The first use of the method of analysis of products of activity. Abstract on the topic: "Analysis of products of activity as a method of psychological and pedagogical research"

Scientific psychology during its development has achieved considerable results. Patterns formulated mental development of a person, in different theories, the rationale for the causes of people's behavior, their psychological characteristics and types is given. In addition, a scientific approach has been created to how to obtain all this information. About one of the methods for obtaining data about a person, analyzing the products of his activity, - further.

Analysis of activity products in psychology

Let's define what this concept is. Analysis of the products of activity (APA) is the study of a person by studying the products of his labor or creative activity. Unlike the main psychological methods (observation and experiment), APD is carried out indirectly, that is, without direct communication between the psychologist and his client. The specialist studies the products of graphic, musical, dramatic creativity of a person and, on their basis, draws conclusions about his psychological characteristics.

Analysis of the products of activity in psychology is most often used in working with children. different ages, therefore, acquired such "popularity" in pedagogical practice.

Archival, or praximetric method

For this psychological method there is another name - archival. This term was used in their activities by American psychologists. They meant by the archival method the study of a person's life through his products of labor, creativity, diary entries, archival data about him. Its variation is the biographical method, which allows one to study life path individual or group of people through their creative or labor achievements. This is how modern humanity receives knowledge about life, relationships and personality traits. famous people from past.

In domestic psychology, the name "analysis of the products of activity" is more common, or praximetric (from the Greek "praxis" - "action"). In our society, this method is widely used in educational psychology to study the development of children.

Analysis of products of children's activities

APD is very common in working with children from a very young age, because it allows them to express themselves in conditions that are comfortable for the baby (in the game). Young children are not yet able to verbally describe their experiences, they do not yet know the name of what they are in. this moment feel. But they can do it in a different way - draw on paper, play with friends, write in an essay. All this can become valuable material for a psychologist who works with a child.

Analysis of the products of children's activities involves the study of the following data:

• products of activity created in the game: plasticine figurines, constructions from different materials, items for role-playing games;
• products labor activity: blanks, crafts at labor lessons;
• productive materials, creative: drawings, poems, notes, songs, essays, applications, etc.;
• learning products: test papers, drafts, homework.

Thanks to the study of these materials, it is possible to draw conclusions about the level of knowledge, the formation of skills, the presence of abilities, the orientation of interests, the emotional state of the child, his relationships with other people.

In what cases is the method used?

Method of psychological analysis of products of activity - effective method comprehensive study of the child's psyche. It allows you to identify features such as:

• mental processes (thinking, attention, memory, etc.);
• mental states (mood);
• mental properties (character, abilities - everything that makes a child an individual).

Thus, the method can be applied in the most different situations- to identify the reasons for the failure of the student, with difficulties in adapting the child, to study his relationship with adults and peers, to determine the interests and inclinations of the child to a particular type of activity.

This list can be continued, because the number of questions about the successful development of the baby increases with his age. An experienced psychologist will always help worried parents or teachers if his arsenal of working methods includes an analysis of the products of activity.

What conditions must be met?

In order for the method to give the most complete and accurate results, the psychologist observes a number of conditions during the study:

• clearly formulates the goal - what exactly and why is being studied (for example, the manifestation of the relationship of a 6-year-old child with significant adults and peers in the drawings);
• selects children (if it is a group) of the appropriate age (in this case, 6 years) and possessing the specified skills (for example, drawing);
• prepares the same conditions for activities for all children (same materials, venue);
• minimizes its own influence on the process of children's work, makes sure that the kids work independently and are motivated;
• captures the emotional reactions of children that manifest themselves in the process of work;
• if the study involves a further conversation with the child about the product of his work, he prepares questions in advance;
• provides for the criteria by which the final product will be judged (for example, the choice of colors, composition).

How is the analysis carried out?

This method involves the analysis of processes and products of activity. This means that not only the final product of the child's work can carry information about it, but the very process of its creation. For example, when children play staging a fairy tale, one can observe how involved they are in the process, how much they like the role and how they act it out, how much the text of the role corresponds, and also what new things the child brings to the process.

If a more passive activity is analyzed, for example, modeling or drawing, you can record the child's emotional reactions to what is happening, observe how he himself evaluates his work, how much the resulting product corresponds to the original idea.

The final product of the activity is evaluated according to certain criteria. They depend on what the goal was. This may be the degree of development of certain mental functions of the child, his emotional condition, the ability to do some kind of activity, and so on.

