Verbal communicative methods in psychodiagnostics. The specifics of survey methods, interviews and conversations

Verbal-communicative methods

Verbally - communicative methods-- a group of psychological and, in particular, psychodiagnostic methods based on verbal (oral or written) communication.

Proficiency in speech has been and is an important integral part success in many professional fields. Oratory, since Ancient Greece, was considered an essential quality of leaders, heroes and leaders. In ancient times, teaching rhetoric and dialogue techniques became mandatory. Since verbal view communication is a key element human society. Moreover, the artistic command of the voice, its timbre, tonality, the ability to place accents sometimes becomes more important than the content of the message itself. In addition, different shades of voice form the image of a communicator in the minds of the audience.

The effectiveness of verbal communication is largely determined by the extent to which the communicator owns oratory, as well as his personal characteristics. Speech today is the most important professional component of a person.

In the practice of speaking in public, one should not forget that it is the content of the messages that is of paramount importance for creating an atmosphere of trust, building positive for the organization public relations. That is why PR-specialists spend a lot of time preparing articles, press releases, writing speeches. It is necessary to see the difference between text and verbal communication. The text has its own structure, different from others. Verbal communication affects the audience not only by the content of the message, but also in other planes (timbre, loudness, tonality, physical features, etc.). In addition to voice features in the formation of verbal communication great value has a correlation between the positions of the listeners and the speaker, the distance between them. Communication specialists distinguish four distances of communication, the change of which leads to a change in the norms of communication, including the norms of oral speech: - intimate (15-45 cm); - personal - close (45-75 cm), - personal - far (75-120 cm); - social (120-360 cm); - public (360 cm and beyond).

Knowledge of such details is undoubtedly important in the construction of verbal communication. Even more important is the choice of a strategy for the verbal impact of the communicator on the audience. The strategy includes a set personal qualities communicator, his knowledge of the basics of the psychology of the audience, the ability to determine values close to it, as well as be guided necessary rules compiling and transmitting information. The message is built according to certain requirements: - speech should be simple and accessible; - appeal to the audience should be based on simple and understandable human values; - it is desirable to avoid the frequent use of new, little-known and foreign words.

Within the framework of psychotherapy, interesting rules have been developed for the formation of trust in relations between the communicator and the audience. Here is one of them: "To begin with, to establish contact, communication, meet the patient in his own model peace. Make your behavior - verbal and non-verbal - the same as that of a patient, A depressed patient should be met by a depressed doctor. get carried away with one's own person. Verbal impact on the audience begins with sound perception. Therefore, phonosemantic specialists have determined different meanings of sounds based on the associations of native speakers of a given language with a particular color. For example, this is how A. Zhuravlev defines the scale of vowel sounds and colors in his work " Sound and Meaning:

A - bright red;

O - bright light yellow or white;

I - light blue;

E - light yellow;

U - dark blue-green;

S - dull dark brown or black.

Similar scales have been developed not only for sounds (vowels and consonants), but also for words in general, as well as individual phrases:

Explosion - big, rough, strong, scary, loud.

The scream is strong.

Thunder - rough, strong, evil.

Babble - good, small, gentle, weak, quiet.

Roar - rough, strong, terrible.

Pipe - light.

Crack - rough, angular.

The whisper is quiet.

Situation;

Orientation;

Complication;

interchange;

The reaction of a person listening to the news varies greatly depending on the context in which he hears the message. X. Weinrich wrote about the same thing in the book "Linguistics of Lies": "There is a privileged area of literary lies. Love, war, cruise and hunting have their own language - like all dangerous activities, because it is important for their success. "Verbal communication helps to create messages that are perceived and understood by a wide target audience, significantly affects the reaction of the latter.

"Verbal and communicative methods of psychological research"

Verbal-communicative methods are a group of methods for obtaining and applying psychological information based on verbal (oral or written) communication.

Methods can act as independent methods of diagnostic, research, consulting and psycho-corrective work, or be included in the structure of other methods as their natural components.

Main types of this type methods: conversation and survey.

The survey is implemented in two main ways: interviews and questionnaires.

The specificity of the methods of the group under consideration is their inalienability from the process of intensive communication between the researcher and the subject. At the same time, according to the task of research, only their fruitful interaction is usually required. But the latter, as a rule, cannot be carried out without establishing a favorable relationship between them. Thus, the use of verbal-communicative methods clearly demonstrates that communication is a unity of interactions and relationships.

A conversation is a method of verbally obtaining information from a person of interest to the researcher by conducting a thematically directed conversation with him.

Conversation as an empirical method implies oral communication. Moreover, this is the communication of the person under study, firstly, not with any other person, but with the researcher, and, secondly, this is communication at the time of the study, i.e. actual communication, not delayed in time.

The conversation is widely used in social, medical, age (especially children's), legal, political psychology. As an independent method, conversation is especially intensively used in consultative, diagnostic and psycho-correctional work.

In activity practical psychologist conversation often plays a role not only professional method collection of psychological data, but also a means of informing, persuading, educating.

Perceptual information obtained during an interview is often no less important and abundant than communicative information. The connection between conversation and observation is one of its specific features. At the same time, psychological conversation, i.e. conversation aimed at obtaining psychological information and providing psychological impact on personality, perhaps, can be attributed to the most specific methods for psychology.

The researcher usually tries to conduct a conversation in a free, relaxed manner, trying to "open" the interlocutor, liberating him, endearing him to himself. Then the probability of the sincerity of the interlocutor increases significantly. And the more sincere it is, the higher the adequacy of the data obtained in the conversation and surveys to the problem under study.

Most common causes insincerity can be: fear of showing oneself from a bad or funny side; unwillingness to mention other persons, let alone characterize them; refusal to disclose those aspects of life that the respondent considers (correctly or erroneously) intimate; fears that unfavorable conclusions will be drawn from the conversation; "unsympathetic" conducting the conversation; misunderstanding the purpose of the conversation.

Usually very important for the successful development of the conversation is the very beginning of the conversation. His first phrases can arouse either interest and a desire to enter into a dialogue with the researcher, or, conversely, a desire to evade him. For supporting good contact with an interlocutor, the researcher is recommended to demonstrate his interest in his personality, in his problems, in his opinions. But one should refrain from open agreement, and even more so disagreement with the opinion of the respondent. The researcher can express his active participation in the conversation, interest in it by facial expressions, postures, gestures, intonation, additional questions, specific remarks like “this is very interesting!”.

