only be carried out in individual examination mode. It is characterized, in connection with its main goals and focus, by the limitation of the use of psychometric tests, as well as the inability to combine depth and screening regimen.
In-depth psychological diagnostics can be:
- primary (as a rule, in a situation of an individual examination of a child, the primary assessment is an in-depth psychological diagnosis);
- dynamic , with the help of which the dynamics of development, the effectiveness of training, the dynamics of developing and / or corrective measures are monitored;
- final , the purpose of which is to assess the state of the child "at the exit", at the end of a certain stage of education, a cycle of developmental or corrective work.
Andmonitoring , and slice (single) diagnostics can be both individual and group, screening or in-depth, depending on the goals and objectives set for the specialist.

NATURE OF ASSESSMENT

Separately, one should dwell on the classification of diagnostic procedures according to such a criterion as nature of assessment . It is quite natural that almost any type of psychological diagnostics can be considered as an examination procedure, that is, “examination of any issue by experts to make a conclusion”, “research of any issue that requires special knowledge with the presentation of a reasoned conclusion” ( Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language, 1995).
The ultimate goal of any examination is the answer to the question posed by the customer, which is drawn up in the form of an expert opinion. The issues addressed by expert research are determined on the basis of the real needs of educational practice.
As can be seen from these definitions, practically the entire diagnostic component of professional psychological activity can be summed up under the concept of expertise. Such an overly broad interpretation of expert works, of course, does not have sufficient grounds.
At the same time, it makes sense to talk about peer review in the narrow sense of this concept - as one of the categories of the diagnostic procedure. The assessment of the state of the child, the level of his actual development in this case will not have an individual-qualitative character, but only a level or, more precisely, differential-level character.
At the same time, both a “binary” expert assessment (according to the “yes - no” type: whether a child or a group of children has a given feature, sign, functional development or not) and a multi-level assessment (three or four levels) have the right to exist.
In a similar way, for example, a level assessment of the development of children's cognitive activity in the well-known psychodiagnostic complex developed by L.I. Peresleni (1996), where the indicators of the intellectual development of children are "separated" into four levels.
In a situation like this true peer review we can talk about the typology of the state of children mediated by the levels of performance of tasks without determining the qualitative nature inherent in one or another of the identified types. Such a truly expert assessment should also include an assessment of the readiness of children to start schooling.
We have already expressed our position on this issue in guidelines(see "School psychologist", No. 9, 2003). In the case of such an assessment, the question is decided solely on the readiness or unpreparedness of the child for this type of educational institution, but not on the qualitative nature of its development and compliance with the requirements of the first grade program material.
According to the classification of psychodiagnostic situations V.N. Druzhinina (2001), the situation of expert (differential-level) assessment is characterized by a high level of social control over the behavior of the subject, coercion (even if in the form of external motivation of parents to undergo a psychological examination) to participate in the examination and decision-making on further behavior (for example, change educational route) against his will.
It is clear that such an expert assessment can be carried out both in individual , and group form, have screening kind, be slice (one-time) examination or have monitoring (reusable) character.
The goal is differential typological diagnosis is quality assessment of the child's mental development, its regulatory, cognitive and affective-emotional sphere, personal characteristics.
The result of such a complex psychological diagnosis should be a psychological diagnosis, which will allow not only to describe the current state of the child, to attribute him to a certain type of deviant (or conditionally normative) development, but also to provide a reliable forecast of his further development and education.

The tools that modern psychodiagnostics has at their disposal are divided into 2 groups according to their quality: methods of a high level of formalization and methods of low formalization.

Formalized methods include tests, questionnaires, projective technique and psychophysiological methods. They are characterized by strict regulation of the examination procedure (exact observance of instructions, strictly defined methods of presenting stimulus material, non-interference of the researcher in the activities of the subject, etc.), standardization (the presence of norms or other criteria for evaluating results), reliability and validity (for details, see Chap. .III). These techniques allow the collection of diagnostic information in a relatively short time and in a form that makes it possible to quantitatively and qualitatively compare the individual with other people.

Less formalized methods include such techniques as observations, surveys, and analysis of activity products. These methods provide very valuable information about the subject, especially when the subject of study is such mental phenomena that are difficult to objectify (for example, subjective experiences, personal meanings) or are extremely variable (dynamics of goals, states, moods, etc.). At the same time, it should be borne in mind that poorly formalized methods are very laborious (for example, observations of the subject are sometimes carried out for several months) and are largely based on professional experience, the psychological intuition of the psychodiagnostic himself. Only the presence of a high level of culture of conducting psychological observations, conversations helps to avoid the influence of random and side factors on the results of the survey.

Less formalized diagnostic tools should not be opposed to strictly formalized methods. As a rule, they complement each other. In a full-fledged diagnostic examination, a harmonious combination of formalized methods with slightly formalized ones is necessary. Thus, the collection of data using tests should be preceded by a period of familiarization with the subjects in terms of some objective and subjective indicators (for example, with the biographical data of the subjects, their inclinations, motivation, etc.). For this purpose, interviews, surveys, observations can be used.

