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Methodological foundations of the study of man. Open Library - an open library of educational information. Psychology as a science

1.1 Methodological foundations for the study of human psychology

How to understand the behavior of another person? Why do people have different abilities? What is the "soul" and what is its nature? These and other questions have always occupied the minds of people, and over time, interest in a person and his behavior has constantly increased.

A rational approach to cognition of the world is based on the fact that the reality around us exists independently of our consciousness, can be investigated empirically, and the observed phenomena are quite explainable from a scientific point of view. To implement this approach, it is necessary to have a general idea of the subject of research. In various areas of science, scientists have repeatedly attempted to formulate a holistic view of a person. Of course, such a notion exists in psychology as well.

The complexity and originality of mental phenomena requires the researcher to know the basic principles and methods of their study. The theoretical guidelines that guide the researcher in the study of any objects and phenomena are called principles.

Methods are techniques and means used by scientists to study objects and phenomena in order to obtain new knowledge about their properties, patterns and mechanisms of their occurrence and existence - See: Sorokun P.A. Fundamentals of psychology. Pskov: PGPU, 2005. P.36. . The doctrine of the principles and methods of organization and implementation of research and practical activities, which are guided by scientists, is called methodology.

One of the most popular approaches to the study of a person in Russian psychology was proposed by B.G. Ananiev. Assessing the significance of Ananiev's activities for domestic science, first of all, it must be emphasized that he developed a fundamentally new methodological approach to the study of the human psyche - See: Maklakov A. G. General psychology. -- St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001. P.15. . This made it possible not only to single out new sections of psychology that had not previously existed as independent ones, but also to take a fresh look at the person himself. Speaking about the main features of the development of scientific knowledge about man, Ananiev noted that the problem of man is becoming a common problem for all science as a whole. At the same time, the scientific knowledge of man is characterized by both the ever-increasing differentiation and specialization of individual disciplines, and the tendency to combine various sciences and methods of studying man. Modern science is more and more interested in problems related to human health, his creativity, learning and, of course, his thoughts and experiences, and the study of man and human activity is carried out comprehensively, taking into account all aspects of these problems.

The subject of psychology research is mental processes, or experiences. The first necessary condition for the successful solution of the problems facing psychology is to take into account as completely and adequately as possible all the material relating to the subject of research. In connection with this, a new question arises before us - how, in what way does psychology obtain material for its research, what are its methods.

Psychology, like any other science, has its own methods. Scientific research methods 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 its methods are, how reliable and valid they are. 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. Over time, it turned out to be integrated methods of various sciences. These are the methods of philosophy and sociology, mathematics and physics, computer science and cybernetics, physiology and medicine, biology and history, and a number of other sciences - See: Nemov R.S. Psychology: Proc. for stud. higher ped. textbook institutions: In 3 books. -- 4th ed. -- M.: Humanit. ed. center VLADOS, 2003. - Book. 1: General foundations of psychology. P.17. .

Thanks to the application of the methods of natural and exact sciences, psychology, starting from the second half of the 19th century, became 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. Analysis and reasonable generalization of this kind of life facts have played a positive role in the history of psychology. They served as the basis for the construction of the first scientific theories explaining the essence of psychological phenomena and human behavior. However, the subjectivism of these methods, their insufficient reliability and complexity were the reason that psychology for a long time remained a philosophizing, non-experimental science, capable of assuming, but not proving, causal relationships that exist between mental and other phenomena. At the same time, due to overly pronounced theorizing, she was actually divorced from practice - See: Research in psychology: methods and planning / J. Goodwin. -- 3rd ed. -- St. Petersburg: Peter, 2004. P.20. .

The intention to make it a real, more or less accurate, practically useful science, not only describing, but also explaining phenomena, was associated with the introduction of laboratory experiment and measurement into it. Attempts to quantify psychological phenomena have been made since the second half of the 19th century. One of the first such attempts was the discovery and formulation of a series of laws that relate the strength of human sensations to the stimuli expressed in physical quantities that act on 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 absolute and relative thresholds of sensations.

This should also include the initial stage in the development of differential psychological research (the end of the 19th century), when methods of mathematical statistics began to be used to identify common psychological properties and abilities that distinguish people from each other.

Subsequently, already in the 20th century, the tendency to use mathematical models and calculations became widespread in various branches of psychology. Not a single serious scientific psychological research can do without them now - See: Nemov R.S. Decree op. P.18. .

Undoubtedly, the method used by a particular science depends on the characteristics of the subject of study. As we know, the subject of psychology is mental phenomena, or experiences. However, each individual fact of experiencing, precisely because it is an experience, is initially known to the subject, that is, it exists not only objectively - as a fact, but the subject also knows about its existence - See: Uznadze D. N. General psychology / Per. from Georgian E. Sh. Chomakhidze; Ed. I. V. Imedadze. -- M.: Meaning, 2004. P.33. . To put it simply, experience is not only a fact, but at the same time it is certainly a fact of consciousness. Hence, the existence of a primary, ready-made fact of knowledge about the presence of mental phenomena is presupposed. This is the main source that gives us information about the psychic. It is usually called inner feeling, inner perception, or perception of experiences, to distinguish it from outer feeling, outer perception, that is, that which is considered to be the source of comprehension of outer experience, or physical phenomena.