Stages of the study

Like all psychological research, the analysis of activity products involves the passage of several stages:

• preparatory - collecting primary data about the child, formulating a hypothesis (what is happening and why, what it may be connected with), preparing materials for analysis;
• direct research - psychological analysis of products of activity; if necessary, supplement it with other methods;
• the final stage is the systematization of the data obtained, their comparison with the hypothesis (whether the assumption was confirmed), the preparation of recommendations for working with the child for parents and teachers.

The participation of the child himself is expected only at the second stage. All other steps are performed by the psychologist.

Advantages of the method

The method of analyzing the products of activity has become widespread in Western and Russian psychology due to a number of advantages that it has:

• The ability to collect sufficiently extensive material both from a group and from one child.
• The ability to track dynamics psychological development child by comparing older and newer products of creativity. For example, to see how much the minor has improved, how the child's attitude to one or another aspect of his life has changed, etc.
• This is the most natural way for a child to explore his psyche: in the playful form of work, the baby feels comfortable and relaxed.
• Ability to identify a variety of psychological features child - from the degree of development of attention to character.

Disadvantages of Product Analysis

Any research method has its drawbacks, which can affect the result. Analysis of the study of products of activity can be subject to such difficulties:

• The use of the method is limited by the age characteristics of the child. For example, in order to study the drawing of a baby, it is necessary that he already has drawing skills.
• Processing of the results may be subject to subjective assessment by the psychologist (for example, the originality of the drawing). This requires clear evaluation criteria that will exclude the bias of the researcher.
• A comprehensive study of a person's personality with the help of APD requires a lot of time and resources.

Varieties of methods for researching products of activity

Analysis of the products of activity has its own varieties or can be used as part of other methods of psychological research. These include projective methods. Their essence is in projection (transfer, image) internal properties, experiences of a person on the product of his creativity. By studying it, one can obtain data on the development of this person.

The projective method differs from the classical APD in that it has a standardized material on which the work is carried out, and specific instructions. For example, the subject is given the task to draw a picture on a given topic, complete a story based on the image, etc. These most famous methods include "Rorschach Spots", "Non-Existent Animal", "House, Tree, Man" and others.

Projective methods are effective not only in working with children, but also with adults, as well as people who have mental illness.

Another modern interpretation of the method is professiography. It uses the ADF of people who belong to a certain type of professional activity. Thanks to the collection of such data, the requirements that are necessary for the successful mastery of a particular profession are derived. These are the psychophysiological, socio-psychological characteristics of a person. For example, in order to be a successful teacher, in addition to theoretical training, a specialist must be tactful, patient, able to control emotions, quite flexible and inventive.

Content analysis as a related method

The most developed and widespread type of archival method is content analysis. It is used not only in psychology, but also in other social sciences and communications. The method involves the study of text units and their classification. These units include:

• individual words;
• phrases (phrases);
• topic;
• message as a whole.

This method is more accurate, since it involves mathematical operations with the received material. All research units are counted in order to determine the frequency of their use and systematization. This allows us to draw conclusions about the psychological characteristics of the author of the message, about his relationship with the addressee of the message, as well as about more global socio-psychological processes in large groups of people.

Potential sources for content analysis are books, personal diaries, newspaper articles, songs, poems, etc.

Analysis of pedagogical documentation

Widespread use in the practice of teaching and educating children has received another type of APD. This is documentation.

Modern or Social worker every day is faced with a large amount of data relating to students. This is the various documentation:

• characteristics;
• medical history;
• autobiographies;
• knowledge assessment journals;
• meeting minutes;
• school diaries of students;
• orders and directives from management.

All this, after studying and systematizing, allows you to create big picture development of the child, identify problematic points and outline ways to solve them.

The method of analyzing the products of activity in psychology is an effective tool in the work of a specialist. There is not enough theoretical background to use it. This is a constant practice, personal interest and desire to develop all the time. But if parents entrust their child to such a specialist, they will be sure that they will receive comprehensive information about him and qualified assistance.

Analysis of activity products is a method that allows, based on the study of objective products of activity, to draw conclusions about the psychological characteristics of its subject or subjects. The analysis of products of activity proceeds from the general premise of the connection between internal mental processes and external norms of behavior and activity.

