From all of the above, it follows that the explanation in psychology includes 1) the correlation of the subjective image with the objective reality that is the object of reflection; 2) establishment of the nervous mechanisms of the process of reflection; 3) elucidation of the dependence of the phenomena of consciousness on those social conditions by which they are determined, and on that objective activity in which the being of man is expressed.
The objective method in psychology is a method of indirect knowledge of the psyche, consciousness. For an objective method, someone else's mental life no less accessible to scientific study than one's own. The subjective is the subject of scientific psychology not in itself, but only in unity with the objective.
Mental activity always receives its objective expression in certain actions, speech reactions, in changes in the functioning of internal organs, and so on. This is an essential property of the psyche.
The objectivity of the method of psychology depends on what are the concepts
The problem of the objectivity of psychological data has a different meaning in the literature. In many ways, the criteria of objectivity repeat those that were not formulated specifically for psychological area knowledge. The problem of data reproducibility is discussed, i.e. the possibility of repeated studies with obtaining the same phenomena and patterns. Reproducibility is thus considered as the possibility of comparing experimental data obtained for different subjects or different populations.
It can also be about the reproducibility of data in relation to the individual experience or subjective reality of the same person. Distinguish data stability when they are unambiguously associated with the demonstration of a certain pattern (for example, the illusion of apparent movement) or express only some shifts in fixed indicators, but these shifts always have the same direction.
For example, in social and educational psychology such regularity as the best agreement of subjective assessments of teachers when the object of assessment is the properties of students, and the worst one when teachers evaluate their colleagues, is discussed. In one of the examples of demonstrating the features of a correlation study, other installed dependencies– improving the forecast in assessing the properties of teachers high school both by the teachers themselves and by the students.
For similar cases of designing a study, it is important to point out that a psychological pattern is revealed when comparing series of sample indicators, i.e. dependencies are probabilistic in nature, i.e. statistically evaluated.
In the context of statistical evaluation of the reliability of empirical results, the concept of data reliability is introduced. Reliable data are those that, when obtained again under the same procedural conditions, give insignificant deviations from the original values. In this case, reliability is associated not only with the stability of certain effects, but also with the requirement of their probabilistic assessment based on statistical decisions. The unreliability of psychological research data can be due to many reasons: fluctuations in the measured variables themselves, measurement errors, the influence of side factors that provide non-systematic shifts in recorded indicators, etc.
The problem of data reproducibility is also related to the problem of their intersubjectivity, i.e. opportunities to be obtained by different researchers. The fact that subjective reality cannot be seen by another person does not mean that the criterion of the intersubjective nature of knowledge should be abandoned. In psychology, methodological means to varying degrees depend on the interpretation by the researcher of the data of the subjective experience of another person - the subject.
The term "validity" is of European origin. It literally means: "full", "suitable", "corresponding".
The characteristic of a psychodiagnostic technique as valid indicates its compliance and suitability for assessing exactly the psychological quality for which it is intended.
Characteristics of the validity of the methodology includes not only information that this technique actually measures, but also information about the conditions, about the scope of its application.
There are several varieties of validity, each of which should be considered and evaluated separately when it comes to determining the validity of a psychodiagnostic technique. Validity can be theoretical and practical (empirical), internal and external.
Theoretical validity is determined by the correspondence of the indicators of the quality under study, obtained using this method, to the indicators obtained by other methods - those with indicators of which there should be a theoretically substantiated dependence. Theoretical validity is checked by correlations of indicators of the same property obtained using different 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. If, for example, with the help of some technique we evaluate the character traits of a given subject, then the applied technique will be considered practically or empirically valid when we establish that this person leads the village in life exactly as the methodology predicts, that is, in accordance with his character trait.
According to the criterion of empirical validity, the methodology is checked by comparing its indicators with real life behavior or the results of people's practical activities.
Internal validity means the compliance of the tasks, subtests, judgments, etc. contained in the methodology. common purpose and the concept of the methodology as a whole. It is considered internally invalid or insufficiently internally valid when all or part of the questions, tasks or subtests included in it do not measure what is required from this methodology.
External validity is about the same as empirical validity, with the only difference being that in this case we are talking about the relationship between the indicators of the methodology and the most important, key outward signs related to the behavior of the subject.
When creating a methodology, it is difficult to immediately assess its validity. Usually, the validity of a methodology is checked and refined in the course of its fairly long use, especially since we are talking about verification from at least the four sides described above.
In addition to the types of validity, it is important to know the criteria for validity. These are the main signs by which one can practically judge whether this technique is or is not valid. These criteria could be the following:
1. Behavioral indicators - reactions, actions and deeds of the subject in various life situations.
2. Achievements of the subject in various activities: educational, labor, creative and others.
3. Data indicating the performance of various control samples and tasks.
4. Data obtained using other methods, the validity or connection of which with the tested method is considered to be reliably established.
Reliability- one of the three main psychometric properties of any measuring psychodiagnostic technique (test).
Reliability is the noise immunity of the test, the independence of its result from the action of various random factors:
a) the variety of external material conditions of testing, changing from one test subject to another;
b) dynamic internal factors, acting differently on different subjects during testing;
c) information and social circumstances.
Objectivity and subjectivity in psychological research.
According to its substrate, the psyche is a property of highly organized matter. In its content, the psyche is reflection objective reality. Reflection is an interaction in which some phenomena are represented or reflected in others by their influences. The property of reflection is inherent in all matter. What are the features of mental reflection?
Firstly is a reflection perfect, since it is an image of an object or a concept, and not the object itself.
Secondly, mental reflection - subjectively The subjectivity of mental reflection can be considered in two ways.