When cognizing the human psyche, two paradigms collide: natural science and humanitarian. The first requires the cognition of the psyche by natural scientific means, dismembering it into its constituent elements, measuring and explaining it objectively, like other phenomena. With this approach, psychology becomes a science devoid of a “soul” and incapable of understanding the spiritual essence of a person, its uniqueness. Such a psychology, having an explanatory character, leads to reductionism, i.e. to the reduction of complex mental phenomena to elementary processes and states.

Cognition of the psyche on the basis of the second paradigm requires a holistic understanding of the human spiritual world, its direct perception, empathy and complicity. Such a psychology is descriptive, it combines perception and introspection, the study of behavior and products of human activity.

As a result of the clash in the scientific study of these two paradigms, the psychologist finds himself in a rather difficult position. On the one hand, he seeks to formalize and measure the human psyche, and on the other hand, he simplifies it, as a result of which he loses the object of his research. If he confines himself to describing the spiritual world of a person, then they begin to accuse him of subjectivism and of an unscientific explanation of mental phenomena.

In addition, the difficulty in studying the human psyche also lies in the fact that a person is a multidimensional, ever more complex being and he is characterized by a wide variety of qualities and forms of their manifestation. Therefore, knowledge of the spiritual subjective world of a person is possible only through the use of a wide variety of methods of both explanatory and descriptive psychology - See: Sorokun P.A. Fundamentals of psychology. Pskov: PGPU, 2005. P.37. .

Thus, a person is a multifaceted phenomenon. His research should be holistic. Therefore, it is no coincidence that one of the main methodological concepts used to study a person is the concept of a systematic approach. It reflects the systemic nature of the world order. According to this concept, any system exists because there is a system-forming factor. In the system of sciences that study man, such a factor is the man himself, and it is necessary to study it in all the variety of manifestations and connections with the outside world, since only in this case it is possible to get a complete picture of man and the laws of his social and biological development.

Particular attention should be paid to the specifics of the implementation in developmental and educational psychology of the methodological principles of psychological research - the principles of determinism, the unity of the psyche and activity, objectivity and development. When revealing the content of the principle of determinism, one should pay attention to the specifics of the causes of mental development: a) show the special role of training and education in the process of personality formation; b) consider the degree of formation of the child's brain and his nervous system as a whole, as well as the level of mental development at each age stage; c) take into account the influence of previous stages of mental development on subsequent ones.

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The scientific knowledge of man is characterized by:

The ever-increasing differentiation of individual disciplines that study man,

The ever-increasing specialization of such disciplines,

The need to combine various sciences and methods of human research.

Modern people are interested in very different problems related to a person:

his health,

His creativity

His training

His thoughts, feelings, motives,

social behavior of people

Consumer behavior and many others.

B. G. Ananiev singled out four main concepts in the system of human knowledge:

Individual,

The subject of activity,

personality,

Individuality.

An individual is a person as a single organism, a representative of the Homo sapiens species, its biological, physiological essence and features. Properties of a person as an individual:

age features,

sexual dimorphism,

Individually typical characteristics (constitution, neurodynamics, functional geometry of the cerebral hemispheres and much more),

Dynamics of psychophysiological functions,

Structure of organic needs,

Temperament,

Makings.

The subject of activity (or simply - the subject) is an acting person, an active person, able to set goals, choose means to achieve the goal and analyze the results obtained. A person as a subject of activity is able independently, relying on his worldview, to choose the object of his influence (that is, what the efforts are aimed at). Interestingly, the object of activity can be the person himself: while studying, for example.

Properties of a person as a subject of activity:

Features of mental processes (speech and thinking, perception, will, attention, memory, emotional sphere),

Knowledge, skills and abilities,

Competence,

self-management style,

Features of consciousness (for example, the degree of development of self-consciousness).

Personality is a person as a subject of social relations (relations with other people). Properties of a person as a person:

behavior motivation,

Temperament,

Capabilities,

Character,

Image (social face).

Individuality is a unique combination in a person of his mental, physiological and social characteristics, including the realization of a person's identity (that is, being for oneself: hobbies, setting and achieving some romantic goals - which from other people may seem like tyranny ). Properties of a person as an individual:

individual history,

Productivity,

Mastery,

originality,

Rationality.

The scientific approach implies an objective study of an object. Man is a complex system, almost not amenable to division into independent subsystems. Therefore, it is desirable to consider a person always based on a systematic approach. Forgetting about the biological nature of a person, one can go to one extreme (for example, idealizing such concepts as "love"). Ignoring the pronounced social way of life of a person, one can go to the other extreme (for example, vulgarizing such concepts as "love").

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods

Summary

Methodological foundations of the study of man. General principles of knowledge of the world. BG Ananiev's approach to the study of man as a biosocial being. The concepts of "individual", "subject of activity", "personality". Primary and secondary properties of a person as an individual. General personality characteristics. Distinctive features of a person as a subject of activity. The concepts of "consciousness" and "activity".

Sciences about man and humanity. Studies of man as a biological species, the works of K. Linnaeus. General idea of anthropology. Psychological aspects of the study of man as a biological species: comparative psychology, zoopsychology, general psychology. General problems of studying the transition of man from the animal to the social world. Sciences that study human sociogenesis. The sciences that study the interaction of man with nature. General problems of the study of man as an individual and his ontogenesis.