Analysis of the products of activity is widespread in historical psychology and in anthropopsychology. psychology of creativity. This method is an important material for clinical psychologists: with certain diseases, the nature of productivity changes dramatically, which is manifested in the characteristics of texts, drawings, handicrafts of patients.

The method of studying the products of activity is a research method that allows you to indirectly study the formation of knowledge, skills and abilities, interests and abilities of a person, the development of various mental qualities and personality traits based on an analysis of the products of his activity.

It should be noted that, to one degree or another, all methods of psychology and pedagogy are ultimately aimed at the analysis of activity. According to V. I. Zagvyazdinsky, “the peculiarity of this method lies in the fact that the researcher does not come into direct contact with the person himself, but deals with the products of his previous activity or reflections on what changes have occurred in the subject himself in the process and in as a result of its inclusion in a certain system of interactions and relations.

Objects of study: products manual labor, needlework, poems, fairy tales, stories, drawings, modeling, applications, buildings, etc.

method requirements

the presence of a study program, both the subject of activity and the process of its manufacture

study of the object in accordance with the conditions of life and activity of the subjects.

Watching the process of creating a product, you need to pay attention to:

• sequencing
• presence of errors and their correction, self-control
• seeking help
• autonomy and passion
• attention span
• overcoming difficulties and achieving results
• verbal and emotional responses.

Since a single product of activity can be obtained by chance, it is desirable to analyze different products of the same child's activity. The preservation of the products of children's activity provides the possibility of their subsequent comparison, assessment of the dynamics of the development of the child's creative and other abilities.

Today, in psychological and pedagogical research, when referring to the method of studying the products (results) of activity, photography, filming, television and sound recording, and computer technology are increasingly being used. Technical means are used when their application is organically included in the research methodology, and there is no way to obtain the necessary data in another way.

Photographs make it possible to capture and characterize many details of the child's actions, to record the manifestation of his emotions, will, etc. Filming allows you to accurately record and trace the dynamics of actions and changes in behavior. The video recording and its viewing allow the researcher to analyze the events in which he himself took part, as if from the outside. Sound recording tools contribute to the analysis of the content and phonetic aspects of children's speech. Computers make it possible to significantly speed up the processing of empirical material. In addition, the data obtained by technical means are stored and can be repeated as many times as required by the researcher. They are objective and are of great scientific value.

The methods of studying the products of activity include method of studying documentation. In the process of work, the researcher is faced with the need to study various documents: job descriptions, personal files, medical records, autobiographies, student diaries, logs of control checks, orders and instructions from the management educational institutions, minutes of meetings and meetings, etc. The analysis of these documents makes it possible to identify the dynamics of the development of the student's personality, compare official opinions, and obtain objective data characterizing the actual practice of organizing the educational process.

According to the form of fixing information Documents are usually divided into:

a) written (information is presented in the form of an alphabetic text;

c) iconographic (film-photo-video documents, paintings, etc.);

d) phonetic (tape recordings, laser discs, gramophone records).

a) regulations(orders, directives, manuals, manuals and instructions, standards (GOSTs), etc.;

b) documents of information and reference, scientific and literary nature (reference publications, databases, dissertations, reports, monographs, educational and methodical literature, fiction).

It should be noted that the information obtained from various documents is usually extensive and voluminous. It is not easy to remember the biographical data of even one person. When dozens and hundreds of people are examined, this task becomes more complicated to the limit. In addition, characteristics and other documents are written in an arbitrary form, which creates difficulties in their comparison, analysis and evaluation. Only experience, intuition, automation of processing and storing data of documents with the help of a computer helps here.

One of the variants of this method is content analysis - the method psychological study texts, allowing their content to definitely judge the psychology of the authors of these texts or those people who are mentioned in the text.

Content analysis(from English, “content” and Greek “decomposition, dismemberment”) - a method for identifying and evaluating the characteristics of information contained in texts and speech messages. It provides for a strict formalization of the processes of understanding the material. Includes:

Allocation of the system of basic concepts (categories of analysis);

Finding their indicators - words, phrases, judgments, etc. - (units of analysis);

Statistical data processing.

As a result of the selection of certain elements (facts, units of analysis) and the calculation of their frequency, statistical processing of the data obtained becomes possible, and psychological conclusions are drawn from the ratio of these frequencies. The standard units for text analysis in content analysis are: 1) word (term, symbol); 2) judgment or complete thought; 3) topic; 4) character; 5) author; 6) complete message.