1. Any external influence is refracted through internal conditions. In mental reflection such internal conditions there may be mental states, features of the nervous system, personality, temperament; past experience, age, sex of a person, etc. Let us consider an example of such mediation of external influences by the properties of the nervous system. It is known that the conditions of stress, increased responsibility affect people differently depending on the strength of the nervous system: representatives weak type nervous system, the productivity of activity decreases, the number of errors increases, confusion appears, and anxiety grows. With a strong nervous system, on the contrary, there is an increase in productivity and accuracy of activity, composure, and suppression of anxiety.
2. Another meaning of the subjectivity of mental reflection lies in the belonging of the mental to the individual, its inaccessibility for extraneous observation. On this occasion, the famous American psychologists Miller, Galanter and Pribram write the following: "Perceptions, ideas, thoughts, feelings - all mental phenomena are 'tragically invisible'." From this originated the idealistic concepts of the fundamental unknowability of the mental - agnosticism in psychology. On this basis, introspective psychology was born, a direction that considers the method of self-observation as the only possible method for studying mental reality. However, the subjectivity of psychic reflection does not deny the possibility of objective knowledge of the world as a whole and of psychic phenomena themselves. The criterion is the practical activity of a person, in which the truth of mental reflection is verified. Cognition and objectification of mental phenomena themselves is achieved due to the fact that every mental phenomenon has external manifestations.
To the subject himself, the mental process reveals the properties of the object, leaving completely hidden mechanisms this phenomenon. A person does not see his perceptions, but a material picture of the world opens up to him. Indeed, when light falls on our eye from some object, we feel not the change that occurs in the retina of the eye, but the external cause of sensations - standing in front of us, that is outside of us.This is such a property of mental reflection as its projection, removal, non-coincidence of the space of the object with the space of the organ. We see an object at an objective point in space, where it is located, and not on the retina, where its image is built.
The next feature of psychic reflection is that it bears advancing character. In animals, anticipatory reflection manifests itself in the so-called extrapolation reflex, when the animal is guided in its behavior by the expected movement of the object. This anticipatory behavior in a person is manifested in the construction of plans and programs of behavior, in predicting the results of activities and events.
And, finally, the most important feature of mental reflection is its activity, which acquires the character of interaction and is expressed in adaptation to external conditions, and at higher levels in volitional regulation and self-regulation of behavior.
Psychology, like any other science, has its own methods. Methods of scientific research are the techniques and means by which they obtain the information necessary to make practical recommendations and build scientific theories. The development of any science depends on how perfect the methods used by it, how they reliable and are valid. All this is true in relation to psychology.
The phenomena studied by psychology are so complex and diverse, so difficult for scientific knowledge, that throughout the entire development of psychological science, its success directly depended on the degree of perfection of the research methods used. Psychology stood out as an independent science only in the middle of the 19th century, so it very often relies on the methods of other, older sciences - philosophy, mathematics, physics, physiology, medicine, biology and history. In addition, psychology uses the methods of modern sciences, such as computer science and cybernetics.
It should be emphasized that any independent science has only its inherent methods. Psychology also has such methods. All of them can be divided into two main groups: subjective and objective(Fig. 1.9).
* Rubinstein S. L. Basics general psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 1999.
| 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 following example. Suppose there are two shooters A and B. Shooter A knocks out 90 points out of 100, and shooter B - only 70. Accordingly, the reliability of shooter A is 0.90, and shooter B is 0.70. However, shooter A is always shoots at other people's targets, so his results are not counted in competitions. 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 psychology of personality: Proc. allowance for eating/step. IPK, lecturer ped. disciplines of un-tov and ped. in-comrade. - M.: 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 what the main objective psychological observation: it must, proceeding from the facts, reveal their psychological content.
Observation is a method that all people use. However, scientific observation and the observation that most people use in everyday life have a number of significant differences. Scientific observation is systematic and carried out on the basis of a certain plan in order to obtain an objective picture. Consequently, scientific observation requires special training, during which special knowledge is acquired and qualities that contribute to the objectivity of psychological interpretation.
Rice. 18. Basic methods of psychological research
Observation can be carried out in various ways. For example, the widely used method included observation. This method used in cases where the psychologist himself is a direct participant in the events. However, if, under the influence of the researcher's personal participation, his perception and understanding of the event may be distorted, then it is better to turn to third-party observation, which makes it possible to more objectively judge the events taking place. In its content, the included observation is very close to another method - self-observation.
Self-observation, that is, observation of one's experiences, is one of the specific methods used only in psychology. It should be noted that this method, in addition to advantages, has a number of disadvantages. First, it is very difficult to observe your experiences. They either change under the influence of observation, or completely stop. Secondly, in self-observation it is very difficult to avoid subjectivity, since our perception of what is happening has a subjective coloring. Thirdly, in self-observation it is difficult to express some shades of our experiences.
Nevertheless, the method of self-observation is very important for a psychologist. Faced in practice with the behavior of other people, the psychologist seeks to understand its psychological content. At the same time, in most cases, he turns to his own experience, including the analysis of his experiences. Therefore, in order to work successfully, a psychologist must learn to objectively assess his condition and his experiences.
Self-observation is often used in experimental conditions. In this case, it acquires the most precise character and it is customary to call it experimental self-observation. characteristic feature its is that the questioning of a person is carried out under precisely taken into account the conditions of experience, at those moments that are most interesting to the researcher. In this case, the method of self-observation is very often used in conjunction with the method survey.