Psychology as a science. Psychology as a human science. Everyday and scientific psychological knowledge. The meaning of the term "psychology". Psychology as a spider about the psyche and mental phenomena. The subject of psychology. Classification of mental phenomena: mental processes, mental states, mental properties. Mental processes: cognitive, emotional, volitional. Mental states as a characteristic of the general state of the psyche. The main characteristics of mental states: duration, direction, stability, intensity. Mental properties of personality: orientation, temperament, abilities, character.

Basic methods of psychological research. General idea of the methods of scientific research. The main groups of psychological methods: objective and subjective. The main subjective methods of psychology: observation, participant observation, self-observation, survey (written, oral, free). Subjective methods of quantitative assessment of mental phenomena. The main ranks of psychological tests. History of test creation. Projective tests and experiment (laboratory, natural). General idea of modeling methods.

1.1. Methodological foundations for the study of man

Names

Ananiev Boris Gerasimovich(1907-1972) - an outstanding Russian psychologist. He began his scientific activity as a post-graduate student at the Institute of the Brain during the lifetime of V. M. Bekhterev. In 1968-1972. Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at Leningrad State University. He is the founder of the Leningrad psychological school. Author of fundamental works in the field of sensory perception, communication psychology, pedagogical psychology. He proposed a system of human knowledge, in which data from various human sciences were integrated.

once attempted to formulate a holistic view of a person. Of course, such a notion exists in psychology as well.

One of the most popular approaches to the study of man in Russian psychology was proposed by B. G. Ananiev. Assessing the significance of Ananiev's activities for domestic science, it must first be emphasized that he developed a fundamentally new methodological approach to the study of the human psyche. This made it possible not only to single out new sections of psychology that had not previously existed as independent ones, but also to take a fresh look at the person himself. Speaking about the main features of the development of scientific knowledge about man, Ananiev noted that the problem of man is becoming a common problem for all science as a whole. At the same time, the scientific knowledge of man is characterized by both the ever-increasing differentiation and specialization of individual disciplines, and the tendency to combine various sciences and methods of studying man. Modern science is more and more interested in problems related to human health, his creativity, learning and, of course, his thoughts and experiences, and the study of man and human activity is carried out comprehensively, taking into account all aspects of these problems.

Ananiev singled out four main concepts in the system of human knowledge: individual, subject of activity, personality And individuality.

The concept of "individual" has several interpretations. First of all, an individual is a person as a single natural being, a representative of a speciesHomo sapiens. In this case, the biological essence of man is emphasized. But sometimes this concept is used to refer to a person as a separate representative of the human community, as a social being using tools. However, in this case, the biological essence of man is not denied.

A person as an individual has certain properties (Fig. 1.1). Ananiev singled out the primary and secondary properties of the individual. He attributed to the primary properties inherent in all people, such as age characteristics (correspondence to a certain age) and sexual dimorphism (belonging to a certain sex), as well as individual-typical characteristics, including constitutional features (body composition features), neurodynamic

14 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

Rice. 1.1. The structure of the concept of "individual" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 1 5

properties of the brain, features of the functional geometry of the cerebral hemispheres. The totality of the individual's primary properties determines his secondary properties: the dynamics of psychophysiological functions and the structure of organic needs. In turn, the integration of all these properties determines the characteristics of temperament and the inclinations of a person.

Another concept that characterizes a person as an object of the real world is "personality". This concept, like the concept of "individual", has various interpretations. In particular, a person is understood as an individual as a subject of social relations and conscious activity. Some authors understand personality as a systemic property of an individual, which is formed in joint activities and communication. There are other interpretations of this concept, but they all agree on one thing: the concept of "personality characterizes a person as a social being(Fig. 1.2). Within the framework of this concept, such psychological properties of a person as motivation, temperament, abilities and character are considered.

Rice. 1.2. The structure of the concept - "personality" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

The next concept that Ananiev singled out when studying a person is “subject of activity”. This concept in its content occupies an intermediate position between the concepts of "individual" and "personality". The subject of activity combines the biological principle and the social essence of a person into a single whole. If a person did not have the ability to act as a subject of activity, then he could hardly be considered as a social being, since his evolution and social development are impossible without activity.

Before characterizing a person as a subject of activity, it is necessary to understand the meaning of the concept of "subject" as a philosophical category. Most often, this concept is used in conjunction with the concept of "object". The object and the subject are always in a certain relationship. An object is an object or phenomenon of the real world that exists independently of our consciousness, acting as a goal to which the activity of a person is directed - the subject of influence. A person is always surrounded by certain objects or faces the phenomena of the real world. Depending on what or to whom its activity is directed, this or that object can act as an object. The object can be the human activity itself.

Rice. 1.3. The structure of the concept of "subject of activity" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

The main feature of a person as a subject, which distinguishes him from other living beings, is consciousness (Fig. 1.3). Consciousness is the highest form of mental development, inherent only to man. It determines the possibility of cognition of objective reality, the formation of purposeful behavior and, as a result, the transformation of the surrounding world. In turn, the ability of conscious activity to transform the surrounding world is another feature of a person as a subject. In this way, the subject is an individual as a carrier of consciousness, possessing the ability to act. So, a person can be considered, firstly, as a representative

living nature, a biological object, secondly, as a subject of conscious activity and, thirdly, as a social being. That is, a person is a biosocial being endowed with consciousness and the ability to act. Combining these three levels into one whole forms an integral characteristic of a person - his individuality.

Individuality is a combination of mental, physiological and social characteristics of a particular person in terms of his uniqueness, originality and originality. The prerequisite for the formation of human individuality is the anatomical and physiological inclinations, which are transformed in the first process of education, which has a socially conditioned character. A variety of upbringing conditions and innate characteristics gives rise to a wide variability in the manifestations of individuality.