Goals of content analysis:

Studying through the content of messages the psychological characteristics of their creators (authors), both individuals and groups. including hidden (sometimes unconscious) manifestations and tendencies that make themselves felt only in the flow of messages;

study of real socio-psychological phenomena that are reflected in the content of messages (including phenomena that took place in the past that are not available for research by other methods);

· Study through the content of the messages of the socio-psychological characteristics of the recipients;

Processing and refinement of data obtained by other methods (processing of open questions of questionnaires and interviews, data projective techniques etc.);

· Analysis of utterances in diagnosing the features of group communication.

This method originated in the 1920s. in American journalism as a means of quantitative and qualitative study of the content of the press. Currently actively used in social psychology, sociology, psychodiagnostics, political science, psychology of advertising and propaganda.

Among its undoubted advantages are the possibility of accurate registration of outwardly indistinguishable indicators in bulk arrays of empirical data, the ability to identify hidden trends and patterns, the admissibility of a delayed analysis of events and situations, the relative objectivity of T-procedures and the reliability of the results, the absence of manifestations of the effect of the researcher's influence. on the behavior of the subjects.

In essence, content analysis involves the translation of qualitatively presented information into the language of the account. To do this, it is necessary, firstly, to have a sufficiently voluminous and content-rich text, and secondly, to have a certain level of research preparedness, which makes it possible to effectively realize the potential of this method.

Along with this, it should be remembered that content analysis has some limitations. Thus, it is known that the nature of information is largely determined by the intentions of its author and the specifics of the forms of presentation. Therefore, it is quite possible for the researcher to accept fiction as documentary or to omit any significant data due to their insufficient expression in the material being processed. Distortions of information can also arise through the fault of a researcher who is unable, for example, to adequately single out the categories of analysis or take into account all the available options for their verbal expression.

In addition, not every material lends itself to the necessary formalization. It would be extremely difficult to apply this method, say, to the description of the behavior of the lyrical hero of a poetic work.

In modern psychological practice, content analysis finds its application in three varieties:

1) as the main research method;

2) how component the complex of research methods used;

3) in the form of an auxiliary procedure for processing data obtained by other empirical methods.

In any case, it seems necessary to preliminarily check the reliability of the analyzed text or oral message, as well as to establish the degree of reliability, content and criterion validity of the analytical procedure. Otherwise, the validity and objectivity of the results may be unsatisfactory.

Describing the features of the application of content analysis, it is customary to indicate the measure of the stability of the information obtained when replacing encoders (persons registering the prescribed parameters and features) and to characterize the degree of consistency of the results of this method with data collected by other methods.

Consider the content of the main stages of content analysis.

1. Preparatory stage(development of a material analysis program). It includes setting the goal of the study, preliminary checking the adequacy of the chosen method for the features of the forthcoming work, compiling a classifier (a reference scheme for content analysis), preparing instructions for persons involved in the implementation of the method, a pilot study, and subsequent correction of the program.

Particular attention should be paid here to compilation of the so-called. classifier, which is a list of categories of analysis, their corresponding indicators, accepted units of account. This is the basis of the follow-up algorithm, the quality of which determines the effectiveness of the work as a whole.

Categories of analysis- these are the key elements of the research concept, semantic units, the severity of which is subject to registration in accordance with the goal. As categories of analysis, the researcher advances certain problems, ideas or topics. For example, analyzing the character of a person based on the results of an interview or a questionnaire, we can distinguish the following categories: his attitude towards himself, other people, activities, things (objects), nature. Studying, for example, anxiety as a property of a person, we first highlight the totality of its constituent “themes”: anxiety about health, family, career, financial situation, etc.

The main thing is that the list of categories should be extremely exhaustive, and also make it possible to unambiguously correlate one or another part of the text with a specific category.

Units of analysis or indicators, signs of the severity of semantic units, are parts of the text, characterized by belonging to a certain category. These can be symbols, words, terms, combinations of words of various lengths, situations, judgments, replicas, intonations, etc. This is the material that allows you to judge the meaning in the text of each category.

It should be remembered that the same category is expressed in the text in different ways: from individual characters or words to complete judgments or paragraphs. Therefore, the selection of units of analysis is not an easy task and requires thoughtfulness and insight from the researcher.

In addition, it should be taken into account that the category can be represented in the text by units of analysis with different signs. For example, in a negative (critical), neutral or positive form. Of course, the number of options for this kind of relationship is also more diverse.