§ 2. TECHNIQUES OF A HIGH LEVEL OF FORMALIZATION

As mentioned above, they include four main classes of methods: tests (which, in turn, are divided into several subclasses), questionnaires, projective techniques and psychophysiological methods (meaning only those developed in the school of B.M. Teplov).

Usually, in Western manuals, all methods for determining individual psychological differences are called tests, and books on diagnostics are called books on testology. However, in their psychological essence, tests and, for example, questionnaires are very dissimilar to each other. Methods of a projective nature are also a special tool, not similar to any of those listed. Therefore, for a better understanding of what diagnostics gives, they should be separated from each other by name. Psychophysiological methods should take a special place in the classification. These are original diagnostic tools that have arisen in our country.

Tests (translated from English as “test”, “test”, “test”) are standardized short and most often time-limited tests designed to establish quantitative (and qualitative) individual psychological differences.

Tests can be classified depending on which sign is taken as the basis of division. The following three grounds for classification seem to be the most significant: the form, content, and purpose of psychological testing.

FORM OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

The form of tests can be individual and group; oral and written; blank, subject, hardware and computer; verbal and non-verbal (practical).

Individual and group (collective) tests. Individual tests are a type of technique when the interaction between the experimenter and the subject takes place one on one. These tests have a long history. Psychodiagnostics began with them. Individual testing has its advantages: the ability to observe the subject (his facial expressions, other involuntary reactions), hear and record statements that are not provided for by the instructions, which allows you to assess the attitude towards testing, the functional state of the subject, etc. In addition, the psychologist, based on the level of preparedness of the subject , can replace one test with another during the course of the experiment. Individual diagnostics is necessary when working with children of infancy and preschool age, in clinical psychology - for testing people with somatic or neuropsychiatric disorders, people with physical disabilities, etc. It is also necessary in those cases when close contact between the experimenter and the subject is needed in order to optimize his activity. For individual testing, as a rule, a lot of time is needed. It makes high demands on the skill level of the experimenter. In this respect, individual tests are less economical than group tests.

Group tests- this is a type of technique that allows you to simultaneously conduct tests with a very large group of people (up to several hundred people).

One of the main advantages of group tests is the mass nature of the tests. Another advantage is that the instructions and procedure are quite simple, and the experimenter does not require high qualifications. In group testing, the uniformity of the experimental conditions is observed to a large extent. The processing of the results is usually more objective. The results of most group tests can be processed on a computer. Another advantage of group testing is the relative ease and speed of data collection and, as a result, more favorable conditions for comparison with the criterion compared to individual testing. It is not unusual for most modern standardized tests to have normative samples of between 100,000 and 200,000 people, while even the most carefully designed individual tests have difficulty collecting data for 2,000 to 4,000 people when standardized.

However, certain disadvantages of group testing should also be noted. Thus, the experimenter has much less opportunity to reach an understanding with the subject, to interest him and secure his consent to cooperate. Any random conditions of the subject, such as illness, fatigue, restlessness and anxiety, which can affect the performance of tasks, are much more difficult to identify in group testing. In general, persons unfamiliar with such a procedure are more likely to show lower results in group tests than in individual ones. Therefore, in those cases where the decision made on the basis of the test results is important for the subject, it is desirable to supplement the results of group testing either with an individual check of unclear cases, or with information obtained from other sources.

Oral and written tests. These tests differ in the form of the answer. Oral most often are individual tests, written - group. Oral answers in some cases can be formulated by the subject independently ("open" answers), in others - he must choose from several proposed answers and name the one that he considers correct ("closed" answers). In written tests, answers are given to the subjects either in a test book or on a specially designed answer sheet. Written responses may also be "open" or "closed" in nature.

Blank, subject, hardware, computer tests. These tests differ in the material of the operation. Blank tests (another well-known name is Pencil and Paper tests) are presented in the form of notebooks, brochures that contain instructions for use, examples of solutions, the tasks themselves and columns for answers (if young children are being tested). For older teenagers, options are provided when the answers are not entered in test notebooks, but on separate forms. This allows you to use the same test notebooks over and over until they wear out. Blank tests can be used for both individual and group testing.

In subject tests, the material of test tasks is presented in the form of real objects: cubes, cards, details of geometric shapes, structures and components of technical devices, etc. The most famous of them are the Koss cubes, the addition test of figures from the Veksler set, the Vygotsky-Sakharov test. Subject tests are mostly conducted individually.

Hardware tests are a type of technique that requires the use of special technical means or special equipment to conduct research or record the data obtained. Widely known devices for studying reaction time (reactors, reflexometers), devices for studying the characteristics of perception, memory, thinking. In recent years, hardware tests have made extensive use of computer devices. With their help, various types of activities (for example, a driver, an operator) are modeled. This is especially important for professional, criterion-oriented diagnostics. In most cases, hardware tests are carried out individually.

Computer tests. This is an automated type of testing in the form of a dialogue between the subject and the computer. Test tasks are presented on the display screen, and the subject enters the answers into the computer memory using the keyboard; thus, the protocol is immediately created as a data set (file) on a magnetic medium. Standard statistical packages allow very fast mathematical and statistical processing of the obtained results in different directions. If desired, you can get information in the form of graphs, tables, charts, profiles.