Thus, we can conclude that a person is one of the most complex objects in the real world. The structural organization of a person is multi-level and reflects his natural and social essence (Fig. 1.4). Therefore, it is not surprising that there is a significant number of sciences that study man and his activities.

1.2. Human and Human Sciences

Modern science studies a person, firstly, as a representative of a biological species; secondly, he is regarded as a member of society; thirdly, the subject activity of a person is studied; fourthly, the patterns of development of a particular person are studied.

Chapter 1 . subject of psychology, her tasks and methods 1 7

Rice. 1.4. The structure of the concept of "individuality" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

The beginning of a purposeful study of man as a biological species can be considered the works of Carl Linnaeus, who singled him out as an independent species of Homo sapiens in the order of primates. Thus, the place of man in wildlife was determined for the first time. This does not mean that previously a person did not arouse interest among researchers. The scientific knowledge of man originates in natural philosophy, natural science and medicine. However, these studies were narrow-profile, insufficiently systematized, and, most importantly, contradictory in nature, and people were most often opposed to living nature in them. K. Linnaeus proposed to consider a person as an element of wildlife. And this was a kind of turning point in the study of man.

Anthropology is a special science of man as a special biological species. The structure of modern anthropology includes three main sections: human morphology(the study of individual variability of the physical type, age stages - from the early stages of embryonic development to old age inclusive, sexual dimorphism, changes in the physical development of a person under the influence of various conditions of life and activity), the doctrine of anthropogenesis(on the change in the nature of the nearest ancestor of man and of man himself during the Quaternary period), consisting of primate science, evolutionary human anatomy and paleoanthropology (studying fossil forms of man) and racial science.

In addition to anthropology, there are other related sciences that study humans as a biological species. For example, the physical type of a Human as its general somatic organization is studied by such natural sciences as human anatomy and physiology, biophysics and biochemistry, psychophysiology, and neuropsychology. A special place in this series is occupied by medicine, which includes numerous sections.

The doctrine of anthropogenesis - the origin and development of man - is also associated with the sciences that study biological evolution on Earth, since human nature cannot be understood outside the general and consistently developing process of evolution of the animal world. Paleontology, embryology, as well as comparative physiology and comparative biochemistry can be attributed to this group of sciences.

18 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

It should be emphasized that particular disciplines played an important role in the development of the doctrine of anthropogenesis. Among them, first of all, we must include the physiology of higher nervous activity. Thanks to AND. P. Pavlov, who showed great interest in certain genetic problems of higher nervous activity, the most developed department of comparative physiology was the physiology of higher nervous activity of anthropoids.

A huge role in understanding the development of man as a biological species is played by comparative psychology, which combines zoopsychology and general human psychology. The beginning of experimental studies of primates in zoopsychology was laid by the scientific work of such scientists as V. Koehler and N. N. Ladygina-Kots. Thanks to the successes of zoopsychology, many of the mechanisms of human behavior and the patterns of his mental development have become clear.

There are sciences that are in direct contact with the doctrine of anthropogenesis, but play a significant role in its development. These include genetics and archaeology. special the place is occupied by paleolinguistics, which studies the origin of the language, its sound means and control mechanisms. The origin of language is one of the central moments of sociogenesis, and the origin of speech is the central moment of anthropogenesis, since articulate speech is one;

one of the main differences between humans and animals.

In connection with the fact that we touched on the problems of sociogenesis, it should be noted the social sciences, which are most closely related to the problem of anthropogenesis. These include paleosociology, which studies the formation of human society, and the history of primitive culture.

Thus, a person as a representative of a biological species is the object of study of many sciences, including psychology. On fig. 1.5 presents the classification of B. G. Ananiev of the main problems and sciences of Homo sapiens . Anthropology occupies a central place among the sciences that study the origin and development of man as an independent biological species. The main conclusion that allows us to draw the current state of anthropology in relation to human development can be formulated as follows: at some stage of biological development, a person was isolated from the animal world (the borderline stage of “anthrohugenesis-sociogenesis”) and natural selection stopped in human evolution based on biological expediency and survival of individuals and species most adapted to the natural environment. With the transition of man from the animal world to the social one, with his transformation into a biosocial being, the laws of natural selection were replaced by qualitatively different laws of development.

The question of why and how the transition of a person from the animal world to the social one took place is central in the sciences that study anthropogenesis, and so far there is no unambiguous answer to it. There are several points of view on this problem. One of them is based on the following assumption: as a result of a mutation, the human brain turned into a super brain, which allowed a person to stand out from the animal world and create a society. P. Shoshar adheres to this point of view. According to this point of view, in historical time, the organic development of the brain is impossible due to its mutational origin.

There is another point of view, which is based on the assumption that the organic development of the brain and the development of man as a species led to the quality

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 19

Rice. 1.5. Sciences that study a person as a biological object

natural structural changes in the brain, after which development began to be carried out according to other laws that differ from the laws of natural selection. But just because the body and brain remain largely unchanged does not mean that there is no development. The studies of I. A. Stankevich testify that structural changes occur in the human brain, progressive development of various parts of the hemisphere, the isolation of new convolutions, and the formation of new furrows are observed. Therefore, the question of whether a person will change can be answered in the affirmative. However, these evolutionary changes

20 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

will relate to the social conditions of human life and his personal development, and biological changes in the species Homosapiens will be of secondary importance.