The conversation is always to some extent accompanied by observation of the appearance and behavior of the subject. This observation provides additional, and sometimes basic information about the interlocutor, about his attitude to the subject of the conversation, to the researcher and the surrounding environment, about his responsibility and sincerity.

The specificity of a psychological conversation, in contrast to everyday conversation, lies in the inequality of the positions of the interlocutors. The psychologist here is, as a rule, the proactive side, it is he who directs the topics of the conversation and asks questions. His partner usually acts as the answerer to these questions.

The asymmetry of functions in the process of psychological conversation is fraught with a decrease in confidence. And emphasizing these differences can completely destroy the balance in the interaction of the researcher with the researched. The latter begins to "close", deliberately distort the information he reports, simplify and schematize answers up to monosyllabic statements like "yes-no", or even avoid contact altogether. “Therefore, it is very important that the conversation does not turn into an interrogation, as this makes its effectiveness equal to zero.”

Another important feature of psychological conversation is due to the fact that society has developed an attitude towards a psychologist as a specialist in human soul and human relations. His conversation partners are often set up to receive a momentary solution to their problems, expect advice on how to behave in Everyday life and unequivocal answers to questions of spiritual life, including questions from the category of "eternal".

And the psychologist leading the conversation must comply with this system of expectations.

He must be sociable, tactful, tolerant, emotionally sensitive and responsive, observant and reflective, well erudite on a wide range of issues and, of course, must have deep psychological knowledge.

Guided Conversation i.e. a conversation in which the initiative is on the side of the researcher is not always effective. Sometimes it is more productive to have an unmanaged form of conversation. Here the initiative passes to the respondent, and the conversation takes on the character of a confession. This type of conversation is typical for psychotherapeutic practice, when a person needs to “talk out”. Then such a specific quality of a psychologist as the ability to listen acquires special significance. This quality is generally one of the basic ones for fruitful and pleasant communication, but in this case it appears as necessary and essential element professional activity psychologist. No wonder psychologists from time to time recall the saying of the founder of Stoicism, Zeno of Kition:

“Two ears and one tongue are given to us in order to listen more and speak less.”

Listening in a conversation does not mean simply not speaking or waiting for your turn to speak. it active process, requiring heightened attention to what is about in question and who they are talking to. Listening has two aspects.

The first is external, organizational.

We are talking about the ability to focus on the topic of conversation, actively participate in it, maintaining interest in the conversation from the partner.

It takes desire to listen. This level of listening provides correct perception and intellectual understanding of the speech of the interlocutor, but not enough for emotional understanding the interlocutor himself.

The second aspect of listening is internal, empathic. Even the most passionate desire to talk with another person does not guarantee that he will “get through” to us, and we will “hear” him, i.e. let us delve into his problems, feel his pain or resentment, really rejoice in his success. Such empathy can range from mild empathy to intense empathy and even self-identification with a communication partner.

In this case, perhaps, "hearing is more than listening." We, attentively listening to the interlocutor, hear his inner world.

Thus, the relationship between the concepts of "listen" and "hear" is not unambiguous and dynamic.

Whatever the form of the conversation, it is always an exchange of remarks. These remarks can be both narrative and interrogative. The replies of the researcher direct the conversation, determine its strategy, and the replies of the respondent supply the required information.

Analysis tape recordings conversations made it possible to establish significant differences in the behavior of men and women. When two men or two women are talking, they interrupt each other about equally often. But when a man and a woman are talking, the man interrupts the woman almost twice as often. For about one third of the conversation, the woman collects her thoughts, trying to restore the direction of the conversation, which was at the moment when she was interrupted.

Men tend to focus more on the content of the conversation, while women tend to focus more on the process of communication.

A man usually listens attentively for only 10-15 seconds. Then he begins to listen to himself and look for something to add to the subject of the conversation.

Psychologists believe that listening to oneself is a purely male habit, which is fixed through training in clarifying the essence of the conversation and acquiring problem-solving skills. So the man stops listening and focuses on how to end the conversation. As a result, men tend to give ready-made answers too quickly. They do not listen to the end of the interlocutor and do not ask questions in order to get more information before drawing conclusions.

A woman, listening to the interlocutor, is more likely to see him as a person, understand the feelings of the speaker. Women are less likely to interrupt the interlocutor, and when they interrupt themselves, they return to the questions on which they were stopped. But this does not mean at all that all men are unreceptive and incorrect listeners, as well as the fact that all women are sincere and sympathetic listeners.

It is very important, both when conducting a conversation and when interpreting it, to take into account that some types of remarks, which, of course, are mental features of a person and his attitude to the interlocutor, can disrupt the course of communication up to its termination. Sometimes such remarks are called communication barriers.

These include: 1) an order, an instruction (for example, “speak more clearly!”, “Repeat!”); 2) warning, threat (“you will regret it”); 3) promise - trade ("calm down, I will listen to you"); 4) teaching, moralizing (“this is wrong”, “you should do this”, “in our time such people acted”); 5) advice, recommendation (“I suggest you do this and that”, “try to do this”); 6) disagreement, condemnation, accusation (“you acted stupidly”, “you are mistaken”, “I can no longer argue with you”); 7) consent, praise (“I think you are right”, “I am proud of you”); 8) humiliation (“Oh, you are all the same”, “Well, Mr. Know-It-All?”); 9) scolding (“scoundrel, you ruined everything!”); 10) interpretation (“yes, you yourself do not believe in what you say”, “now it is clear why you did this”); 11) reassurance, consolation (“everyone makes mistakes”, “I am also upset by this”); 12) interrogation (“what do you intend to do?”, “who told you this?”); 13) withdrawal from the problem, distraction, joking (“let's talk about something else”, “throw it out of your head”, “ha ha, this is not serious!”).

Negative remarks often disrupt the train of thought of the interlocutor, confuse him, force him to resort to protection, and can cause irritation and even indignation. Of course, the reactions to these "barriers" are situational, and the advice does not necessarily have to cause irritation, let alone praise - indignation.

The main methods of conducting and types of psychological conversation

Non-reflective listening is "the ability to be attentively silent." It can express both approval, and understanding, and support, and sympathy, since a lot can be communicated with a minimum of words, coupled with non-verbal communication. Often this “interview” technique is very productive, and in some cases the only one possible for effective communication and obtaining psychological information, since, despite the truths discovered by Zeno, most people prefer to speak than to listen.

Atwater gives the following typical situations in which the use of non-reflective listening is especially useful: the interlocutor is eager to express his attitude to something or express his point of view; the interlocutor wants to discuss urgent problems; the speaker has difficulty expressing his problems; emotional bondage of the interlocutor.