Account units- these are quantitative characteristics of the relationship of categories to each other or units of analysis to categories. In research practice, two options are usually used:

The frequency of manifestations in the text of a category or its attribute;

The proportion of the presented category (its attribute) or, in other words, the amount of attention paid to it by the author of the text. So, it can be: the comparative number of printed characters, the area of ​​the corresponding parts of the texts (in square units or percentage), required speaking time, etc.

The development of the classifier ends with the preparation of instructions for the encoder and the preparation of the encoding matrix.

The instructions contain extremely clear indications of what all the selected categories are, what set of features in the text corresponds to each of them, what type of account unit is used. The objectivity of the results of content analysis will be more complete if the researcher formulates instructions in writing, even if he himself is a coder.

Encoding matrix is a table convenient for recording the primary results of the study. Usually, the categories of analysis are given vertically, and the list of information sources (individual documents, messages, personalities of the subjects, etc.) is given horizontally.

1. Then the middle of the table is filled with numbers indicating the frequencies of the presence of this category in a particular material.

The pilot study, which completes the preparatory stage of content analysis, helps to identify missing categories, overlooked units of analysis, and inaccurate instructions.

2. Executive stage provides for a set of procedures for selecting category indicators and registering the characteristics of their presence in the text.

Coders can make mistakes here such as:

Skipping certain units of analysis;

Capturing something that doesn't really exist.

All this violates the stability of the results of content analysis. The reasons for the low sustainability performance should be sought as instructions, insufficient skill of coders, in an inappropriate environment for their work, and finally, in a lack of care, patience or conscientiousness.

3. Stage of data processing. Its content is determined by the purpose of the study. Depending on this, when processing the results (one or more encoding matrices), frequency or percentage distributions, correlation coefficients, comparison tables, etc. can be used.

In cases where a large amount of data is analyzed, special mathematical and statistical methods are sometimes used, developed for the needs of content analysis.

BIOGRAPHICAL METHOD

The subject of the biographical method is the life path of a person, during which a personality is formed, a complex process of becoming a person takes place, the formation of readiness to perform various social functions, the development of individual values, worldview, character and abilities of a person. The main sources of biographical data are official biographical documents (characteristics, testimonials, autobiographies) and practical results of activities (activism in social work, success in fulfilling various standards and tasks, etc.).

Biographical data obtained through various methods, to facilitate their subsequent analysis are ordered in a chronological table. Using a chronological table, an interpretation of a person's life path is carried out on the basis of an analysis of various forms of activity, establishing the sequence of the origin of the properties and characteristics of a person, their severity, conditionality by certain facts of a biography.

The main areas of reconstruction and interpretation of biographical material are:

definition of development factors this person(development environment, human activity, etc.);

definition of individual phases of the life path;

analysis of the structure of factors in each phase;

Revealing the links between the phases of individual development.

TEST METHOD

Plan.

1. The concept of tests and their types.

2. Forms of psychological testing.

4. Goals of psychological testing.

5.Requirements for tests and testing procedure

The concept of tests

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

Tests can be classified in different ways. The most significant are the following 3 grounds for classification: the form, content and purpose of psychological testing.

Similar information.

Another method of psychological science is the analysis of products of activity. He also came into psychology from the humanities. The essence of this method is that the researcher analyzes the products of labor and learning activities, archival materials, diary entries and other items in order to formulate conclusions regarding the psychological characteristics of the subject of the activity through which these products were created. This method is a reflection of the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity, formulated by S. L. Rubinshtein. Its main feature is that the researcher does not contact the subject of activity. Using this method, a researcher can study the psychological characteristics of a person who lived in a different era or, for various reasons, cannot personally participate in the study. Thus, any person can become the object of research. The main limitation: the researcher will not be able to go beyond the factual material provided, and can only put forward hypotheses regarding many psychological properties of the person being studied. Therefore, this method is best used in combination with other methods of psychological research. Sometimes this method is called praximetric, sometimes the method of content analysis, but these names significantly narrow its research capabilities.

A variation of the method of analyzing products of activity is biographical method. In the context of the concept of the life path of a person, a person acts as an active creator of his life, i.e. doer; the life path of a person is a product of his activity, and each event is the otherness of the mental and psychological potential of the person. Clinical psychology considers this method as a kind of psychological history of a person.