A survey is a method based on obtaining the necessary information from the subjects themselves through questions and answers. There are several options for conducting a survey. Each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. There are three main types of survey: oral, written and free.
oral questioning, as a rule, it is used in cases where it is necessary to monitor the reactions and behavior of the subject. This type of survey allows you to penetrate deeper into human psychology than a written one, since the questions asked by the researcher can be adjusted during the research process depending on the characteristics of the behavior and reactions of the subject. However, this version of the survey requires more time to conduct, as well as the availability of special training for the researcher, since the degree of objectivity of the answers very often depends on the behavior and personal characteristics of the researcher himself.
Written survey allows you to cover large quantity people in a relatively short time. The most common form of this survey is a questionnaire. But its disadvantage is that it is impossible to foresee the reaction of the subjects to its questions and change its content in the course of the study.
Free survey - a type of written or oral survey, in which the list of questions asked is not determined in advance. When polling this
| IT IS NECESSARY 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 of conducting a study should not exceed the risk associated with routine everyday 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 this or that way. | other 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 who are in similar conditions. And the greater the number of coincidences, the higher the probability of the existence of the detected phenomenon. On the other hand, this problem is related to the problem of matching30
| 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 memorization of words by neutrally minded subjects with the memorization 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, | separate the names of the subjects and other information allowing their identification 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 being subjected to painful or harmful procedures. However, in last years there is an increased interest in this problem and disputes over the use of animals in scientific research, their maintenance and treatment; 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 their care. 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: Agkinson R. L., Atkinson 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 quantification psychological phenomena began to be undertaken starting from the second half of the 19th century, when it became necessary to make psychology a more accurate and useful science. But even earlier, in 1835, the book of the creator of modern statistics A. Quetelet (1796-1874) "Social Physics" was published. In this book, Quetelet, relying on the theory of probability, showed that its formulas make it possible to detect the subordination of people's behavior to certain patterns. Analyzing the statistical material, he obtained constant values that give a quantitative description of such human acts as marriage, suicide, etc. These acts were previously considered arbitrary. And although the concept formulated by Quetelet was inextricably linked with the metaphysical approach to social phenomena, it introduced a number of new points. For example, Quetelet expressed the idea that if the average number is constant, then behind it there should be a reality comparable to the physical one, which makes it possible to predict various phenomena.
NAMES
Bekhterev Vladimir Mikhailovich(1857-1927) - Russian physiologist, neuropathologist, psychiatrist, psychologist. Based on the reflex concept put forward by I. M. Sechenov mental activity, 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 those expressed in physical units stimuli 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 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 psychological interpretation the results obtained.
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 later wide application to solve practical problems of life. This was the beginning of the creation of applied psychology, called "psychotechnics".
This term entered the lexicon of scientists after the publication of an article by D. Cattell (1860-1944) «Mental Tests and Measurements»("Mental Tests and Measurements") in 1890 in the journal Mind with afterword by Galton. “Psychology,” Cattell writes in this article, “cannot become as solid and precise as the physical sciences if it is not based on experiment and measurement. A step in this direction can be taken by applying a series of mental tests to a large number of people. The results can be of considerable scientific value in discovering the constancy of mental processes, their interdependence and changes in different circumstances.
In 1905, the French psychologist A. Binet created one of the first psychological tests - a test for assessing intelligence. At the beginning of the XX century. The French government instructed Binet to draw up a scale of intellectual abilities for schoolchildren in order to use it for the correct distribution of schoolchildren according to the levels of education. Subsequently, various scientists create a whole series of tests. Their focus on operational solution practical tasks 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 had reached best results, and then they were subjected to newly hired. Obviously, the premise of this procedure was the idea of interdependence between mental structures necessary for successful implementation activities, and those structures, thanks to which the subject copes with the tests.
During the First World War, the use of psychological tests became widespread. At this time, the United States was actively preparing to enter the war. However, they did not have such a military potential as other belligerents. Therefore, even before entering the war (1917), the military authorities turned to the country's leading psychologists E. Thorndike (1874-1949), R. Yerkes (1876-1956) and G. Whipple (1878-1976) with a proposal to lead the solution to the problem of applying psychology in military affairs. The American Psychological Association and universities quickly began work in this direction. Under the leadership of Yerkes, the first group tests for a mass assessment of the suitability (mainly by intelligence) of conscripts for service in various branches of the military: 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 test methods. There are tests based on the self-report of the subjects, such as questionnaire tests. When performing these tests, the subject can consciously or unconsciously influence the test result, especially if he knows how his answers will be interpreted. But there are more objective tests. Among them, first of all, it is necessary to include projective tests. This category of tests does not use self-reports of the subjects. They suggest a free interpretation of research34
the supervisor of the tasks performed by the test subject. For example, according to the most preferred choice of color cards for the subject, the psychologist determines his emotional state. In other cases, the subject is presented with pictures depicting an uncertain situation, after which the psychologist offers to describe the events reflected in the picture, and based on the analysis of the interpretation of the depicted situation by the subject, a conclusion is made about the features of his psyche. However, projective-type tests impose increased requirements on the level vocational 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 - creation based method artificial situation, in which the studied property is distinguished, manifested and evaluated best of all. 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 psychological science form methods modeling. They should be attributed to independent class methods. They are used when other methods are difficult to use. Their peculiarity is that, on the one hand, they rely 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 real situation. 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. mathematical modeling use a mathematical expression or formula that reflects the relationship of variables and the relationship between them, reproducing the elements and relationships in the phenomena under study. Technical Modeling involves the creation of a device or device, in its action reminiscent of what is being studied. Cybernetic modeling is based on the use of concepts from the field of computer science and cybernetics to solve psychological problems. Logic modeling is based on the ideas and symbolism used in mathematical logic.