Thus, man as a social being, as a member of society, is no less interesting for science, since the modern development of man as a species Homosapiens is no longer carried out according to the laws of biological survival, but according to the laws of social development.

The problem of sociogenesis cannot be considered outside the social sciences. The list of these sciences is very long. They can be divided into several groups depending on the phenomena they study or are associated with. For example, the sciences associated with art, with technological progress, with education.

In turn, according to the degree of generalization of the approach to the study of human society, these sciences can be divided into two groups: sciences that consider the development of society as a whole, in the interaction of all its elements, and sciences that study certain aspects of the development of human society. From the point of view of this classification of sciences, humanity is a holistic entity that develops according to its own laws and, at the same time, a multitude of individuals. Therefore, all social sciences can be attributed either to the sciences of human society, or to the sciences of man as an element of society. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that in this classification there is no sufficiently clear line between different sciences, since many social sciences can be associated both with the study of society as a whole and with the study of an individual.

Ananiev believes that the system of sciences about humanity (human society) as a holistic phenomenon should include the sciences about the productive forces of society, the sciences about the settlement and composition of humanity, the sciences about production and social relations, about culture, art and science itself as a system of knowledge, science about the forms of society at various stages of its development.

It is necessary to highlight the sciences that study the interaction of man with nature and mankind with the natural environment. An interesting point of view was held on this issue by V. I. Vernadsky, the creator of the biogeochemical doctrine, in which he singled out two opposite biogeochemical functions that are in interaction and are associated with the history of free oxygen - the O 2 molecule. These are the functions of oxidation and reduction. On the one hand, they are associated with the provision of respiration and reproduction, and on the other hand, with the destruction of dead organisms. According to Vernadsky, man and mankind are inextricably linked with the biosphere - a certain part of the planet on which they live, since they are geologically naturally connected with the material and energy structure of the Earth.

Man is inseparable from nature, but unlike animals, he has an activity aimed at transforming the natural environment in order to ensure optimal conditions for life and activity. In this case, we are talking about the emergence of the noosphere.

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 21

The concept of "noosphere" was introduced by Le Roy together with Teilhard de Chardin in 1927. They were based on the biogeochemical theory set forth by Vernadsky in 1922-1923. in the Sorbonne. According to Vernadsky, the noosphere, or "thinking layer", is a new geological phenomenon on our planet. In it, for the first time, man appears as the largest geological force capable of transforming the planet.

There are sciences, the subject of which is a specific person. This category may include the sciences of ontogeny - developmental process of the individual organism. Within the framework of this direction, gender, age, constitutional and neurodynamic features of a person are studied. In addition, there are sciences about the personality and its life path, within the framework of which the motives of human activity, his worldview and value orientations, relations with the outside world are studied.

It should be borne in mind that all sciences or scientific areas that study a person are closely interconnected and together give a holistic view of a person and human society.

However, whichever of the directions is considered, to one degree or another, it represents various sections of psychology. This is not accidental, since the phenomena that psychology studies to a large extent determine the activity of a person as a biosocial being.

1.3. Psychology as a science

When dividing sciences into groups according to the subject of study, natural, humanitarian and technical sciences are distinguished. The first study nature, the second - society, culture and history, the third are associated with the study and creation of means of production and tools. Man is a social being, and all his mental phenomena are largely socially conditioned, therefore psychology is usually referred to as a humanitarian discipline.

The concept of "psychology" has both scientific and everyday meaning. In the first case, it is used to designate the relevant scientific discipline, in the second - to describe the behavior or mental characteristics of individuals and groups of people. Therefore, to one degree or another, each person becomes acquainted with "psychology" long before its systematic study.

Already in early childhood, the child says “I want”, “I think”, “I feel”. These words indicate that a small person, not realizing what he is doing, is exploring his inner world. Throughout life, each person, consciously or unconsciously, studies himself and his capabilities. It should be noted that the level of knowledge of one's inner world largely determines how much a person can understand other people, how successfully he can build relationships with them.

A person is a social being, and he cannot live outside of society, without contacts with others. In the practice of live communication, each person comprehends many psychological laws. So, since childhood, each of us has been able to "read" by external manifestations - facial expressions, gestures, intonation, behavior - the emotional state of another person. Thus, each person is a kind of psychologist, since it is impossible to live in a society without certain ideas about the psyche of people.

However, worldly psychological knowledge is very approximate, vague and differs in many respects from scientific knowledge. What is this difference (Fig. 1.7)?

First, worldly psychological knowledge is specific, tied to specific situations, people, and tasks. Scientific psychology strives for generalization, for which the corresponding concepts are used.

Secondly, worldly psychological knowledge is intuitive. This is due to the way they are obtained - random experience and its subjective analysis at the unconscious level. In contrast, scientific knowledge is based on experiment, and the knowledge gained is quite rational and conscious.

Thirdly, there are differences in the ways in which knowledge is transferred. As a rule, the knowledge of everyday psychology is transferred with great difficulty, and often this transfer is simply impossible. As Yu. B. Gippenreiter writes, “the eternal problem of “fathers and children” consists precisely in the fact that children cannot and do not even want to adopt the experience of their fathers.” At the same time, in science, knowledge is accumulated and transferred much more easily.