With the help of a computer, the experimenter receives for analysis such data that it is almost impossible to obtain without a computer:

the time to complete the test tasks, the time to get the correct answers, the number of refusals to solve and seek help, the time spent by the subject thinking about the answer when refusing the decision, the time to enter the answer (if it is complex) into the computer, etc. These features of the subjects can be used for in-depth psychological analysis during the testing process.

Verbal and non-verbal tests. These tests differ in the nature of the stimulus material. In verbal tests, the main content of the work of the subjects is operations with concepts, mental actions carried out in a verbal-logical form.

The tasks that make up these methods appeal to memory, imagination, thinking in their mediated speech form. They are very sensitive to differences in language culture, level of education, professional features. The verbal type of tasks is most common among intelligence tests, achievement tests, and when evaluating special abilities (for example, creative ones).

Non-verbal tests are a type of methodology in which the test material is presented in a visual form (in the form of pictures, drawings, graphics, etc.). They include the speech ability of the subjects only in terms of understanding instructions, while the very performance of these tasks is based on perceptual, psychomotor functions. The most famous non-verbal test is Raven's Progressive Matrices. Non-verbal tests reduce the influence of language and cultural differences on the test result. They also facilitate the examination of subjects with speech, hearing, or low levels of education. Non-verbal tests are widely used in assessing spatial and combinatorial thinking. As separate subtests, they are included in many tests of intelligence, general and special abilities, tests of achievement.

Intelligence tests. Designed to study and measure the level of human intellectual development. They are the most common psychodiagnostic techniques.

Intelligence as an object of measurement does not mean any manifestations of individuality, but primarily those that are related to cognitive processes and functions (thinking, memory, attention, perception). In form, intelligence tests can be group and individual, oral and written, blank, subject and computer.

Ability tests. This is a type of methodology designed to assess the ability of an individual to acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for one or more activities.

It is customary to distinguish between general and special abilities. General abilities provide mastery of many activities. General abilities are identified with intellect, and therefore they are often called general intellectual (mental) abilities.

Unlike general, special abilities are considered in relation to individual types of activity. In accordance with this division, tests of general and special abilities are developed.

In their form, ability tests are of a diverse nature (individual and group, oral and written, blank, subject, instrumental, etc.).

achievement tests, or, as they can be called differently, tests of objective control of success (school, professional, sports) are designed to assess the degree of advancement of abilities, knowledge, skills, abilities after a person has completed training, professional and other training. Thus, achievement tests primarily measure the impact that a relatively standard set of influences has on an individual's development. They are widely used to assess school, educational, and professional achievements. This explains their large number and variety.

School achievement tests are mainly group and blank, but can also be presented in a computer version.

Professional achievement tests usually take three different forms: instrumental (performance or action tests), written, and oral.

Personality tests. These are psychodiagnostic techniques aimed at assessing the emotional and volitional components of mental activity - motivation, interests, emotions, relationships (including interpersonal), as well as the ability of an individual to behave in certain situations. Thus, personality tests diagnose non-intellectual manifestations.

Personal characteristics are measured using three types of methods: tests, questionnaires and projective techniques.

Detailed tests of intelligence, abilities, achievements and personality are discussed in the relevant chapters of the manual.

OBJECTIVES OF PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING

The correct assessment and interpretation of the results of psychological testing should be based on knowledge of the purpose for which they are used.

The reason that prompted Binet to develop tests in his time was the need to identify mentally retarded children with their subsequent determination in special schools. To this day, the definition of inferiority remains an important area of ​​application. certain types psychological tests. However, in this case, testing is carried out only for the purpose of compiling psychological characteristics concerning the specific features of thinking, memory, attention and other mental processes of the child, and the final conclusion about whether he is mentally retarded or simply pedagogically neglected is made by defectologists. According to the same scheme, the use of psychodiagnostic data in medicine, in the judiciary (at the request of the court for the preparation of a psychological examination). In all these cases, the test results are intended for representatives of related specialties who use them to make a non-psychological diagnosis (for example, in medicine - to determine the form of the disease) or for one or another decision (administrative, judicial, etc.).

Quite an extensive application of psychological tests is found in the education system, where, based on their results, a psychological diagnosis is made. The distribution of children according to their abilities, according to which they are applied different types schooling; identifying the incapable, on the one hand, and the gifted, on the other; identifying the psychological causes of school failure are just some examples of the use of tests in education. In school practice, tests can also be used for the purpose of professional consultations and for selection to certain vocational schools and colleges.

The use of tests in counseling has gradually expanded from narrowly focused advice on educational and professional problems to a deep consideration of aspects of a person's whole life Emotional states and interpersonal relationships are increasingly becoming the object of counseling Psychological testing is increasingly being used as a means of self-knowledge and self-development, behavior correction, etc. Indicators tests become a tool that facilitates the decision-making process for the individual.

Psychological tests are also used to study very different problems, such as age-related changes in human development, the effectiveness of different teaching methods, the impact of psychotherapy, the dependence of performance on noise.

The selection and distribution of personnel in industrial enterprises is another fairly large area of ​​application for tests. Abroad, psychological testing is used when hiring people for work, distributing responsibilities, transferring to a new place, promotion or dismissal. Similarly, psychological testing is used in the selection and deployment of military personnel.