The development of computers and software for them gave impetus to the modeling of mental phenomena based on the laws of computer operation, since it turned out that the mental operations used by people, the logic of their reasoning in solving problems are close to the operations and logic on the basis of which they work computer programs. This led to attempts to represent and describe human behavior by analogy with the operation of a computer. In connection with these studies, the names of the American scientists D. Miller, Yu. Galanter, K. Pribram, as well as the Russian psychologist L. M. Wekker, became widely known.
In addition to these methods, there are other methods of studying mental phenomena. For example, conversation - poll option. The method of conversation differs from the survey greater freedom carrying out 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 learning mental phenomena is carried out with the complex application various methods.
test questions
1. Tell us about the main structural elements B. G. Ananiev's approach to the study of a person: an individual, a subject of activity, personality, 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 who study man as a biological species.
7. What do you know about research into the problems of anthropogenesis and human sociogenesis?
8. Tell us about the relationship of man with nature. What are the main ideas underlying the biogeochemical theory of V. I. Vernadsky?
9. Define psychology as a science. 10 What are the differences between science 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?
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General foundations of psychology. - 2nd ed. - M.: Vlados 1998.
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Politizdat, 1990.
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Research methods in psychology- these are the techniques and means by which psychologists obtain reliable information used to build scientific theories and develop practical recommendations. The strength of science largely depends on the perfection of research methods, on how valid and reliable they are, how quickly a given branch of knowledge is able to absorb and use all the newest, most advanced that appears in the methods of other sciences. Where this can be done, there is usually a noticeable breakthrough in the knowledge of the world.
All of the above applies to psychology. Through the use of natural and exact sciences, psychology, starting from the second half of the last century, stood out in independent science and began to develop rapidly. Until this moment psychological knowledge received mainly by self-observation (introspection), speculative reasoning, observation of the behavior of other people. The analysis of the facts obtained by such methods served as the basis for the construction of the first scientific theories explaining the essence of psychological phenomena and human behavior. However, the subjectivity of these methods, their lack of reliability were the reason that psychology for a long time remained a non-experimental science, divorced from practice, capable of assuming, but not proving, causal relationships that exist between mental and other phenomena.
In science there are General requirements to the objectivity of scientific psychological research. The principle of objective psychological research is implemented by a variety of methodological means.
1., consciousness is studied in the unity of internal and external manifestations. However, the relationship between the external flow of the process and its internal nature is not always adequate. The general task of all methods of objective psychological research is to adequately reveal this relationship - to determine its internal psychological nature from the external course of an act.
2. Our psychology affirms the unity of mental and physical, therefore psychological research often includes a physiological analysis of psychological processes. For example, it is hardly possible to study emotional processes without analyzing their physiological components. Psychological research cannot study mental phenomena in isolation from their psychophysiological mechanisms.
3. The material foundations of the psyche are not reduced to its organic foundations, the way of thinking of people is determined by the way of their life, the consciousness of people - by social practice. Therefore, the methodology of psychological research should be based on the analysis of human activity.
4. Psychological patterns revealed in the process. The study of development is not only a special area, but also specific method psychological research. The point is not to fix the various levels of development, but to study the driving forces of this process.
Psychology, like any science, uses whole system various methods. In domestic psychology, the following four groups of methods are distinguished:
1. include:
a) comparative genetic method (comparison of different species groups according to psychological indicators);
b) cross-sectional method (comparison of selected same psychological indicators in different groups of subjects);
c) longitudinal method - the method of longitudinal sections (multiple examinations of the same persons over a long period of time);
d) a complex method (representatives of various sciences participate in the study, while, as a rule, one object is studied by different means). Studies of this kind make it possible to establish connections and dependencies between phenomena. different type, for example, between the physiological, psychological and social development of the individual.
2. . They include:
a) observation and self-observation;
b) experimental methods (laboratory, natural, formative);
c) psychodiagnostic methods (tests, questionnaires, questionnaires, sociometry, interviews, conversation);
d) analysis of products of activity;
e) biographical methods.
3. :
a) auto-training;
b) group training;
c) methods of psychotherapeutic influence;
d) training.
4. , including:
a) quantitative method (statistical);
b) qualitative method (differentiation of material by groups, analysis).
Organizational Methods
The knowledge of the patterns of mental development can be approached through two main types of research: the so-called transverse sections and longitudinal (longitudinal). Both types have a number of advantages and disadvantages.
Cross-sectional studies of mental development consist in studying the same psychological characteristics in groups of children of different ages, different levels of development, with different personality traits, clinical reactions, etc. The cross-sectional method also has its advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of this method is the comparative speed of the study - the possibility of acquiring results within a short time.
However, studies in purely transverse sections are static and do not show the dynamics of the development process, its continuity, and many patterns of development obtained in this way are very approximate.
Modern longitudinal studies aim to record the somatic and mental development child. Many specialists, children's doctors and psychologists (Stern, Buhler, Menchinskaya, and others) devoted themselves to long-term observation of their own children. The 1930s brought significant progress in the study of development. Valuable are the observations of young children carried out by Gesell's laboratory (carried out for a whole day). Gesell also studied a group of children month by month, and on the basis of his observations he deduced "norms for the development of behavior" for different age levels, ranging from 0 to 16 years.
In our country, ontogenetic research has a long tradition (V.M., N.M. Shchelovanov, L.S., A.N., D.B., A.A. Lyublinskaya, N.D. Levitov, etc.) . Particularly well-known are studies of the development of speech and its influence on the ability to learn and develop the personality of children, conducted in the laboratory of A.R. Luria (1959, 1961).