Chapter 1 . subject of psychology, her tasks and methods 23

Rice. 1.7. The main differences between everyday and scientific psychological knowledge

Fourthly, scientific psychology has at its disposal extensive, varied and sometimes unique factual material, inaccessible in its entirety to any bearer of everyday psychology.

So what is psychology as a science?

The word "psychology" in translation from ancient Greek literally means "the science of the soul" (psyche-"soul", logos- concept, doctrine). The term "psychology" first appeared in scientific use in the 16th century. Initially, he belonged to a special science that dealt with the study of the so-called mental, or mental, phenomena, i.e., those that each person easily detects in his own mind as a result of self-observation. Later, in the XVII-XI X centuries. the field studied by psychology is expanding and includes not only conscious, but also unconscious phenomena. In this way, psychology is the science of the mind and mental phenomena. What is the subject of study of psychology in our time?

24 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to construct a classification of mental phenomena. It should be noted that there are different points of view on the structure of mental phenomena. For example, certain mental phenomena, depending on the author of the position, can be assigned to different structural groups. Moreover, very often in the scientific literature one can encounter a confusion of concepts. So, some authors do not share the characteristics of mental processes and the mental properties of a person. We will divide mental phenomena into three main classes: mental processes, mental states And mental properties of personality(Fig. 1.8).

Mental processes act as primary regulators of human behavior. Mental processes have a definite beginning, course, and end, i.e., they have certain dynamic characteristics, which, first of all, include parameters that determine the duration and stability of the mental process. On the basis of mental processes, certain states are formed, knowledge, skills and abilities are formed. In turn, mental processes can be divided into three groups: cognitive, emotional and volitional.

TO cognitive mental processes include mental processes associated with the perception and processing of information. These include sensation, perception, representation, memory, imagination, thinking, speech, and attention. Thanks to these processes, a person receives information about the world around him and about himself. However, information or knowledge in itself does not play any role for a person if they are not significant for him. You probably paid attention to the fact that some events remain in your memory for a long time, while you forget about others the next day. Other information may generally remain unnoticed for you. This is due to the fact that any information may or may not have an emotional connotation, that is, it may or may not be significant. Therefore, along with cognitive mental processes, emotional mental processes. Within the framework of this group of mental processes, such mental phenomena as affects, emotions, feelings, moods and emotional stress are considered.

We have the right to believe that if a certain event or phenomenon evokes positive emotions in a person, then this has a positive effect on his activity or state, and, conversely, negative emotions impede activity and worsen a person’s condition. Nevertheless, there are exceptions. For example, an event that caused negative emotions increases a person's activity, stimulates him to overcome the obstacles and obstacles that have arisen. Such a reaction indicates that for the formation of human behavior, not only emotional, but also volitional mental processes, which are most clearly manifested in situations related to decision-making, overcoming difficulties, managing one's behavior, etc.

Sometimes they distinguish as an independent another group of mental processes - unconscious processes. It includes those processes that occur or are carried out outside the control of consciousness.

Mental processes are closely interconnected and act as primary factors in the formation of a person's mental states. Psi-

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 25

chemical states characterize the state of the psyche as a whole. They, like mental processes, have their own dynamics, which is characterized by duration, direction, stability and intensity. At the same time, mental states affect the course and outcome of mental processes and can promote or inhibit activity. Mental states include such phenomena as elation, depression, fear, cheerfulness, despondency. It should be noted that mental states can be extremely complex phenomena that have objective and subjective conditions, but their common feature is dynamism. The exception is mental states caused by the dominant characteristics of the personality, including pathocharacterological features. Such states can be very stable mental phenomena that characterize a person's personality.

The next class of mental phenomena - the mental properties of the personality - is characterized by greater stability and greater constancy. Under mental properties Personality is usually understood as the most essential features of the personality, providing a certain quantitative and qualitative level of human activity and behavior. Mental properties include orientation, temperament, abilities and character. The level of development of these properties, as well as the features of the development of mental processes and the predominant (most characteristic of a person) mental states determine the uniqueness of a person, his individuality.

26 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

The phenomena studied by psychology are associated not only with a particular person, but also with groups. Mental phenomena associated with the vital activity of groups of collectives are studied in detail within the framework of social psychology. We will consider only a brief description of such mental phenomena.

All group mental phenomena can also be divided into mental processes, mental states and mental properties. In contrast to individual mental phenomena, the mental phenomena of groups and collectives have a clearer division into internal and external.

Collective mental processes that act as the primary factor in regulating the existence of a team or group include communication, interpersonal perception, interpersonal relationships, the formation of group norms, intergroup relationships, etc. The mental states of a group include conflict, cohesion, psychological climate, openness or closeness of the group , panic, etc. Among the most significant mental properties of the group include organization, leadership style, performance efficiency

Thus, the subject of psychology is the psyche and mental phenomena of both one particular person and the mental phenomena observed in groups and collectives. In turn, the task of psychology is the study of mental phenomena. Describing the task of psychology, S. L. Rubinshtein writes: “Psychological knowledge is an indirect knowledge of the mental through the disclosure of its essential, objective connections”*.

1.4. Basic Methods

psychological research

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. There are such methods in psychology. All of them can be divided into two main groups: subjective And objective(Fig. 1.9).

* Rubinstein S. L.

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 27

Need to know

Validity and reliability of the psychodiagnostic test

To characterize the ability of a test to measure the actual level of a mental property or quality, the concept of "validity" is used. The validity of the test shows to what extent it measures the quality (property, ability, characteristic, etc.) for which it is intended to evaluate. Invalid, i.e., non-valid tests are not suitable for practical use.