In the works of domestic psychologists, the use of tests as tools is increasingly common. practical work on vocational selection and vocational consultation At the same time, the need for

To begin with, let us define the range of development of this problem and briefly list the scientists.

Scientists who dealt with the problem of classifying psychodiagnostic methods: B. G. Ananiev, L. Frank and others.

Classification of psychodiagnostic methods according to B. G. Ananiev

Consider the definitions of the method and psychodiagnostic methods.

Definition

A method is a class of techniques that are united by common principles.

The peculiarity of the psychodiagnostic method is measuring and testing orientation, due to which a full assessment of the studied property is possible.

Definition

Psychodiagnostic technique is a private technique aimed at obtaining information about the studied property.

Exists three diagnostic approaches which cover all psychodiagnostic techniques.

1. "objective" approach. Here, diagnostics can be carried out only on the indicators of success and the way tasks are performed. In this approach, tests of intelligence, achievement and ability are observed.
2. “Subjective approach. In this approach, the diagnosis is carried out using the subjective information of the subject. This approach is represented by a variety of personality questionnaires.
3. "projective" approach. Here, diagnostics is based on the study of certain features of the client's interaction with various stimuli that are presented to him. As a rule, projective methods are not standardized enough. It is not easy for them to derive test norms, since they are purely individual for each subject. At the same time, they give a good and deep result, which reflects a part of the client's unconscious.

The main classification of psychodiagnostic methods according to B. G. Ananiev is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. "Classification of psychological research methods according to B. G. Ananiev"

Classification of psychodiagnostic methods according to L. Frank

1. Structuring techniques. The subject is offered meaningless material, which is aimed at forming the subjective meaning of the client. Some projective techniques can serve as an example.
2. Design methods. The subject is invited to construct and interpret from various details.
3. Interpretive methods. The subject is offered an interpretation of situations that do not provide for only a single interpretation.
4. Additive techniques include stories or sentences that need to be supplemented.
5. Expressive techniques include various drawing techniques.
6. Impressive techniques. The subject is asked to rank the presented stimuli.
7. refractive techniques.
8. Methods of catharsis. A separate group is made up of dialogic techniques, in which the psychodiagnostic comes into contact with the subject and achieves the best results. diagnostic results due to the specific features of this contact, relevant (corresponding) to the diagnostic task. Thus, trusting contact is necessary in diagnosing family difficulties, the nature of the child's personal development, personal problems, and in many other cases in which the diagnostician acts simultaneously either as a consultant or as a psychotherapist. The situation of pathopsychological examination also dictates the construction of communication according to the type of examination. Dialogue techniques can be

• verbal (interviews,

Psychodiagnostic methods- these are methods that allow you to quantify and evaluate the various characteristics of people that determine the state of their inner nature and relationships with the outside world. Quantitative expression is achieved through the organization of a special stimulus environment in which the subject is placed, the registration of his indicators and reactions, and the transformation of these indicators into an assessment of the diagnosed properties. Psychodiagnostics includes wide range scientific approaches. The diversity of these approaches leads to the functioning of various types of classifications of psychodiagnostic methods, depending on the attributes identified by different authors as relevant and significant for the classification.

Let's consider some of them. According to K.M. Gurevich, the means by which psychodiagnostics correlates are divided into two groups according to their quality: methods of high level of formalization and semi-formalized methods.

Formalized methods include tests, questionnaires, projective technique and psychophysiological methods. A characteristic feature of this group is the strict regulation of the examination procedure (verbatim observance of instructions, strict methods of presenting stimulus material, non-interference of the researcher in the work of the subject), standardization (the presence of norms or other evaluation criteria), as well as validity and reliability. They are simple and do not require special training from the experimenter.

Let's analyze the formalized methods by subgroups:

Tests:

according to the form of conducting: individual and group;

by the form of answers: oral and written;

according to the material of operation: blank, subject, hardware, computer, etc.;

by the nature of the stimulus material: verbal, non-verbal, mixed;

by purpose: the definition of inferiority, psychological diagnosis in education, counseling, study of problems, selection and distribution, professional selection and professional consultation, etc.

Questionnaires:

personal (open, closed, semi-open);

Projective techniques:

structuring techniques - the formation of incentives from a set of facts (objects, personal experience) and giving them meaning;

design techniques - creating a whole from parts;

interpretation techniques - explanation of an event or situation;

supplement techniques - completion of the story, pictures;

methods of catharsis play activity, simulation of the situation;

methods of studying expression - drawing on a given topic;

methods of studying impression - preference for stimuli in the proposed sequence of stimuli.

Less formalized methods include techniques such as observation, questioning, analysis of activity products. They provide very valuable information about the subject, in particular when analyzing mental phenomena that are difficult to objectify (experiences, motivation, personal principles, etc.) or are constantly changing (mood, changing goals, etc.). The downside of formalized methods is their laboriousness (observations are carried out over a long period of time) and are based on the experience and intuition of a psychodiagnostic.