R. Gotgshaldt (1960) conducted longitudinal psychological research on twins for more than 20 years. In France, René Zazzo dealt with the same problem. Gemini is a particularly suitable model for studying the influence of constitutional and social factors. This problem directly requires the use of a longitudinal study of twins, called the twin method.
The longitudinal method, in comparison with the method of transverse sections, has many advantages:
- longitudinal study allows processing data for individual age periods;
- it makes it possible to determine the dynamics of the development of each child;
- only a longitudinal study makes it possible to resolve the issue of the so-called critical periods in development.
However, it is obvious that even objective observation of one child does not allow us to come to a conclusion with universal significance. The main disadvantage of longitudinal studies is the significant time required to organize and conduct them.
The comparative method consists in considering individual mechanisms of behavior and psychological acts in comparison with similar phenomena in other organisms. This method is most widely used in zoopsychology and child psychology. This method is called "comparative genetic". The most productive use of this method in the field of comparative psychology (zoopsychology) belonged to V.A. Wagner. In his works, he was the first to substantiate and use the evolutionary method, the essence of which is to compare the psyche of the studied animal with representatives of the previous and subsequent stages of evolution of the animal world. For example, using the comparative method, it was found that chickens are not capable of extrapolation thinking, but dogs are.
Empirical Methods in Psychology
Group empirical methods in psychology it has been considered the main one since psychology emerged as an independent science.
Features of the experimental research method:
1. The researcher himself causes the phenomenon he is studying and actively influences it.
2. The experimenter can vary, change the conditions under which the phenomenon occurs.
3. In the experiment, it is possible to repeatedly reproduce the results.
4. The experiment makes it possible to establish quantitative patterns that allow mathematical formulation.
The main task of a psychological experiment is to make mental regularities accessible to objective observation. In the structure of the experiment, it is possible to designate a system of research stages and tasks:
I- theoretical stage research (problem statement). At this stage, the following tasks are solved:
a) the formulation of the problem and the topic of the study, the title of the topic should include the basic concepts of the subject of the study,
b) definition of the object and subject of research,
c) determination of experimental tasks and research hypotheses.
At this stage, the known facts on the topic of research obtained by other scientists are clarified, which makes it possible to determine the range of solved problems and unsolved problems and formulate hypotheses and problems of a particular experiment. This stage can be considered as a relatively independent research activity of a theoretical nature.
II - methodological stage of the study. At this stage, the experimental methodology and experimental plan are developed. There are two sets of variables in an experiment: independent and dependent. The factor that the experimenter changes is called the independent variable; The factor that the independent variable causes to change is called the dependent variable.
The development of an experimental plan involves two steps: 1) drawing up a work plan and a sequence of experimental procedures, and 2) a mathematical model for processing experimental data.
III - experimental stage. At this stage, direct experiments are carried out. The main problem of this stage is to create in the subjects an identical understanding of the task of their activity in the experiment. This problem is solved through the reproduction of the same conditions for all subjects and instructions, which aims to bring all subjects to a common understanding of the task, acting as a kind of psychological attitude.
IV - analytical stage. At this stage, a quantitative analysis of the results ( mathematical processing), scientific interpretation of the obtained facts; formulation of new scientific hypotheses and practical recommendations. Regarding the mathematical coefficients of statistics, it should be remembered that they are external in relation to the essence of the studied mental phenomena, describing the probability of their manifestation and the relationship between the frequencies of the compared events, and not between their essences. The essence of phenomena is revealed through the subsequent scientific interpretation of empirical facts.
The expansion of the use of the experiment moved from the elementary processes of sensation to the higher mental processes. The modern experimental method exists in three forms: laboratory, natural and formative experiment.
Three considerations are put forward against the laboratory experiment. The artificiality of the experiment, the analyticity and abstractness of the experiment, the complicating role of the experimenter's influence are pointed out.
A peculiar version of the experiment, representing, as it were, an intermediate form between observation and experiment, is the method of the so-called natural experiment proposed by the Russian scientist A.F. Lazursky (1910). His main tendency is to combine the experimental nature of the study with the naturalness of the conditions. Instead of translating the phenomena under study into laboratory conditions, researchers try to find natural conditions that suit their goals. A natural experiment that solves the problems of psychological and pedagogical research is called a psychological and pedagogical experiment. Its role is exceptionally great in the study of the cognitive abilities of students at various age stages.
Another variation of the experimental method is called formative experimentation. In this case, the experiment acts as a means of influencing, changing the psychology of people. Its originality lies in the fact that it simultaneously serves as a means of research and a means of forming the phenomenon under study. The formative experiment is characterized by the active intervention of the researcher in the mental processes he is studying. As an example of a formative experiment, one can consider the modeling of psychological and pedagogical situations. This method is based on the design of new education and training programs and ways to implement them.
Interview, questionnaire. Among the most common means of psychodiagnostics are all kinds of surveys, i.e. obtaining information from the words of the respondents. The scope of surveys in psychological research is quite extensive:
- the survey acts as the main means of collecting primary information in the early stages of the study;
- with the help of these interviews, working hypotheses are put forward;
- the survey serves to clarify and control the data obtained by other methods.
The whole variety of survey methods used in psychological research can be reduced to two main types:
1) a face-to-face survey - an interview conducted by a researcher according to a specific plan;
2) correspondence survey - questionnaires intended for self-completion.
There are two types of interviews: standardized and non-standardized. In a standardized interview, the wording of the questions and their sequence are predetermined, they are the same for all respondents. The researcher is not allowed to change any questions or introduce new ones. The non-standardized interview methodology, on the contrary, is characterized by complete flexibility and varies widely. The researcher, who is guided only by the general plan of the interview, has the right to formulate questions and change the order of the points of the plan, in accordance with the specific situation.