Validity and reliability are related concepts. Their relationship can be illustrated by the following example. Suppose there are two arrows A and B. Shooter BUT knocks out 90 points out of 100, and the shooter IN - only 70. Accordingly, the reliability of the shooter BUT is 0.90, and arrow B is 0.70. However, shooter A always shoots at other people's targets, so his results do not count in the competition. The second shooter always selects the targets correctly. Therefore, the validity of arrow A is zero, and arrow B is 0.70, i.e., numerically equal to reliability. If shooter A chooses his targets correctly, his validity will also be equal to his reliability. If he sometimes confuses mi-

If the score is too high, then some of the results will not be counted and the validity of shooter A will be lower than the reliability. In our example, the analogue of reliability is the accuracy of the shooter, and the analogue of validity is also the accuracy of shooting, but not at any, but at a strictly defined, “own” target.

There are cases in history when tests that were recognized as invalid for measuring some properties turned out to be valid for others. Therefore, reliability is a necessary condition for validity. An unreliable test cannot be valid, and conversely, a valid test is always reliable. The reliability of a test cannot be less than its validity; in turn, Validity cannot exceed reliability.

In modern psychometry, there are three main types of validity: 1) meaningful (logical); 2) empirical and 3) conceptual.

By: Melnikov V. M., Yampolsky L. T.

Introduction to experimental personality psychology: Proc. allowance for listening. IPK, lecturer ped. disciplines of un-tov and ped. in- Comrade . - Moscow: Enlightenment, 1985.

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.

28 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

Rice. 1.9. Basic methods of psychological research

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 29

Observation can be carried out in various ways. For example, the widely used method included observation. This method is 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. Its characteristic feature is that the questioning of a person is carried out under precisely taken into account the conditions of the experiment, at those moments that are of most interest 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 reach a large number of 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

30 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

Need to know

Moral principles of the activity of a psychologist

Conducting psychological research is always associated with the involvement of subjects in it. Therefore, the question arises about the ethics of the relationship between the psychologist and the subjects. What principles should they be based on?

The American Psychological Association (APA) and similar organizations in Canada and the UK have developed basic guidelines for the treatment of subjects, both human and animal (American Psychological Association, 1990). For example, in the United States, federal law requires any organization that conducts federally funded research to have an internal review board. This board should supervise ongoing research and ensure that the treatment of subjects is carried out according to guidelines based on certain ethical principles.

The first principle of ethical treatment of human subjects is the minimization of risk. In the United States, relevant federal guidelines state that, in most cases, the perceived risk in conducting a study should not exceed the risk associated with normal daily life. Obviously, a person should not be physically harmed or injured, but it is not always possible to unambiguously decide how much psychological stress is ethically justified in a particular research project. Of course, in ordinary life, people often behave impolitely, lie and cause trouble to others. Under what conditions would it be ethically justifiable for a researcher to do the same with a subject in order to carry out a research project? These are precisely the issues that the supervisory board should consider in each individual case.

The second principle of ethical treatment of human subjects requires their informed consent. Subjects must participate in the study voluntarily and must have the right to withdraw from the study at any time they wish and without penalty. They are also required to be warned in advance of any features of the study that may presumably affect their willingness to cooperate. Like the principle of minimum risk, the requirement of informed consent is not always easy to implement. In particular, this requirement sometimes conflicts with another generally accepted requirement for conducting a study: that the subject does not know which hypotheses are being tested in this study. If you plan to compare the memorization of familiar words by some subjects and unfamiliar words by others, then there will be no ethical problems if you simply tell the subjects in advance that they will memorize lists of words: they do not need to know how the words differ

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 matching

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 31

Need to know

in various subjects. There will be no serious ethical problems even if the subjects are given a surprise test for knowledge of words that they did not expect to be tested. But what if the researcher were to compare the learning of words by subjects in a neutral mood with the learning of words by subjects in a state of anger or confusion? It is clear that this study will not yield valid conclusions if subjects have to be told in advance that they will be intentionally angered (by being rude) or deliberately embarrassed (by making them believe that they accidentally broke some device). On this occasion, the instructions say that such studies can be carried out, but the subjects should be brought out of ignorance as soon as possible after their participation.

At the same time, they should be explained why they had to be kept in the dark or deceived, and, in addition, their residual anger or confusion should be removed so that their dignity is not damaged, and the assessment of the research being carried out increases. The review board must be satisfied that the procedure for withdrawing subjects from the study complies with these requirements.

The third ethical principle of research is the right of subjects to confidentiality. Information about a person obtained in the course of the research should be considered confidential and access to it by other persons without his consent should be excluded. Usually, for this purpose, the names of the subjects and other information that allows them to be identified are separated from the received data. In this case, data identification is carried out by an alphabetic or numeric code. Thus, only the experimenter has access to the test subject's results. Approximately 7-8% of all psychological experiments use animals (mainly rodents and birds), and very few of them involve animals in painful or harmful procedures. However, in recent years there has been an increased interest in this issue and controversy over the use of animals in scientific research, their maintenance and handling; Both federal and APA guidelines require that all procedures that are painful or harmful to the animal be fully justified by the knowledge that results from such research. There are also special rules governing the living conditions of laboratory animals and procedures for caring for them.

In addition to specific instructions, there is a general ethical principle that says that participants in psychological experiments should be considered full-fledged partners of the researcher.