Let's take a closer look at these situations.

1. The interlocutor is eager to express his attitude to something or express his point of view. And this should be encouraged at the beginning of a psychotherapeutic conversation for diagnostic purposes, during interviews, during an interview during professional selection.

2. The interlocutor wants to discuss urgent problems. It is important for him to "speak out" himself, what others will say to him is indifferent. Such relaxation is especially useful in tense situations, which is typical for psychotherapeutic sessions.

3. The speaker has difficulty expressing his problems. Non-interference in his speech makes it easier for him to express himself. In this case, they say that "a tape recorder is better than any interlocutor."

4. Emotional enslavement of the interlocutor, caused by the superiority of the partner's position. This superiority may stem from differences in social status, due to a loss to a partner in some dominant quality for this person, accompanied by a “halo effect”, from a perceived asymmetry of the function in a conversation.

All these situations are connected with the desire of a person to find a listener, a kind of “resonator”, and not an adviser.

Non-reflective listening is a subtle trick. It should be used carefully, as it is easy to make mistakes and overdo it in silence.

One of the common mistakes is the belief that others are ready to speak whenever we are ready to listen. More often, the opposite happens: people want to tell us when it is convenient for them, and not for us. Non-reflexive listening is fraught with two more dangers for the researcher. First, if the listener does not share the views and opinions of the speaker, but shows him an interest, then he can be accused of hypocrisy. Especially if the speaker at first became convinced of the commonality of their positions, mistaking understanding for agreement and sympathy, and later realized his mistake. Therefore, in order not to violate the ethics of the psychologist, the researcher, as soon as he realized that the partner was misinterpreting his position, should immediately explain himself. Even if it threatens to worsen or stop communication.

The second danger lies in the possibility of the listener sliding into the position of a "sufferer", enduring all the verbal outpourings of the speaker. For one, the conversation turns into torture, and his participation and understanding develop into hostility, while for the other, this procedure gradually turns into one-sided chatter with a high probability of realizing his ridiculous position, followed by resentment.

To prevent such consequences in an uncontrolled conversation, in order to avoid the talkative interlocutor from abusing the attention of the presenter, the latter must still optimize his non-interference. This is achieved both by minimal speech inserts and by means of non-verbal communication. The simplest neutral remarks such as “yes?”, “Really?”, “This is very interesting!”, “I see”, “so-so”, “a little more” contribute to the development of the conversation, especially at its very beginning. They stimulate and inspire the speaker, relieve tension, maintain his interest, demonstrate understanding and goodwill of the listener.

If there are not enough such surrogate remarks, so-called “buffer phrases” are introduced, such as: “Does something bother you?”, “Something happened?”, “You look good”, “You look like a happy person”.

A well-chosen distance between the interlocutors contributes to the conversation, while excessive proximity or distance from each other hinders its development. Face-to-face is one thing, half-turned is another. Talking while standing or sitting can produce different results. It is unlikely that the conversation will be productive if for a long time one partner is sitting and the other is standing, one is located above, the other is below. The purpose of the conversation and the situation can predetermine its optimal duration, the need for breaks.

The nature of the conversation and its outcome can have strong influence and such spatial and temporal parameters as tightness - space, haste - slowness, the presence of furniture that separates the interlocutors, comfort - the inconvenience of the situation, being late - accuracy.

A controlled conversation involves a more active verbal intervention of the researcher in the process of communication with the respondent. And then they resort to reflective listening. In addition to the functions of non-reflexive listening, it also performs the function of controlling the accuracy of perception of what is heard.

The need for such control may arise for various reasons. The main ones are as follows: the ambiguity of words, the "coded" nature of many messages, the difficulties of open self-expression.

Polysemy of words. It is necessary to clarify in what sense the word was used by the speaker. The frequent discrepancy between the meaning of a word and the meaning put into it by the speaker or listener can also be attributed to this category.

Another reason lies in the "encoded" nature of many messages. This encryption may be due to a reluctance to offend or a desire to hide true motives.

Another reason is the difficulty of open self-expression caused by certain conventions and traditions. Let's remember the well-known proverb: "The word is tin, and silence is gold."

Most social groups it is not customary to “pour out the soul” in public, especially in an unusual environment.

No less problems for the effectiveness of the conversation are posed by personal communication barriers: shyness, fearfulness, depression, inability to express one's thoughts, defects in diction. The less self-confidence, the longer man during conversation; walks around and around before moving on to the main thing.

The technique of reflective listening includes four main methods of revealing the speaker and controlling the information coming from him. These are: clarifying, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings and summarizing.

Clarification is asking the respondent for clarification to help make the message more understandable. These requests receive additional information or clarify the meaning of what is said. For example: "What do you mean?"; "I did not understand the last phrase"; "Explain something to me."

Paraphrasing - the formulation of the speaker's statement in a different form. The speaker's message is forwarded to him, but in the words of the listener. The goal is to check the accuracy of understanding the interlocutor.

Reflection of feelings - a verbal expression by the listener of the current experiences and states of the speaker. It is desirable that the statements are not trivial, reflecting attention to the interlocutor and empathy for him. Nevertheless, the use of standard introductions such as: "It seems that you feel this and that" is also acceptable; "Don't you feel like..."

A summary is a summary of the speaker's thoughts and feelings. Such statements help to unite separate fragments of the conversation into a single whole and present the whole conversation in its semantic and emotional unity. The listener gains confidence in the adequacy of perception and understanding of the conversation, and the respondent realizes how much he managed to convey his thoughts and feelings. Often such resumes begin with typical introductions like the following: "So, the main thing is ...", "What you said today could mean ...", "As I understand it, your main idea is ...". It is especially useful to summarize when resolving any problems or problems in a conversation. conflict situations, in a multifaceted conversation.

No less than non-reflexive and reflective listening, a method of conducting a conversation called empathic listening is known.

Empathy is the ability to respond emotionally to the experiences of others. It is sensitivity towards others. Two forms of empathy are usually distinguished: empathy and sympathy.

The first is understood as the experience by the subject of the same feelings and emotional states, which is a communication partner. The second - sympathy - is the experience of one's own emotions and feelings about affective experiences another.

Empathic Listening, thus, consists in capturing the feelings of the speaker, empathizing or empathizing with him and informing him of his empathy. Elements of emotional participation in the conversation are inherent in both non-reflexive and reflective listening.

The specificity of empathic listening is not in the methods of receiving, transmitting and controlling information (including emotional), but in setting and goals. If the goal of reflective listening is an accurate understanding of the speaker's thoughts and feelings, capturing their meaning, then the goal of empathic listening is penetration into his inner world, sharing his value system with him.