Questioning (correspondence survey) also has its own specifics. It is more expedient to resort to a correspondence survey in cases where it is necessary to find out the attitude of people to debatable or intimate issues, or to interview a large number of people in a relatively short time. The main advantage of the survey is the possibility of mass coverage of a large number of people. The questionnaire guarantees anonymity to a greater extent than the interview, and therefore the respondents can give more sincere answers.
However, surveys as methods of collecting primary information are characterized by certain limitations. Their data often testify not so much to the true opinions and moods of the respondents, but to how they portray them.
Conversation. is auxiliary means in the study and should be combined with other objective methods. The conversation should always be organized according to plan. Questions asked in a conversation can be, as it were, tasks aimed at revealing the uniqueness of mental processes. But at the same time, such tasks should be as natural as possible.
The study of products of activity. This method is widely used in historical psychology for the study of human psychology in long-gone historical times, inaccessible to direct observation or experimentation. The purpose of this method is to allow understanding the patterns psychological development man, relying on the laws of his socio-historical development.
This method is also widely used in child psychology - products are studied children's creativity for psychological study child.
biographical method. A variation of the method of studying the products of activity is biographical method. The material here is letters, diaries, biographies, handwriting, etc. In many cases, this method is used not alone, but in combination with other methods that complement each other. At the same time, each of the methods used reveals new aspects of mental activity.
Correction methods
more often it is required in a situation of not only objectively existing, but also subjectively experienced distress. This experience can be acute and expressed in deep dissatisfaction with oneself, others, life in general, and sometimes in suffering. In such cases, it is required to provide not only advisory, but also psychotherapeutic assistance.
Psychotherapeutic assistance is individual and is based on a deep penetration into the patient's personality, his feelings, experiences, attitudes, picture of the world, the structure of relationships with others. Such penetration requires special psychodiagnostic methods, which we wrote about above. These psychodiagnostics are necessary in order to enable the psychologist to determine the program further work with the client, including corrective methods. Currently, psycho-corrective methods are a rather extensive set of techniques, programs and methods for influencing people's behavior. Let us characterize the main directions of psycho-correctional work.
Autotraining. Method autogenic training was proposed by the German psychotherapist I.G. Schultz. Autogenic training has become widespread primarily as a method of treatment and prevention of various types of neuroses and functional disorders in the body, as well as a means of managing a person's condition in extreme conditions of activity. At present, autogenic training has firmly entered the system of training athletes, and is increasingly being used in production teams in the form of psycho-hygienic emotional-unloading procedures.
In autogenic training, three main ways of influencing the state of the nervous system are used. The first way is associated with the peculiarities of the influence of skeletal muscle tone and respiration on the central nervous system. The waking state of a person is associated with maintaining a sufficiently high muscle tone. The more intense the activity, the higher this tone. This most important physiological pattern underlies the entire system of autogenic training. The relationship between the state of the central nervous system and the tone of the skeletal muscles allows, through a conscious change in muscle tone, to influence the level of mental activity. In order to master auto-training, you must first develop the ability to completely relax the muscles of the body. Similarly affects the level of mental tone of the nervous system and the rhythm of breathing. Frequent breathing ensures high activity of the body.
The second way of influencing the nervous system is associated with the use of sensory images (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.). The sensual image is an active instrument of influencing mental condition and human health. The constant holding in the mind's eye of gloomy, bleak pictures sooner or later undermines health, and vice versa. It should be borne in mind that in a state of muscular relaxation, the effectiveness of sensory images increases significantly.
Finally, the third way of influencing the nervous system is associated with the programming role of the word, pronounced not only aloud, but also mentally. This property inner speech(in the form of self-orders) has long been used in sports to increase the effectiveness of training, mobilize internal reserves during competitions.
Group (social-psychological) training. Group training is understood as peculiar forms of teaching knowledge and individual skills in the field of communication, as well as forms of correction of violations that have arisen on the basis of communication.
A number of features can be distinguished:
all methods group training focused on teaching group interaction;
these methods are based on the student's activity (through the inclusion of research elements in the training). If traditional methods are focused mainly on conveying ready-made knowledge, then here the research participants themselves must come to them.
All the many forms of socio-psychological training can be divided into two large classes:
- games focused on the development of social skills (for example, the ability to conduct a discussion, resolve interpersonal conflicts). Among game methods the most widely used method of role-playing games;
- group discussions aimed at the skills of analyzing communication situations - analyzing oneself, a communication partner, a group situation as a whole. The group discussion method is most often used in the form of case studies.
Forms of group training are very diverse. Classes can be recorded on tape or videotaped. The last form of training is called "video training". This audio and video recording is used by the training leader for review by the group members and subsequent group discussion.
Currently, the practice of group training is a booming branch of applied psychology. Socio-psychological training is used to train specialists of various profiles: managers, teachers, doctors, psychologists, etc. It is used to correct the dynamics of marital conflicts, improve relations between parents and children, correct socio-psychological maladjustment of adolescents, etc.
In the practice of psychological work, the main goal is the correct, independent of the opinion of the psychologist, identification of the magnitude of the characteristics being studied, the psychologist seeks to objectively assess the mental situation, the characteristics of the personality of the subjects. This can be achieved by repeated application of various methods, long-term observation of the manifestations of signs by various subjects, as well as by identifying the high-frequency probability of their assessment in various or typical situations.
In this way, objectivity in psychological research - this is the adequacy and independence of the results of assessing the qualities or properties of the object or phenomenon under study from the subjectivity of the researcher. It can be achieved by abstracting the psychologist from the individual interpretation of the results of the study, when a situation arises in which the sign is definitely and unambiguously revealed in the majority of subjects by different researchers. However, the experience of a psychologist allows one to intuitively or on the basis of accumulated facts and a formulated algorithm cut off insignificant, biased information, thereby objectifying one's subjective conclusion.