In general, a more or less detailed classification of psychodiagnostic methods can be compiled only by identifying general criteria, according to which various psychodiagnostic methods will be combined into separate groups. These criteria are as follows:

1) the type of test tasks used in the methodology;

2) the addressee to whom the test material used in the methodology is sent;

3) the form of presentation of the test material to the subjects;

4) the nature of the data used to draw conclusions about the results of psychodiagnostics;

5) the presence of test norms in the methodology;

6) the internal structure of the methodology.

Let's try to consider each group of methods separately. According to the type of test tasks used, psychodiagnostic methods are divided into:

questionnaires(the subject is asked certain questions),

approvers(judgments or statements are used with which the subject must agree or disagree), productive (emphasis is placed on the type of creative output of the subject: verbal, figurative, material, etc.),

effective(the subject is given the task to perform a series of practical actions, according to the nature of which his personality is assessed),

physiological(this psychodiagnostics is based on the analysis of involuntary physical or physiological reactions of the human body).

Thus, to assess the psychological portrait of a certain person, one can use his answers to direct or indirect questions, his agreement or disagreement with certain statements, the products of his oral, written, motor, sensory, visual, technical or other activities, his arbitrary and involuntary reactions in response to special incentives, etc.

According to the addressee of the test material, psychodiagnostic methods can be divided into:

conscious that appeal to the mind of the subject

(questionnaires),

unconscious that are aimed at the unconscious

human reactions (projective techniques).

According to the form of presentation of the test material, psychodiagnostic methods are divided into:

blank(test material in a written or some other sign format: in the form of a drawing, diagram, etc.),

technical(test material in audio or video format, as well as through other technical equipment and a computer),

sensory(material in the form of physical stimuli aimed at the human senses).

According to the nature of the data, psychodiagnostic methods are divided into:

objective(data that do not depend on the consciousness and desire of both the subject and the experimenter);

subjective(data that are completely dependent on the consciousness and desire of the experimenter or subject, related to their experience and dependent on it). Methods of an objective type include tests that include the analysis of physiological, reflexive indicators or real products of the subject's activity, when using which subjective assessment reduced to almost zero. An example of a technique of the subjective type is that technique, which in particular relies on conclusions drawn from intuition and inner experience. According to the criterion of the presence of test norms, psychodiagnostic methods are divided into:

having similar standards;

not having them.

According to the internal structure, the methods of psychodiagnostics can be divided into:

monomeric;

multidimensional.

The first is characterized by the fact that they diagnose and evaluate the only property of the personality, and the second is that they are used to assess several psychological qualities of a person at once (whether of the same type or different types). In the latter case, the methodology for diagnosing personality psychology is divided into several special methods - subscales that evaluate private psychological qualities. An example of a monomeric technique is the well-known Spielberger-Khanin test, and an example of a multidimensional one is the Cattell personality test.

At the same time, it must be remembered that the same psychodiagnostic technique can be considered and qualified from the point of view of different aspects and according to different criteria. It follows that any technique can be attributed not to one, but to several classifications at once. As a result, it is important to consider the categories of classification of psychodiagnostic methods identified and defined above not as mutually exclusive, but as complementary to each other, as possible and actually existing aspects of their analysis and division into classes.

Separate from other classifications are psychodiagnostic methods based on quality and quantitative test data analysis. In the first type of analysis, the diagnosed property is determined by known scientific concepts, and in the second case, by comparing the development of a given person with other people. In some cases, quantitative and qualitative types of analysis are combined within the same methodology, which ultimately gives a double characteristic - quantitative and qualitative.

In addition, all methods of psychodiagnostics can be divided into scientific and practical. It should be noted that this classification is conditional, since most of the most applicable psychodiagnostic methods are used both in practice and in scientific research. The difference between them is that research methods are mainly focused on identifying and studying some psychological quality for purely scientific purposes, while practical methods are aimed at assessing the degree of personality development and using the data obtained for practical purposes. On top of that, the scientific method is often costly, time-consuming, costly and is used only within the framework of the study, proving to be unsuitable for widespread practical psychodiagnostics for the above reasons. The practical technique, on the contrary, is easy to use, universal.

Having considered the various criteria and types of classifications, let's move on to the consideration of certain types of psychodiagnostic methods, namely tests by the criterion of content.

Intelligence Tests- tests of psychological testing aimed at studying the degree of development of intelligence in humans. Western and Russian schools of psychodiagnostics have their own separate tests. The Binet scale is a test of the intelligence quotient (IQ). It defines the boundaries of the norm, which indicate the normal intellectual development of a person of a certain age - from 84 to 116 (below 84 is an indicator of low intelligence, above 116 is an indicator of high development). Intelligence tests are widely used in Western countries: in the education system, as well as in employment.

school test mental development - STUR (developed by the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education) for students in grades 7-9 is an example of a domestic intelligence scale. It is followed by a special mental development test for applicants and high school students - ASTUR (based on the material of school programs and textbooks for studying the level of mental development of high school graduates). It includes a number of subtests to test such skills and knowledge as: awareness, double analogies, lability, classifications, generalization, logical schemes, number series and geometric shapes.

Ability tests represent the identification of the potential predisposition of the individual to the successful implementation of a certain type of activity. They are widely used in practice, in particular in psychological vocational guidance. Ability tests are divided: a) by types of mental functions - sensory, motor tests, b) by types of activity - technical and professionalized tests.