Also very popular in modern psychology has gained text content analysis method , primarily in narrative psychology, which has spread in our country in the last decade. A person or group is perceived as the creator and bearer of a certain text, which expresses the system of relations and the main attitudes of the author of the text and its repeater. Through the analysis of the content of the text, the psychological reality of the author is reconstructed for the purpose of cognition (group narrative) or for the purpose of providing psychological assistance.

For example, organizational psychology examines documents that regulate activities, reflecting its stages, efficiency, as well as vertical and horizontal interaction between employees. The result of such a study may be, for example, a professiogram of a specialist.

In general, the documents submitted for analysis in the study of any branch of psychology are divided into a number of groups according to the form of fixing information. Most often these are written documents: text and digital. Given the development technical devices, great importance acquire iconographic (film, photo and video documents, paintings, etc.) and phonetic (tape recordings, laser discs, gramophone records, digital recordings) types of documents.

It is more difficult to analyze the material products of activity, since they contain individual features of the skills and abilities of the subject of activity through the prism of his attitude to the activity itself. A specific form of the method of analyzing the results of activity is also graphology - a method of studying handwriting from the point of view of reflecting in it the individual psychological characteristics of the writing person. Currently, graphological examination is most often carried out in clinical psychology in cases where it is necessary to clarify the state of the writing person at the time of writing the text. In other cases, graphological studies, especially if the result is the identification of character and personality traits in handwriting, become an illustration of a pseudoscientific approach to the analysis of activity products.

The analysis of products of activity begins with the setting of goals and objectives of the study. In the future, those products of activity are selected that correspond to the goals and objectives of the study.

The second step in the analysis of activity products is the choice of units of analysis of the content in the material under study, as well as the system for fixing these units.

The third stage is the actual entry of these units of analysis into the fixing table, i.e. registration of the frequency of occurrence of certain units in different documents. The coefficients of the instability of occurrence are calculated, or specific gravity certain units. Also, for certain purposes, matrices of the joint use of certain units are built. Further, integral calculations are carried out and generalizing conclusions are formulated.

The fourth stage is the description and interpretation of the obtained results.

An example of the application of methods for analyzing products of activity can be "Study of the demonstration of manifestations of aggressive behavior in commercials of a mobile operator." The purpose of this study is to count the patterns of aggressive behavior broadcast in commercials per unit of time. Empirical referents of manifestations of aggressive behavior are scenes of fights (physical aggression), insults (verbal aggression), weapons in the hands of actors and their gestures (non-verbal manifestations of aggressive behavior). Video No. 1 for 23 of 31 seconds shows a scene of violence, including verbal threats, the threat of physical violence. Video #2 shows a scene of violence for 20 seconds out of 45, containing a variety of manifestations of aggressive behavior. Video No. 3 out of 45 seconds 15 contains scenes of physical violence, threats, property damage. Thus, in the selectively watched videos, 47% of the screen time in each of them is occupied by scenes demonstrating aggressive behavior, including physical violence, verbal and non-verbal manifestations of aggressive behavior. It can be concluded that the commercials of the mobile operator actively demonstrate aggressive behavior. Accordingly, customers and creators of commercials broadcast aggressive behavior, which can in some way characterize this brand, its market policy and consumer orientation. In this case, an abstract subject of activity is taken for analysis, although it would also be possible to analyze the products of the activity of specific people (films, paintings, poems, etc.).

Thus, the method of analysis of products of activity is a promising method in various areas psychology: in clinical psychology, during examinations, etc.

The study of activity products is a research method that allows you to indirectly study the formation of knowledge and skills, interests and abilities of a person based on an analysis of the products of his activity. The peculiarity of this method lies in the fact that the researcher does not come into contact with the person himself, but deals with the products of his previous activities or reflections on what changes have occurred in the subject himself in the process and as a result of his involvement in some system of interactions and relationships. Therefore, in a broad sense, the study of the products of activity is the study of the consequences of the efforts made, the changes made, real shifts in life positions, the system of relations and values ​​of a person. In a narrower sense, we can talk, so to speak, about the materialized results of the pupils' activities: essays, control and verification work, drawings, crafts, models, etc. For example, viewing the pictures drawn by the subject can be of significant help in determining his abilities in artistic creativity, development of skills, level of development of creative capabilities.