AT reflective listening emphasis is on intelligent component communication, in empathic - on the emotional. Empathic listening is the most intimate kind of communication, the most intimate kind of conversation. It is here that we can say that when I listen to the interlocutor, I hear not only what he says to me, but also him.

As specific types of conversation, there are:

1) therapeutic (clinical) conversation as a method of providing psychological assistance to those in need (patients, clients);

2) "introduction to the experiment" - involvement in cooperation;

3) an experimental conversation in which working hypotheses are tested;

4) an autobiographical conversation that reveals the life path of a person (or the history of a group);

5) collection of a subjective anamnesis (information about the personality of the interlocutor);

6) collection of an objective anamnesis (information about the acquaintances of the interlocutor);

7) a telephone conversation (“helpline”) as emergency counseling and psychological assistance;

8) interview - a method that is transitional between a conversation and a survey.

The listed types of conversation are the leading ways to implement the relevant empirical methods - rational psychotherapy, experiment, testing, biographical method.

Poll is special way purposeful obtaining of primary information through the answers of the interviewed people to the questions asked by them. Poll in yet more than conversation, the asymmetry of the functions of the researcher and the researched is characteristic. The first (correspondent) takes the active position of the questioner (interrogator). The second (respondent) takes the reactive position of the respondent (respondent).

The specificity of the survey as a verbal-communicative method lies in its significant mediation and great opportunities. mass holding. Mediation primarily consists in the presence between the researcher and the respondent of a special "tool" of communication - a set of questions, usually prepared in advance and designed into an integral system, called a questionnaire.

The indirectness of the survey is also a prerequisite for its use in all varieties of the group form of research: the actual group, collective and mass. Particularly widespread in sociological and psychological practice is the mass form of a survey, when the researcher receives information from hundreds and thousands of respondents.

An important feature of the survey is its "fictitious nature" and the "irresponsibility of the answer" that follows from this circumstance. This means that the reactions (answers) of the respondent do not lead to any immediate consequences or sanctions on the part of the interviewer. The situations discussed during the survey are not actually real situations, but reproduced either by memory or imagination. These are conditional situations. Accordingly, participation in the survey, in principle, does not directly benefit or harm the respondent. And to a large extent, the survey has a formal character.

Possible indirect consequences, i.e. delayed in time and not originating from the interviewer are usually ruled out by the anonymity of the survey. And if it is not always possible to maintain anonymity for interviews, then for questioning, anonymity is the usual norm.

A survey, as well as a conversation, must be considered not just as a method of collecting data about the object under study, but also as a process human communication. In the survey, answers are received "not from some average respondent, but from real living people who do not notice some questions, do not understand others, and do not want to answer others." This implies the same requirements for the qualifications and personal qualities of the interviewer as for the speaker: professionalism, insight, contact, sensitivity. But if the effect of the conversation depends mainly on the facilitator, then the fruitfulness of the survey depends just as much, and often even more, on the tool used. This tool is a question asked to the respondent. Moreover, the question can be formulated as interrogative form, as well as in the narrative.

The survey can be applied at any level of research: preliminary orientation in the problem, intelligence; the main study providing a solution to the problem; a control study that confirms, refutes, clarifies or supplements the results of the main one.

Survey methods are usually reduced to two main types:

1) a face-to-face survey - an interview; and 2) an indirect survey - a questionnaire.

Strictly speaking, this list should be supplemented by a third group of methods, namely test personality questionnaires.

In both cases, the main problem is competent construction system of questions (questionnaire).

The first requirement is the logic of constructing the questionnaire: the information that is necessary according to the research hypothesis must be delivered through it. The answers of the respondents should help to solve the tasks set in the study. And to get just such answers, it is necessary to ask questions that are appropriate in content and form.

The second requirement for the questionnaire is the reliability of the information received with its help. This is ensured by the utmost comprehensibility of the questions to the respondents and the frankness of their answers.

To fulfill these conditions, there is a whole arsenal of techniques for constructing the questionnaire as a whole and formulating individual issues.

1. Each question should be logically separate.

2. It is undesirable to use uncommon words (especially foreign ones), highly specialized terms, polysemantic words.

3. One should strive for brevity, conciseness. Long questions make them difficult to perceive, understand and remember.

4. For questions relating to topics unfamiliar to the respondent, it is permissible to make a small preface in the form of an explanation or example. But the question itself should remain brief.

5. The question should be as specific as possible. It is better to touch on individual cases, specific objects and situations than on abstract topics and any generalizations.

6. If the question contains indications or hints of possible answers, then the range of options for these answers should be exhaustive. If this is not achieved, then the question should be reformulated so that there are no clues.

7. Questions should not force respondents to give unacceptable answers. If it is difficult to avoid this from a substantive point of view, then it is necessary to formulate the question in such a way that the respondent has the opportunity to answer without harming himself, "without losing face."

8. The wording of the question should prevent getting stereotyped answers. Such template, non-committal answers are usually very weakly saturated with information useful to the researcher.

9. The use of words and expressions that are unpleasant for the respondent and that can cause his negative attitude to the question should be avoided.

10. Questions of an inspiring nature are unacceptable. Completely unacceptable, for example, are such forms: “Don't you agree with something?”, “Don't you think that ...?”.

To the most known species questions include the following:

1) open - closed; 2) direct - indirect; 3) personal - impersonal; 4) subjective - projective; 5) basic - control; 6) difficult - easy; 7) tendentious - non-tendentious; 8) delicate - ordinary; 9) simple - complex; 10) general - private; 11) informational - questions on attitude; 12) basic and additional.

Open-ended, or unstructured, questions do not imply any prescription either in the form or in the content of the answers. The respondent answers in a free manner.

Closed, or structured, questions suggest making a choice from a list of given answer options. Strictly speaking, the questions themselves do not differ in any way from the open ones either from the content or from the formal sides. The only difference is that a list of possible answers is "applied" to the question, which determines the "structured" response of the respondent.

Therefore, the restrictions expressed by the term "closed" are not imposed on questions, but on answers.

If the list of answers to a closed question is limited to two alternative options such as "yes - no", "agree - no, agree", then the question is classified as "dichotomous". If the list contains more than two answers, then this is a “multiple choice question”.

In the first case, the list of answers appears as an evaluation scale, usually bipolar. Then it is necessary to maintain a balance of opposing assessments. An example of the recommended balance of assessments: to the question "How do you feel about ...?" a five-point scale “very good - good - not at all - bad - very bad” is applied.