Thus, the objectivity of psychological research in general and empirical indicators in particular is achieved by acquiring experience in obtaining, using and interpreting data, as well as by steadfast adherence to the criteria for the reliability of psychological measurement.
The experience of a psychologist as an indicator of the objectivity of psychological research is manifested in at least three aspects. First, over time, the researcher compares the results subjective assessment with the objective results of the life of the subjects. Moreover, the accumulated empirical result in this comparison acquires its objectivity, since the experimental assessment is "edited" and corrected, becoming real and objective. Secondly, the researcher adjusts the research tool itself. Insignificant indicators and scales are "cut off", their interpretation changes, new norms and evaluation criteria are developed. Third, in the process psychological practice the researcher learns the experience of others through publications and in the course of a direct exchange of information. These facts illustrate the transition of the psychologist's subjective psychological assessment into the mainstream of an objective conclusion.
Reliability should be understood as "sufficient fidelity" of measurements, i.e. sufficient for this level psychological ideas the correctness (truth) of the results. Permissible error should not exceed the degree of assumption about the actual value of the feature. Thus, reliability can be made up of the accuracy of measurements and the adequacy of the assessment of the actually studied trait.
In practice, the reliability of a psychological measurement is determined, first of all, by validity (correspondence of test data to the property being measured), reliability (accuracy of psychodiagnostic measurements), predictability (the assumption of the development of the measured property), and normativity of the psychological methods used.
Validity of psychological methods. Quite a lot of research is devoted to the problem of validity in psychology. Moreover, the classification of types and types of validity and their names are given quite diversely (Fig. 4.10).
Rice. 4.10.
Validity as an element of the reliability of the psychological measurement of the properties of a psychological phenomenon is a measure of the correspondence of empirical assessments to ideas about the essence of properties or their role in a particular phenomenon under study. In the theory of psychometrics, two main types and several types of method validity are defined. The types of validity include: external and internal validity.
External validity is a measure of the possibility of transferring the results of a measurement to the population under study. It is determined by forming a representative study sample and cross-validation.
Sample representativeness is the representativeness of the experimental sample, reflecting the main properties of the studied population (general population). It is determined by comparing the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the experimental sample with the characteristics of the population in order to establish their homogeneity. Qualitative characteristics may include socio-demographic, species, intellectual (educational), professional and other characteristics of the population (group) that are the subject of research or significantly affect it. Quantitative characteristic experimental group- this is its minimum number, which preserves the properties of the general population. In the psychological literature, there are several theoretical approaches to calculating the size of the minimum representative sample, tables of experimentally obtained data are often given.
Cross Validation is carried out by testing the methodology on a sample other than the experimental one in order to determine the boundaries of its applicability according to the criterion "population characteristics" (to determine the level of property development in children, adolescents, men or women, a certain group of specialists, etc.). During cross-validation, correlation coefficients between indicators obtained as a result of testing are calculated different groups test subjects. The conclusion about the possibility of applying the technique to a particular population is made using certain statistical criteria.
Internal validity - a measure of the compliance of test scores with the level of development of the measured property. She is consists, at least, of five kinds of elements : a) conceptual (theoretical) validity (theoretical substantiation of the possibility of measuring the property under study by data psychological remedy); b) content validity (the degree of representativeness of the content of the posterior method of the measured area of mental properties; c) construct validity (the degree of representation of the studied psychological construct in the results of the measuring tool ("to what extent the test results are considered as a measure of the studied psychological construct - factor, property" )); G) operational validity (degree of representation in experimental operations of real operational conditions of mental reality); e) empirical validity (a set of characteristics of the validity of the methodology obtained by comparative in a statistical way evaluation. These characteristics include the so-called auto-validity, obvious, criterion, and other types of validity. Empirical validity is measured using validity coefficients).
predictive validity is an element of the content of the reliability of the method and is defined as the degree of accuracy and validity of the judgment about the studied mental property according to its result, after certain time after measurement.
The indicator of predictiveness is the degree of regression of test data to objective criteria. Regression is a function f(x1, x2 x3,... xn), which describes the dependence of the average indicator of a technique that measures a certain psychological phenomenon on the given fixed values of the real manifestation of this phenomenon (external criterion - y). This function can be linear or non-linear.
In practical psychology, to predict the development or manifestation of a measured property, linear or multiple linear regression is more often used (y = b + a1x1 + + a2x2 + ..., + anxn). physical meaning it consists in equating the dependent and independent variables. A change in the independent variable determines the corresponding fluctuation in the dependent variable. The coefficients of the equation reflect the degree of predictability of the function, i.e. the level of explained variance "x" due to the change in "y". When using a test battery, the forecast of the measured property is carried out by means of several dependent variables (x1, x2, x3, ..., xn) interconnected, which form a multiple linear regression. When using a multiple linear function to predict the development of the phenomenon or property under study, the level of measurement predictability and its reliability increases due to overlap different methods various aspects of the phenomenon or property under study.
Reliability - this is a characteristic of a psychological technique that reflects the accuracy of measurements, as well as the stability (stability) of the results to the action of extraneous random factors. Reliability and validity are the most important characteristics methods as a tool for psychological research.
The greatest stability of the results is observed when using graphic and graphological tests, the indicators of which change extremely slowly. The handwriting is slowly changing, and the quality of the lines of the drawings and their composition remain practically unchanged. The greatest dynamism of indicators is observed in intelligence tests, which directly depend on the ability of a person to accumulate and process information.