Motor tests check dexterity, coordination of movements, motor skills, etc.). This group includes the Stromberg dexterity test, the Crawford test of the speed of manipulating small objects, the test of M. I. Gurevich and N. I. Ozeretsky, etc.

Sensory tests used to determine the acuity of the senses: vision, hearing, tactility, etc. Here they distinguish the Snellen table, the Seashore test of musical talent, the Wing test, etc.

Technical Ability Tests analyze the features that allow you to work effectively with a variety of equipment or its components. The most striking example is the Bennett test.

Achievement Tests consider the educational achievements of the individual. They are also called success tests, didactic tests, teacher tests. Achievement tests assess the success of mastering certain knowledge, they more objectively show the level of learning than assessment.

Achievement tests are separate from the actual psychological tests (ability, intelligence):

with their help, the success of mastering a particular educational material, which is limited to certain limits;

tests differ in the purposes of their application. Achievement tests differ from intelligence tests in that the latter are not aimed at diagnosing specific knowledge or facts, but require the testee to be able to handle concepts, perform certain mental actions, such as classifications, generalizations, analogies, etc.

There are three types of achievement tests:

1) execution tests (action tests),

2) work samples,

3) written and oral tests.

Action Tests- this is a series of tasks that are most significant for the successful implementation of a certain professional activity (simulators, simulation of real work activity). These include the Blackstone Stenographer Proficiency Test, Purdieu's Office Adaptation Test, Thurston's Typing Skills Test, and so on.

Written tests are aimed at testing special knowledge, awareness (narrow professional orientation), awareness and represent a set of questions that are presented to the subject on special forms. The advantage of this method is the ability to simultaneously check a whole group of people.

Oral tests Professional Achievements are a series of questions about specific professional knowledge that are asked in the form of an interview. They are easy to use, versatile and easy to interpret.

personality tests are psychodiagnostic tests and procedures specifically aimed at studying personality structures. They study the features of motivation, personality traits, attitudes, self-regulation, features inner peace person, his system of values ​​or motivating factors. For most personality tests, it is impossible to apply the criteria of reliability, validity and standardization. In fact, there are many personality tests, consider only the most famous of them:

1) R. Cattell's sixteen-factor questionnaire, or 16-PF - measurement of 16 personality factors - personality traits;

2) G. Eysenck's questionnaire - a three-factor model, including P, E and N scales, according to the first letters of the English names of the terms "psychoticism", "extraversion-introversion" and "neuroticism";

3) Diagnosis of motivational tendencies or A. Edwards test - a questionnaire based on 225 pairs of judgments that form 15 scales: achievement motivation, acceptance of authorities, love of order, demonstrativeness, autonomy, tolerance, self-perception, acceptance of guardianship, dominance, guilt, willingness to patronize others, radicalism, persistence in achieving goals, heterosexuality, aggressiveness.

4) The Kelly repertoire grid test is a method for studying the individual categorical structure of a personality (24 role characters: teacher, wife, leader, father, mother, etc., belonging to seven groups: “I”, “family”, “relationships”, “close ”, “authority”, “situational characters”, “values”);

5) Method of time distribution - S. Ya. Rubinshtein - determination of preferences, interests and attitudes of the individual through the free distribution of time by the interviewee at his discretion.

Projective techniques are designed to diagnose personality. This is the most complex and at the same time interesting group of methods, which are characterized by an integrated approach to personality assessment, rather than identifying individual traits.

The subject must interpret, develop and determine the stimuli himself. At the same time, such qualities as interests and attitudes of the individual, motivation, value orientations, fears and anxieties, unconscious needs and urges, etc. are diagnosed.

This group of methods is characterized by the following:

1) the ambiguity of the stimulus material that the subject must solve;

2) low standardization of the examination procedure;

3) projective methods require a lot of experience, high professional qualifications, and a creative approach.

Groups of projective methods:

1) Structuring techniques: interpreting stimuli, giving them meaning (Rorschach test).

Rorschach test: The subject is asked to interpret ten ink blots symmetrical about the vertical axis.

2) Design techniques: creating a single whole from parts (test of the world). World test: the subject is offered more than 200 models of various objects (people, animals, cars, houses, etc.), and he creates a certain world from the models.

3) Interpretation techniques: interpretation of an event, situation (thematic apperceptive test (TAT)). TAT: the subject is given a set of pictures, his task is to compose plot stories based on the situation depicted on each table.

4) Methods of catharsis: the implementation of gaming activities (projective play, psychodrama). Psychodrama: A therapeutic group process that uses dramatic improvisation to explore the person's inner world, develop the person's potential and empowerment. The features of a person, reflected in a certain spelling of letters and words, are investigated.

5) Impressive techniques: preference for some stimuli over others (Luscher test). Luscher's test: from the proposed colors, choose the one that you like best.

6) Adaptive or complementary techniques: completion of an unfinished sentence, story (Sachs-Levy test). Sachs-Levy test: the subject is given the task of completing sentences.

The subject of psychodiagnostics

Psychodiagnostics is not only a direction in practical psychodiagnostics, but also a theoretical discipline.