The stating multiple choice option offers a set of non-mutually exclusive answers. For example, to the question "What sources of political information do you prefer?" the following list of answers is attached: 1) press, 2) television, 3) radio, 4) acquaintances and friends, 5) political meetings, 6) rumors. Usually the respondent is not limited in the number of choices. In our example, the number of possible answers will be from one to six. Here, too, there is one danger: the influence on the choice of answer of its place in the series. Interviewers find a tendency to prefer options at the top of the list. This effect is especially evident in the written forms of the survey (questionnaires). To neutralize it in mass surveys, it is recommended that one half of the respondents give a list of answers in direct order, and the second half - in reverse order.

Benefits of open questions:

1) the creation of a more natural environment, which disposes the respondents to frankness;

2) the possibility of getting more thoughtful answers;

3) great opportunities and a high probability of reflection in the answers of dominant motives, feelings, interests, opinions.

The main drawback is the difficulty in data processing.

A sensitive question is a question concerning, in the respondent's opinion, those areas of his life and his inner world that he would not like to disclose and cover, either considering them purely personal, or believing that their discussion could harm him in the eyes of others or in my own opinion. It is difficult to expect sincere answers to such questions. In many cases, due to the internal unwillingness of the respondent to answer this question, he tends to avoid answering.

The division of questions into simple and complex is made according to the criterion of intensity of work with them by the respondent. The higher the degree of tension of the mental and physical forces of a person when answering, the more difficult the question is considered for him. Developing a response to complex issue requires concentration, increased intellectual and emotional efforts, intensive volitional regulation.

The distinction between general and particular issues is made on the basis of the degree of their specificity. This may refer to the subject of the questions, to the level of the respondent's personal involvement in the subject under discussion, to the severity of the assessments, opinions, and attitudes expressed by him in the answers. It's believed that general issues it is easier for the respondent, because they do not oblige him to precise self-determinations in relation to the subject of judgments, they give more scope for choosing answers, do not require unambiguous assessments, and are more loyal to the wording of answers.

To additional questions include those that are not aimed at obtaining from the respondent information that is directly interesting for the research task, but at facilitating its receipt. These are, as it were, serving components of the survey. Without them, it is almost impossible to establish a process of communication with the respondent, ensure his effective perception and understanding of many basic issues, find out the reliability of his answers, clarify certain procedural and substantive aspects of the survey, obtain Additional information facilitating further processing and interpretation of the data.

Contact questions are the first appeals of the interviewer to the respondent, establishing a favorable atmosphere of communication, interest the respondent and dispose him to the researcher. As in the conversation, in the poll, too, "a good start is no worse than a victory." It is generally recommended that contact questions be kept simple, general and light.

They do not necessarily have to contain the information required for the research task. Them the main objective- Establish contact with survey partners.

Interview as a unity of conversation and survey

An interview is both a conversation and a survey. He is brought closer to conversation by active direct oral communication. verbal communication interviewer with the respondent. They have an intense conversation among themselves on certain topics.

However, unlike a true conversation, an interview is characterized by a much greater organization, purposefulness and asymmetry of the functions of the interlocutors. Even if the interviewing process is “not strictly regulated, it is conducted in different ways according to a clear plan developed in advance.

The purpose of the interview so determines the whole nature of the contact of the researcher with the subject, which, according to A. L. Sventsitsky, gives the right to call it "normalized" communication and even "pseudo-communication motivated from the outside."

The specificity of the interview as a survey method, separating it from questioning, lies in the direct nature of the relationship between the interviewer and the respondent, based on personal verbal interaction.

Being both a conversation and a survey, the interview must satisfy all the general requirements for both of these methods.

Verbal-communicative methods are intended for direct or indirect collection of primary verbal information. They are widespread in medicine, sociology, pedagogy, and also in psychology.

To verbal and communicative methods include interviews, interviews and questionnaires. Interviews and questionnaires are sometimes combined common name– survey methods.

By the nature of the relationship the researcher and the respondent distinguish between full-time and part-time methods. To full-time conversations and interviews, by correspondence- questionnaire, survey by mail, survey through means mass media etc.

By degree of formalization verbal-communicative methods are divided into standardized (they are often called surveys) and non-standardized. Standardized surveys are conducted according to a pre-prepared plan, non-standardized, or free, have only a common goal, they do not provide for a detailed plan. There is also a combination of these two groups - semi-standardized surveys, when some of the questions and the plan are precisely defined, and the other part is free.

By frequency of There are one-time and multiple-time surveys.

specific view survey is survey of experts. This method is most often used for initial stage research in determining its problem and purpose, as well as on final stage- as one of the methods of control of the received information. The main stages of an expert survey: selection of experts, their survey, processing of results. The selection of experts is the most important stage. Experts are people who are competent in the area under study, major specialists with extensive experience in this area. The most common methods for selecting experts are: a) documentary (based on the study of socio-biographical data, publications, scientific papers, etc.); b) testological (based on testing); c) based on self-assessments; d) based on expert assessments.

The expert survey can be either anonymous or open. Referring to a particular expert in the questionnaire by name and patronymic often helps to establish contact between him and the researcher. Expert surveys often use open questions, which requires a significant amount of time to answer, so you should especially thank the expert for participating in the survey (for details on open and closed questions, see 3.3).

An expert survey can also be conducted in the form of an interview. Most often, interviewing experts is carried out at the stage of clarifying the problem and setting research goals. After processing the interview data with experts, a questionnaire is compiled, which is then used in a mass survey.

Questioning as a process of communication. Understanding the survey as a data collection method reflects a somewhat simplistic interpretation. In this case, the respondents act as a source of information, and the researcher as its receiver and registrar. However, as the experience of conducting surveys shows, in practice the situation is much more complicated. The survey is special form communication. Any participants in the survey, both in the role of a respondent and a researcher in the process of the survey, turn out to be not simple objects of influence, but, on the contrary, influencers. Active personalities enter into communication, who not only exchange remarks, note agreement or disagreement, but express a certain attitude to the situation of communication, its conditions and means.

At the same time, communication during the survey has a number of specific traits such as purposefulness, asymmetry, mediation. Purposefulness The survey is determined by the fact that the purpose of communication in the survey process is set by the objectives of the study.