The stability (stability) of the method indicators is affected by: the condition and mood of the subjects, the motivation of the subjects for testing, ergonomic factors (light, room temperature, vibration, noise, etc.), activity characteristics (monotonicity - dynamism, interference, etc.) , the degree of learning (or training) of the subjects, the variability of the instrument of psychological measurement, the stability of the measurement procedure itself, etc. Reliability, therefore, is the degree of consistency of test results obtained during the first and subsequent measurements.
In practice, the most widely used six types of reliability: retest reliability (test-retest reliability); reliability of parallel forms; reliability of parts of the test (reliability as homogeneity of tests); reliability according to Kuder-Richardson; the reliability of the interpreter ("estimator") and the standard error of measurements.
The definition of the reliability coefficient of the first two types is calculated according to the formulas for calculating the correlation coefficients (depending on the scale in which the data are measured) between the first and subsequent measurements or between parallel forms of the methodology.
The calculation of the reliability factor in the study of homogeneity is carried out by dividing the methodology into equal subtests and calculating the correlation between these parts. To determine the overall reliability of the method, the obtained correlation coefficients are entered into the Spearman-Brown formula:
where R is the correlation of the "halves" of the test.
If parts of the methodology are separate dichotomous tasks, for example, questions that can be answered two times (yes or no), or tasks with an assessment of the result as correct or incorrect, the formula is used
where is the share of the first answer to question i; – share of the second option to question i.
The reliability of the methodology parts can also be calculated using the Kuder-Richardson formula:
where K is the number equal parts test; is the variance of part of the test i; is the variance of the whole test.
When working with clinical questionnaires, tests of creativity and projective technologies, the reliability of the methods is determined by comparing the interpretation of the results by two or more expert psychologists. Significant correlation coefficients between them show the reliability of expertise.
The reliability coefficients of psychological measurements are the magnitude of the variance of indicators, which is calculated by squaring the correlation coefficient. It is interpreted as follows. For example, the correlation coefficient between parallel forms of the methodology is 0.75. The reliability factor is calculated as 0.752 = 0.56. This means that 56% of the variance of the studied empirical data depends on the true variance of the features (parallel test data), and 44% depends on errors or random variables.
Reliability can be expressed by calculating the standard error of measurements (SEM) (standard error of the exponent), which is calculated by the formula
where - standard deviation test indicators, and - the value of the reliability coefficient.
The physical meaning of SEM is to determine the dispersion of the indicators of the methodology around the "true indicator", which is characterized by the density normal distribution data. If, for example, 68% of all cases of a normal distribution of psychological data fall within the interval , then there are about two chances to one (68 / 32) that the measurement error will "fluctuate" within ± 1SEM. With an increase in the density of data distribution, for example, , the probability of prediction also increases (99.7 / 0.3) with a corresponding increase in the error interval in both directions .
Thus, the reliability, validity and predictability of empirical data make it possible to measure psychological variables on appropriate level reliability, which is dictated by the practice of social research.
- See for example: Anastasi A. Psychological testing: in 2 volumes. Moscow: Pedagogy, 1982; Anastasi A., Urbina S. Psychological testing. St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001; BurlachukL. F., Morozov S. M. Dictionary-reference book on psychodiagnostics. St. Petersburg: Peter Kom, 1999; Bodalev A. A., Stolin V. V. General psychodiagnostics. St. Petersburg: RECH, 2002: Gilbukh Yu. Z. Topical issues of validation of psychological tests // Questions of psychology. No. 5. M.: Pedagogy, 1978. S. 108–118; Gaida V. K., Zakharov V. P. Psychological testing: textbook, manual. L.: Publishing House of Leningrad State University, 1982. S. 13–18 and others.
- The formation of a representative sample on a quantitative basis is carried out using P. A. Chebyshev’s theorem on the probability of representativeness error, which states: “With a probability arbitrarily close to one, it can be argued that with a sufficiently large number of independent observations, the sample mean will differ arbitrarily little from the general average. According to the first corollary from the theorem of P. L. Chebyshev "...With probability arbitrarily close to unity (“practically certain”), the sample fraction will differ arbitrarily little from general share if the sample size is large enough" (See: Karasev A. I. Fundamentals of mathematical statistics. M.: Rosvuzizdat, 1962. S. 172).
- See for example: Moskvin S. Sampling in sociological research // Military Sociological Research, 1993, pp. 27–30; Introduction to the profession. M.: Military Publishing House, 1992; Karasev A. I. Fundamentals of mathematical statistics. Moscow: Rosvuzizdat. 1962, pp. 212–213: Burlachuk L. F., Morozov S. M. Dictionary- reference book on psychodiagnostics. St. Petersburg: Peter Kom, 1999. S. 64–65 and others.
- S. Moskvin notes that with a general population of 400, 500, 1000, 2000, 5000, 10,000 or more people, the minimum sample is 200, 222, 286, 333, 370, 398 and 400 subjects, respectively. G. Loza points to the following ratio of the general population and the size of the experimental sample when conducting sociological research: 100/16–17 people, 300/50 people, 1000/100 people. and 5000/200 subjects. For A. Goncharov, the minimum representative sample relative to the general population, respectively, is: 500/222, 1000/286, 2000/333, 3000/350, 4000/360, 5000/370, 10,000/385, 100,000/398 and more than 100,000 – 400 respondents.
- Anastasi A., Urbina S. Psychological testing. St. Petersburg: Piter, 2001, p. 140.
- Cm . Anastasi A., Urbina S. Psychological testing. pp. 103–132.
- Мх – mathematical expectation (average value).