Psychodiagnostics in a practical sense can be defined as the establishment of a psychodiagnostic diagnosis - a description of the state of objects, which can be an individual, group or organization.

Psychodiagnostics is carried out on the basis of special methods. May enter integral part in an experiment or act independently, as a method of research or as a field of activity of a practical psychologist, while heading for an examination, and not for research.

In a psychodiagnostic examination, 3 main stages can be distinguished:

Data collection.

Data processing and interpretation.

Making a decision is a psychodiagnostic diagnosis and prognosis.

Psychodiagnostics as a science is defined as a field of psychology that develops methods for identifying and measuring individual psychological characteristics of a person.

The emergence of psychodiagnostics as a science and the main stages of its development.

The history of modern psychodiagnostics begins in the first quarter of the 19th century, i.e. since the beginning of the clinical period in the development of psychodiagnostic knowledge. Psychiatrists began to conduct systematic observations of patients in clinics, recording and analyzing the results of their observations.

At this time, such methods of psychodiagnostics as observation, questioning, analysis of documents appear. But these methods were wornqualitative character, therefore, according to the same data, different doctors often made different conclusions.

Only in the second half of the 19th century, when the German psychologist Wundt created the world's first psychodiagnostic laboratory, where they began to use technical devices and devices, methods of psychodiagnostics acquiredquantitative character.

Methods of psychodiagnostics and their classification

Currently, many psychodiagnostic methods have been created and are being used in practice. At the beginning of the twentieth century. in psychodiagnostics as a science, the requirements for the most developed modern sciences like physics. These are operationalization and verification requirements.

Operationalization - implies indications of practical actions or operations that any researcher can perform in order to make sure that the phenomenon defined in the concept has exactly the properties that are attributed to it.

Verification - that is, any new concept introduced into scientific circulation and claiming to be scientific, must be tested for its non-emptiness, that is, for the reality of the existence of the phenomenon defined by this concept.

Classification of methods according to Ananiev Boris Gerasimovich:

1. Organizational methods:

a comparative method, consisting in the fact that any groups of subjects are compared, for example, a group of patients is compared with a group of healthy ones,

longitudinal method, when multiple examinations of the same people are performed over long periods of time - up to tens of years.

a complex method, when specialists from various fields of knowledge participate in one research program: psychologists, teachers, doctors, mathematicians, etc.

2. Empirical methods. The word empirical means based on experience. Thus, in the name of this group of methods, the practical orientation of the methods is emphasized. See below for more details on these methods.

3. Data processing methods.

methods of quantitative analysis, here we mean a very extensive group of methods of mathematical data processing and methods of statistics in application to the problems of psychological research.

methods of qualitative analysis: differentiation of factual material into groups, description of typical and exceptional cases.

4. Interpretation methods.

It must be clearly understood that the actual data itself still means little. The researcher receives results in the process of interpreting the actual data, so a lot depends on this or that interpretation.

The genetic (phylo - and ontogenetic) method makes it possible to interpret all the factual material in terms of development, highlighting phases, stages of development, as well as critical moments in the formation of mental functions. As a result, "vertical" links are established between levels of development.

The structural method establishes "horizontal" links between various elements psyche, while using the usual methods of studying all kinds of structures, in particular, classification and typology.

Brief characteristics of psychodiagnostic methods

Blank methods - make up the majority of them. In them, the subject is offered a series of judgments or questions. According to the answers received, the psychology of the subject is judged.

These techniques are easy to develop, use and process the results.

Survey Methods - rank second in terms of frequency of use. In them, the subject is asked oral questions, notes and processes his answers.

Flaws:

subjectivity, which is manifested both in the choice of the questions themselves and in the interpretation of the answers to them;

these techniques are difficult to standardize and, consequently, to achieve high reliability and comparability of results.

Drawing psychodiagnostic techniques - use the drawings created by the subject, which may be thematic or spontaneous. Sometimes the method of interpretation of the finished images by the subject is used.

Projective Methods - in turn, they can be blank, questionnaire, pictorial. They are used more and more often, since the methods of this group are the most valid and informative.

Objective manipulation techniques - in which the tasks solved by the subjects are offered to them in the form of real objects with which something has to be done - to assemble, manufacture, disassemble, etc.

A more detailed classification of psychodiagnostic methods can be presented by highlighting other criteria (see Table 1)

Table 1. Classification of psychodiagnostic methods

Method name

a brief description of

By the type of test tasks used

Questionnaires

Questions addressed to the examinees are used

Approvers

Judgments or statements are used with which the subject must agree or disagree

Productive

Apply your own creativity. products of the subjects - verbal, figurative, material

Effective

Task to perform a certain set of practical actions

Physiological

P / diagnostics based on the analysis of involuntary physical or physiological r-tions of the body

By destination of the test material used

conscious

Appeal to the consciousness of the subject

unconscious

Aimed at unconscious human reactions

According to the form of presentation of the test material to the subjects

blank

Test material in written or other sign form (drawing, diagram, etc.)

technical

Test material in audio, video or film format, or other technical devices

sensory

Test material in the form of physical stimuli directly addressed to the senses

By the nature of the data used to draw conclusions about the results of p / diagnostics

objective

Indicators are used that do not depend on the consciousness and desire of the subject or experimenter

subjective

Indicators are used that depend on the desire and consciousness of the experimenter or the subject (for example, introspection