The process of communication in psychology is considered as a subject-subject interaction. Communication partners alternately act as the source and addressee of messages and have feedback on the basis of which they build their subsequent behavior. Communication based on the equal participation of the parties is called symmetrical. This is the most effective communication. A conversation as a kind of survey is a symmetrical type of communication and therefore allows you to get the most in-depth information about the respondent. AT real life take place and asymmetrical communication models (situations of an exam, interrogation, etc.), when one side mainly asks questions, and the other must answer them. In asymmetric communication, one of the parties takes on mainly the functions of influence, i.e., the subject, and the other - the object.

The survey situation is largely asymmetric. In any survey situation, especially when conducting a questionnaire or interview, the researcher takes the initiative in establishing contact. Compiling an interview questionnaire or questionnaire is also a function of the researcher. In this case, the activity of respondents is far from being fully manifested. There are special methodological techniques, allowing the researcher to bring the survey closer to a situation of more symmetrical communication in order to win over the respondent and get more sincere answers.

mediated is a communication for the implementation of which intermediaries are involved. The survey is very often a mediated communication. A third person (interviewer), a written text (questionnaire), a technical device (television) can act as an intermediary. In such communication, the contact of the researcher with the respondent is lost, feedback is difficult or delayed in time.

The survey can be viewed as kind of mass communication. It is focused on large groups of people who are of interest to the researcher as carriers of certain properties and qualities, representatives of certain social groups. The respondent as a person is unknown to the researcher.

Thus, when conducting a survey, the researcher should take into account the influence of the characteristics inherent in this species communication, results.

Obtaining false information during the survey can be provoked by the researcher himself. This happens due to many reasons, which include the following.

The attitude of the researcher to the survey. The situation of the survey is paradoxical in the sense that the researcher, pursuing scientific goals, turns to ordinary people and collects information gleaned from their everyday consciousness. He builds the study based on his own assumptions, which can be reflected in the wording of the questions, and in the intonation with which these questions will be asked in the conversation.

The researcher's assumptions about the level of consciousness of the respondents. The subject of study is most often interests, inclinations, sympathies, and all this is realized by different people in different circumstances unequally. In any mental act, conscious and unconscious components can be distinguished. The respondent, as a rule, can give an account only of the perceived facts of mental reality.

The language problem. When compiling a questionnaire, designing a questionnaire, the researcher formulates his thoughts with the help of words. The use of certain words may cause confusion. The respondent's understanding of the question may not coincide with the meaning invested in it by the researcher. In addition, different respondents may understand the meaning of the question in different ways.

The relation of the researcher to the respondent. If the respondent is considered only from the standpoint of obtaining information and is not of interest to the researcher as an active independent unique person, then the communication process is significantly impoverished.

The researcher may also have inadequate attitudes towards respondents, for example, he may believe that all respondents in the sample will take part in the survey or will be equally interested in this event. The researcher may also assume that all survey participants correctly understand the content of the proposed questions, are able to understand all types of questions and the same degree formulate their answers, everyone, without exception, conscientiously answers all the questions included in the list, speaks only the truth about themselves, is objective in their assessments, etc.

Attitude to the questionnaire, questionnaire. A questionnaire or a questionnaire is not a device that allows you to "measure" the phenomenon under study. The problem of the questionnaire is the problem of the intermediary (in a more explicit form, it manifests itself if assistants are involved in the survey - interviewers and questionnaires). Both when compiling the questionnaire and when attracting assistants, it is necessary to observe special rules(for more on them see 3.3).

Nevertheless, when conducting a study using verbal-communicative methods, the main source of unreliable results is the respondent. Let's consider the reasons for this in more detail.

1. Respondents' attitude to the survey. The degree of consent to participate in a survey varies. Some people are happy to participate in surveys, others reluctantly agree, and others refuse. Therefore, it is possible that the researcher will be able to find out the opinion of only a certain group of people. Among those who took part in the survey, one can also distinguish various types of attitude towards it - dishonesty, fear of consequences, which leads to the omission of certain questions. Hidden reluctance to participate in the survey may consist in the specific fixation of answers (all answers “yes”, all answers “no”, all answers “don’t know”, highest mark on all scales, fixing answers in a checkerboard pattern, etc.).

2. Motivation of respondents to participate in the survey. The motives that prompted the respondent to participate in the survey may be consistent with the objectives of the study, contradict them or be neutral with respect to them. There is no unambiguous opinion about how much the motivation of the respondents increases if their participation is paid. A well-known typology can be applied to the motivation for participating in a survey. Some of the respondents act under the influence of the motivation to achieve success, their questionnaires are always completely filled out, the answers are detailed, contain comments, remarks, suggestions. For people acting under the influence of the motivation to avoid failure, the choice of general answers, streamlined formulations is typical. A person is afraid of damaging his prestige, so he, as a rule, does not openly refuse to participate in the survey.

3. Emotional attitude to participation in the survey. Emotions make certain changes in the original motivation. Most often they activate the respondent, but in some cases there is a slowdown in activity.

4. Respondents' attitudes can be considered as a stable disposition of a person, readiness for certain form response. When participating in surveys, some people believe that the survey helps in solving important scientific and practical problems, and strive to cooperate with the researcher (cooperative setting), others consider the survey not too important matter, the questionnaire - unsuccessful, the organizers - frivolous people. Usually these people participate in surveys formally. To obtain reliable and reliable information, it is preferable to have a cooperative installation.

5. Perception of the purpose of the study. The measure of informing the respondent about the purpose of the study remains debatable. Proponents of one approach believe that the goal should remain unknown not only for respondents, but also for interviewers and questionnaires, others believe that a simple indication of conducting a survey for scientific purposes is sufficient, according to others, the goal should be presented to the respondent in an understandable way. form.

6. Perception of the interviewer, questionnaire. For respondents, this person personifies both the researcher and the organization conducting the research. The respondent's perception of such an "intermediary" largely determines his further behavior and the quality of participation in the survey.

7. The problem of trust. The establishment of trust in the study is facilitated by the respondent's confidence that the information received from him will not harm him, and the anonymity of the answers is guaranteed.

A separate group consists of problems related to respondents' perception of questions. Depending on the type of question, as well as individual characteristics Each respondent may experience various distortions in understanding the meaning of questions and formulating answers. The perception of questions, on the one hand, is a process of sensory cognition (to hear a question, to see a question), but, on the other hand, it is not reduced to it. Understanding a question is deciphering its meaning. It begins with a search for the general idea of the statement and only then moves to the lexical and syntactic levels. In the process of understanding, there are often difficulties (one-sided and mutual). Let's consider the most typical of them.