By; Atkinson R. L., Atnson R. S., Smith E. E. et al. Introduction to Psychology: A Textbook for Universities / Per. from English. under. ed. V. P. Zinchenko. - M.: Trivola, 1999.

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.

32 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

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 studying behavior should be large masses of people, and the main method should be 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.

These psychological methods are 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.

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 33

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) « MentalTestsandMeasurements »("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. Munsterberg (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. Obviously, 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, thanks to which the subject copes with the tests.

34 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

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 leadership 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 test "alpha" for the literate and the army test "beta" 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 doing data tests the test 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 the research

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, her tasks and methods 35

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 studied phenomena. 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.

36 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

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 I work "computer programs. This led to attempts to represent and describe human behavior by analogy with the work of a computer.In connection with these studies, the names of American scientists D. Miller, Y. Galanter, K. Pribram, as well as Russian psychologist L. M. Wecker 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 man as biologically! view.

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 embedded in 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?

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods37

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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.

Methodological foundations for the study of man

Ananiev Boris Gerasimovich (1907-1972) - an outstanding Russian psychologist. He began his scientific activity as a post-graduate student at the Institute of the Brain during the lifetime of V. M. Bekhterev. In 1968-1972. Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at Leningrad State University. He is the founder of the Leningrad psychological school. Author of fundamental works in the field of sensory perception, communication psychology, pedagogical psychology. He proposed a system of human knowledge, in which data from various human sciences were integrated. A rational approach to cognition of the world is based on the fact that the reality around us exists independently of our consciousness, can be investigated empirically, and the observed phenomena are quite explainable from a scientific point of view. To implement this approach, it is necessary to have a general idea of the subject of research. In various areas of science, scientists do not

once attempted to formulate a holistic view of a person. Of course, such a notion exists in psychology as well.

Ananiev singled out four main concepts in the system of human knowledge: individual, subject of activity, personality And individuality.

The concept of "individual" has several interpretations. First of all, an individual is a person as a single natural being, a representative of the species Homo sapiens. In this case, the biological essence of man is emphasized. But sometimes this concept is used to refer to a person as a separate representative of the human community, as a social being using tools. However, in this case, the biological essence of man is not denied.

14 Part I. Introduction to General Psychology

Rice. 1.1. The structure of the concept of "individual" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods 1 5

Rice.1.2. The structure of the concept - "personality" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

Chapter 1. The subject of psychology, its tasks and methods ¦
Ananiev Boris Gerasimovich (1907-1972) - an outstanding Russian psychologist. He began his scientific activity as a post-graduate student at the Institute of the Brain during the lifetime of V. M. Bekhterev. In 1968-1972. Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at Leningrad State University. He is the founder of the Leningrad psychological school. Author of fundamental works in the field of sensory perception, communication psychology, pedagogical psychology. He proposed a system of human knowledge, in which data from various human sciences were integrated.

once attempted to formulate a holistic view of a person. Of course, such a notion exists in psychology as well.

Ananiev singled out four basic concepts in the system of human knowledge: individual, subject of activity, personality and individuality.

The concept of "individual" has several interpretations. First of all, an individual is a person as a single natural being, a representative of the species Homo sapiens. In this case, the biological essence of man is emphasized. But sometimes THIS concept is used to refer to a person as a separate representative of the human community, as a social being using tools. However, in this case, the biological essence of man is not denied.

A person as an individual has certain properties (Fig. 1.1). Ananiev singled out the primary and secondary properties of the individual. He attributed to the primary properties inherent in all people, such as age characteristics (corresponding to a certain age) and sexual dimorphism (belonging to a certain sex), as well as individual-typical characteristics, including constitutional features (body composition features), neurodynamic

1. The structure of the concept of "individual" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

Another concept that characterizes a person as an object of the real world is "personality".

This concept, like the concept of "individual", has various interpretations. In particular, a person is understood as an individual as a subject of social relations and conscious activity. Some authors understand personality as a systemic property of an individual, which is formed in joint activities and communication. There are other interpretations of this concept, but they all agree on one thing: the concept of "personality" characterizes a person as a social being (Fig. 1.2). Within the framework of this concept, such psychological properties of a person as motivation, temperament, abilities and character are considered.

2. The structure of the concept of "personality" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

The main feature of a person as a subject, which distinguishes him from other living beings, is consciousness (Fig. 1.3). Consciousness is the highest form of mental development, inherent only to man. It determines the possibility of cognition of objective reality, the formation of purposeful behavior and, as a result, the transformation of the surrounding world. In turn, the ability of conscious activity to transform the surrounding world is another feature of a person as a subject. Thus, the subject is an individual as a carrier of consciousness, possessing the ability to act.

So, a person can be considered, firstly, as a representative of living nature, a biological object, secondly, as a subject of conscious activity and, thirdly, as a social being. That is, a person is a biosocial being endowed with consciousness and the ability to act. Combining these three levels into one whole forms an integral characteristic of a person - his individuality.

Individuality is a combination of mental, physiological and social characteristics of a particular person in terms of his uniqueness, originality and originality. The prerequisite for the formation of human individuality is the anatomical and physiological inclinations, which are transformed in the process of education, which has a socially conditioned character. A variety of upbringing conditions and innate characteristics gives rise to a wide variability in the manifestations of individuality.

3. The structure of the concept of "subject of activity" (according to B. G. Ananiev)

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