By the presence of test norms in the methodology

Having test norms

Not having test norms

According to the internal structure of the methodology

monomeric

They diagnose and evaluate the only quality

Multidimensional

Designed for p / diagnosis or evaluation of several of the same or heterogeneous psychological qualities of a person at once

By type of experimental data analysis

qualitative

The property to be diagnosed is described using well-known scientific concepts

quantitative

The diagnosed property is described in terms of the relative degree of its development in a given person compared to other people

Special requirements for psychodiagnostic methods

To be sure of the reliability of the results of psychodiagnostic studies, it is necessary that the psychodiagnostic methods used be scientifically substantiated, i.e., meet a number of requirements.

These requirements are

Validity - "usefulness", "fitness", "correspondence". There are several types of validity.

Theoretical validity is determined by the correspondence of the indicators of the quality under study, obtained using this method, to the indicators obtained using other methods. Theoretical validity is checked by correlations of indicators of the same property, obtained using various methods based on or proceeding from the same theory.

Empirical validity - is checked by the correspondence of diagnostic indicators to real behavior, observed actions and reactions of the subject. According to the criterion of empirical validity, the methodology is checked by comparing its indicators with the real life behavior of people.

Validity internal - means the compliance of the tasks, subtests, judgments, etc. contained in the methodology with the general goal and design of the methodology as a whole. It is considered internally invalid when all or part of the questions, tasks or subtests do not measure what is required from this methodology.

External validity is approximately the same as empirical validity, but here we are talking about the relationship between the indicators of the methodology and the most important outward signs related to the behavior of the subject.

The validity of the methodology is checked and refined in the process of its fairly long-term use.

Validity Criteria:

Behavioral indicators - reactions, actions and deeds of the subject in different life situations.

Achievements of the subject in various activities: educational, labor, creative, etc.

Data on the performance of various control samples and tasks.

Data obtained from other methods, the validity of which or the relationship with this method is considered to be reliably established.

Reliability - characterizes the possibility of obtaining sustainable indicators using this technique. The reliability of a psychodiagnostic technique can be established in two ways:

by comparing the results obtained by this technique by different people

by comparing the results obtained by the same method under different conditions.

The unambiguity of the methodology is characterized by the extent to which the data obtained with its help reflect changes in precisely and only the property for which this methodology is used.

Accuracy - reflects the ability of the technique to subtly respond to the slightest changes in the estimated property that occur during the psychodiagnostic experiment. The more accurate the psychodiagnostic technique, the more finely it can be used to evaluate gradations and reveal shades of the measured quality, although in practical psychodiagnostics a very high degree of accuracy of assessments is not always required.

List of used literature

1. Abramova G.S. Practical psychology. Ed. 3 Yekaterinburg: Business Book, 1998. 368 p.

2. Nemov R. S. Psychology: In 3 books. Book. 3: Psychodiagnostics. M.: “VLADOS”, 1998.-632p.

3. Rogov E.I. handbook of a practical psychologist: In 2 kn.-M.: ed. VLADOS, 1998.-Kn. 1-384c:

4. Dictionary of a practical psychologist / comp. S.Yu Golovin. - Minsk: Harvest, 1998. - 800 p.

5. Modern Dictionary of Psychology.-Mn.: “ modern word”, 1998. - 768 p.

Currently, many psychodiagnostic methods have been created and are being used in practice. At the beginning of the twentieth century. in psychodiagnostics as a science, the requirements for the most developed modern sciences, such as physics, were recognized and accepted. These are operationalization and verification requirements.

Operationalization - implies indications of practical actions or operations that any researcher can perform in order to make sure that the phenomenon defined in the concept has exactly the properties that are attributed to it.

Verification - that is, any new concept introduced into scientific circulation and claiming to be scientific, must be tested for its non-emptiness, that is, for the reality of the existence of the phenomenon defined by this concept.

The most general classification scheme for psychodiagnostic methods can be represented as the following scheme:

Brief characteristics of psychodiagnostic methods

Blank methods- make up the majority of them. In them, the subject is offered a series of judgments or questions. According to the answers received, the psychology of the subject is judged.

These techniques are easy to develop, use and process the results.

Survey Methods- rank second in terms of frequency of use. In them, the subject is asked oral questions, notes and processes his answers.

Flaws:

subjectivity, which is manifested both in the choice of the questions themselves and in the interpretation of the answers to them;

these techniques are difficult to standardize and, consequently, to achieve high reliability and comparability of results.

Drawing psychodiagnostic techniques- use the drawings created by the subject, which may be thematic or spontaneous. Sometimes the method of interpretation of the finished images by the subject is used.

Projective Methods- in turn, they can be blank, questionnaire, pictorial. They are used more and more often, since the methods of this group are the most valid and informative.

Objective manipulation techniques- in which the tasks solved by the subjects are offered to them in the form of real objects with which something has to be done - to assemble, manufacture, disassemble, etc.

A more detailed classification of psychodiagnostic methods can be presented by highlighting other criteria (see Table 1)

Table 1. Classification of psychodiagnostic methods