Perception of the "difficult question". AT narrow sense difficult question is a question that is difficult to understand in the perception of a written text and does not affect considerations of prestige or self-esteem. The perception of the question can be complicated purely external signs(long question, question in tabular form), bad layout (beginning on one page, ending on another). It is difficult to understand a question containing unfamiliar words, terms (it is better not to use them, but to explain if necessary). Sometimes difficulties arise due to the vagueness of the question, as well as in the perception of the so-called multiple question, when several questions are contained in one wording.

Difficulties in formulating an answer may be related to: a) the respondent's decision that his opinion coincides with the answer option (if the researcher does not take into account the vocabulary of the respondents when formulating answers); b) multiple choice; c) difficulty remembering, calculating or imagining. All of these difficulties can lead to refusal to work with the questionnaire.

Perception of a biased question. The biasedness of a question is understood as its quality, in which the respondent is forced to accept the point of view imposed by the researcher. (In other words, the question contains a hint, a hint of what kind of answer the researcher needs.) As a result, some of the respondents refuse to answer such questions, while the other part does not bother to object and agrees with the researcher. The tendentiousness of the question is achieved by suggestion, which is imperceptible to a person and does not lend itself to arbitrary correction.

Sometimes the bias of a question is already in its wording, the preamble to the question (an authoritative opinion is inspired, the opinion of the majority), the closure of the question (a rigid framework of predetermined answers), the content of clues. Suggestive influence can have a sequence of clues (as a rule, respondents pay more attention to options located at the beginning or at the end of the list).

The use of words with a modal meaning encourages the respondent to agree with the point of view expressed in the question (for example, in the question “What do you think about the need to increase the responsibility of officials?” the word “necessity” has an inspiring effect on the respondent). Introductory words in the wording of questions (“What do you think? How do you think ...?”, etc.) often encourage respondents to express their own opinion. On the other hand, references to the point of view of specialists (“According to leading scientists ...), the words “unfortunately ...”, etc., have an inspiring effect.

The use of particles can also have an impact on how a question is perceived. The particle “whether” gives the question a shade of doubt (“Should we always walk on parent meetings?”) and provokes a negative response. The use of the “not” particle is also undesirable, since it is difficult to get a reliable answer to a double negative. (“Have you ever wanted to change your profession at least once in your life?” “Yes.” “No.”) Both answers mean the same thing.

Perception of a delicate issue. A sensitive issue is a question concerning the most intimate, deeply personal properties of a person, which rarely become the subject of public discussion. The intervention of a psychologist-researcher into the inner world of a person does not leave the latter indifferent. As a rule, a person tries not to advertise his claims, problems, personal experiences, etc. When answering some sensitive questions, the respondent tends to evade the answer in order to maintain his usual ideas about something. Should sensitive questions be avoided in research? As a rule, they are directly related to the purpose of the study, because the delicacy of the issue lies precisely in the assessment of the personal, hidden qualities of the respondent, about which he does not intend to talk publicly. However, one should take into account the desire of some respondents to avoid answering questions. similar questions and introduce neutral wording of answers: “I didn’t think about it”, “I find it difficult to answer”. Without a meaningful answer to one or two sensitive questions, the respondent will not refuse to participate in the survey as a whole, but, without having such an opportunity, he will most likely give an insincere answer or simply will not participate in the survey.

It should be noted that almost any question for the respondents may turn out to be difficult, tendentious or delicate, as this is due to the individuality and uniqueness of the inner world of each person.

Some researchers express doubts about the appropriateness of using information obtained in surveys, because of the high probability of deliberate distortion of answers, insincerity of respondents. The problem of the sincerity of the respondents is connected with the desire for self-affirmation inherent in each individual. It is quite easy for a respondent to achieve imaginary self-affirmation in a survey situation - you just need to wishful thinking, show yourself not as he really is, but as he would like to be. Therefore, careful work on the formulation of questions is necessary both at the stage of compiling the questionnaire and when conducting pilot surveys, i.e. at the stage of approbation of the questionnaire.

A more detailed classification and description of questions used in psychological research using verbal-communicative methods is given in sections 3.3 and 3.4.

End of work -

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Verbal-communicative methods - survey methods conducted in various forms - questionnaires, interviews, conversations.

Questionnaire(from fr. enquikte- investigation, inquiry, questionnaire; English questionnare) - the toolkit developed by the researcher questionnaire, including: instructions for filling out the questionnaire, questions and (if required by the investigator's intention) possible options answers, from which the respondent must choose the most appropriate. Depending on the number of participants in the survey, the survey may be group or individual. The survey can be carried out anonymous or personalized.

The reliability of survey data depends on many factors: the choice of respondents, the correspondence of questionnaire questions to the goals and objectives of the study, compliance with the rules for constructing questionnaires, the clarity of instructions and the wording of questions and answers, the use of different types of questions - open and closed, direct and indirect, personal and impersonal, questions -filters, control, lack of hints of the desired answer.

The advantages of surveying include: comparative cost-effectiveness, the possibility of coverage large groups people, applicability to the most diverse aspects of people's lives.

Conversation- a method of obtaining information based on verbal communication. Provides for the identification of relationships of interest to the researcher on the basis of data obtained in live two-way communication. The conversation is planned in advance, but flows freely, like an exchange of opinions. In a conversation, it is very important to establish contact with the subject to create a psychologically comfortable environment.

The conversation is applied to different stages research both for primary orientation and for refining the conclusions obtained by other methods.

Interview- is a more formalized conversation in which communication is strictly determined by the framework of pre-prepared questions.

Testing

Tests are divided into 2 main types: psychological and achievement tests(tests of knowledge, skills, level of general or professional training).

Psychological test(from English. test) is a standardized psychological measurement technique designed to diagnose the severity of mental properties or states. The test is a series of short tests (tasks, questions, situations, etc.). The results of test assignments show the severity of mental properties or states.

Tests are specialized methods of psychodiagnostic examination, using which you can get an accurate quantitative or qualitative characteristic of the phenomenon under study. Tests differ from other research methods in that they imply a clear procedure for collecting and processing primary data, as well as the originality of their subsequent interpretation. With the help of tests, you can study and compare psychology with each other different people to give differentiated and comparable assessments.

Test can be defined as a system special assignments, allowing to measure the level of development or the state of a certain psychological quality or property of an individual.

The most significant features of the tests:

1) standardization of presentation and processing of results;

2) independence of the results from the influence of the experimental situation and the personality of the psychologist;

3) comparability of individual data with normative data obtained under the same conditions in a fairly representative group.

Standardization – the most important characteristic tests - allows you to obtain comparable quantitative and qualitative indicators of the degree of development of the studied properties, to quantify difficult-to-measure psychological qualities. The measurement results are converted to normalized values based on interindividual differences. Tests are subject to strict requirements regarding validity, reliability, accuracy and unambiguity.

There are three main areas of application for testing:

1) education - in connection with the increase in the duration of education and the complication of curricula;

2) professional training and professional selection - in connection with the increase in the growth rate and the complexity of production;

3) psychological counseling - in connection with the acceleration of sociodynamic processes.

When conducting testing, compliance with the technique and ethics of psychological testing is of particular importance.

The testing process can be divided into three stages:

1) the choice of test - is determined by the purpose of testing and the degree of reliability and reliability of the test;

2) its conduct - is determined by the instructions for the test;

3) interpretation of the results - determined by the system of theoretical assumptions regarding the subject of testing.

Rules defining testing procedures, processing and interpretation of results:

1. Before applying the test, the diagnostician needs to get acquainted with it and test it on himself or another subject. This will avoid possible errors due to insufficient knowledge of the nuances of testing.

2. It is important to take care in advance that, before starting testing, the subjects understand the test tasks and instructions for the test well.

3. When conducting testing, it is necessary to ensure that all subjects work independently and do not influence each other, which can change the test results.

4. Each test must have a reasonable and verified procedure for processing and interpreting the results, which allows to avoid errors that occur during the testing phase.

Before performing practical testing, you need to do some preparation:

1) the test subjects are presented with a test and explained its purpose, the purpose of testing, what data are obtained as a result and how they can be used in life;

2) the subjects are given instructions and they achieve its correct understanding by everyone;

3) the diagnostician starts testing, strictly following the instructions and all the above conditions.

Psychological tests very varied. There are many classifications of them on various grounds - depending on test material, diagnosed features and forms of conduction:

1) according to the subject of testing - the quality assessed by the test - intelligence tests, personality tests and interpersonal tests are distinguished;

2) according to the features of the tasks used - practical tests, figurative tests and verbal tests are distinguished;

3) by the nature of the material for the subjects - blank tests and instrumental tests are distinguished;

4) according to the object of assessment - there are procedural tests, tests of abilities, tests of states and properties.

5) according to the method of conducting, group and individual tests are distinguished.

Intelligence tests are often singled out in a separate group: they are used when it is necessary to accurately determine the general level of intellectual development.

A special group is made up of projective tests based not on direct but indirect assessment of the qualities of the subject. The assessment is obtained by analyzing how the subject perceives and interprets certain multi-valued objects: plot-indefinite pictures, shapeless spots, incomplete phrases, etc. It is assumed that during testing, he unconsciously "invests" - "projects" himself.

Although projective tests are considered especially valuable in psychological diagnostics, since they reveal the content of the inner world, in which the researcher himself often does not give an account, it is believed that sufficient qualifications for work are acquired by long practice, sometimes many years, under the guidance of an experienced specialist.

Projective tests difficult to use. The interpretation of the results largely depends on the qualifications and experience of the diagnostician; although there are usually indications of the basic principles of interpretation and the diagnostic value of certain manifestations of the subject, they are not sufficient in themselves for a full-fledged work with the test due to the variety real situations. The possibility of interpretation subjectivity is one of the problems of projective testing.

General information

Professional command of speech has been and is an important component of the success of many professional fields. Oratory, since ancient Greece, was considered an essential quality of leaders, heroes and leaders. In ancient times, teaching rhetoric and dialogue techniques became mandatory. Since then, the verbal form of communication has been a key element of human society. Moreover, the artistic command of the voice, its timbre, tonality, the ability to place accents sometimes becomes more important than the content of the message itself. In addition, different shades of voice form the image of a communicator in the minds of the audience.

The effectiveness of verbal communication is largely determined by the extent to which the communicator owns oratory, as well as his personal characteristics. Speech skills today are the most important professional component of a person.

In the practice of Public Relations, one should not forget that it is the content of the messages that is of the utmost importance for creating an atmosphere of trust, building positive public relations for the organization. That is why PR specialists devote a lot of time to preparing articles, press releases, and writing speeches. It is necessary to see the difference between text and verbal communication. The text has its own structure, different from others. Verbal communication affects the audience not only with the content of the message, but also in other planes (timbre, loudness, tonality, physical features, etc.). between them. Communication specialists distinguish four distances of communication, the change of which leads to a change in the norms of communication, including the norms of oral speech: - intimate (15-45 cm); - personal - close (45-75 cm); - personal - distant (75-120 cm); - social (120-360 cm); - public (360 cm and beyond).

Knowledge of such details is undoubtedly important in the construction of verbal communication. Even more important is the choice of a strategy for the verbal impact of the communicator on the audience. The strategy includes a set of personal qualities of the communicator, his knowledge of the basics of the psychology of the audience, the ability to determine values close to it, and also be guided by the necessary rules for compiling and transmitting information. The message is built in accordance with certain requirements: - the speech should be simple and accessible; - the appeal to the audience should be based on simple and understandable human values; - it is desirable to avoid the frequent use of new, little-known and foreign words.

Within the framework of psychotherapy, interesting rules have been developed for the formation of trust in relations between the communicator and the audience. Here is one of them: “To begin with, to establish contact, communication, to meet the patient in his own model of the world. Make your behavior - verbal and non-verbal - the same as that of a patient, a depressed patient should be met by a depressed doctor. persona. Verbal impact on the audience begins with sound perception. Therefore, phonosemantic specialists determined different meanings of sounds based on the associations of native speakers of a given language with one color or another. For example, A. Zhuravlev defines the scale of vowel sounds and colors in the following way in his work “Sound and Meaning”:

A - bright red; O - bright light yellow or white; I - light blue; E - light yellow; U - dark blue-green; S - dull dark brown or black.

Similar scales have been developed not only for sounds (vowels and consonants), but also for words in general, as well as individual phrases:

Explosion - big, rough, strong, scary, loud. Scream - strong. Thunder - rough, strong, evil. Babble - good, small, gentle, weak, quiet. Roar - rough, strong, scary. Flute - light. Crack - rough, angular. Whisper - quiet.

The reaction of a person listening to the news varies greatly depending on the context in which he hears the message. X. Weinrich wrote about the same thing in the book Linguistics of Lies: “There is a privileged area of literary lies. Love, war, sea travel and hunting have their own language - like all dangerous activities, because this is important for their success.

So, verbal communication forms the main characteristics of the Public Relations strategy. It helps to create messages that are perceived and understood by a wide target audience, significantly affects the reaction of the latter.

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