The study of the products of activity makes it possible to judge the level of activity achieved and the process of fulfilling the tasks set. At the same time, it is important to have an idea about the level of readiness of the subject for certain types of activity, about the nature of the tasks and the conditions in which they were performed. With this information, the researcher can judge conscientiousness and perseverance in achieving the goal, the degree of initiative and creativity in the performance of work, that is, changes in the development of the individual. The researcher's ideas about creative possibilities and experiences of the subject provide a basis for rethinking the relationship of all available data and the characteristics of his personality.

The combination of the research method of studying the products of activity with observation, experiment, etc. makes it possible to study the features and sequence of actions in the process of activity. This allows you to get an idea not only about the mechanisms for performing actions, but also about the conditions for performing activities. Since a single successful product of activity can be obtained by chance, it is desirable to analyze different products of the activity of the same subject. Saving the products of activity provides the possibility of their subsequent comparison, assessment of the dynamics and results of development.

Evaluation

Evaluation (other names - the method of competent judges, rating - from the English rating - assessment, order, classification) is a research method associated with the involvement of the most competent people in the assessment of the studied phenomena, whose opinions, complementing and rechecking each other, allow objectively describe what is being studied. In expert evaluation (method of expert evaluations), first of all, experts should be carefully selected - people who know the area under study and are capable of an objective and unbiased assessment of actions and results in this area. The selection of independent experts is desirable. Assessments can be both qualitative (characteristics, recommendations) and quantitative (in points). It is important to choose a fairly accurate and convenient grading system and appropriate scales, provided with explanations of what this or that point is given for. It is also necessary to train experts in the ability to use the proposed scales.

If experts acting independently of each other consistently give coinciding or close assessments or express largely coinciding opinions, there is reason to believe that these assessments and opinions are close to objective. It should be borne in mind that the final generalization of all available estimates is the responsibility of the researcher.

Evaluation can be used to determine the social order for the school, to identify the pedagogical potential of the environment, the prospects of certain organizational forms and methods of social mediation and partnership, the usefulness of diagnostic tools, and in many other cases.

Expert evaluation can also manifest itself as a method of generalizing independent characteristics. It consists in the fact that, according to a predetermined form, written reviews (characteristics) of the object under study (child, family, group, class, etc.) are taken, and then the obtained estimates, forecasts, recommendations are compared. The coincidence of estimates and recommendations gives reason to believe that they are close to the true ones. Non-coincident or complementary assessments and recommendations give rise to the identification of the qualities of the object, perhaps hidden and manifested only in certain conditions, activities, relationships. It is these approaches that make it possible to discover the hidden reserves of a developing personality, to find the keys to difficult pedagogical situations. If, for example, an indifferent, unorganized and undisciplined student at school and family suddenly shows initiative, perseverance and organization in sports or in a game, then the assumption arises that these qualities, under appropriate conditions, can manifest themselves and develop both in educational work and in relationships. in school and family.

A kind of "collective" version of the assessment method is the psychological and pedagogical council. Evaluation in this case is supplemented by a collective analysis of the causes of failures, a common search for measures necessary to achieve better results. The psychological and pedagogical council is held as a meeting of class teachers, a psychologist, a physician, and other interested teachers in order to carry out a deep analysis of the available data on the object under study and develop an agreed course of action for all participants in the educational process. Of course, in the preparation and conduct of the consultation, the initiative persons will be a teacher, a psychologist, classroom teacher, administrator.

Quite often, such a variant of evaluation is used, when the one who needs to be evaluated acts as a judge. Then it's about self-esteem. In recent years, teachers and educators themselves assess their strengths and weak sides, highlight the difficulties in the work. It is only necessary to remember the relativity of such assessments, because teachers, as a rule, are better at diagnosing others than themselves.

The combination of imitation of real situations of life or professional activity with the method of evaluation can manifest itself as a method of diagnostic situations. This method is associated with the use of specially selected tasks-situations that require certain knowledge and practical skills for their solution (necessary transformation). Such situations help to diagnose not only knowledge and skills, but also life attitudes, orientation, value orientations, preferences, ability to do right choice, rate. There are situations that require only analysis and evaluation, and situations that require a decision and its justification. Standard and non-standard (creative) situations are used. Situations can be imitating, modeling, recreating reality and real (naturally formed or specially organized).

Experiment

Like observation, experiment is considered the main research method. The need to use an experiment arises when the objectives of the study require the creation of a situation that either cannot arise in the normal course of events, or one would have to wait indefinitely for it. This means that an experiment is a research method, which consists in creating a research situation, getting the opportunity to change it, vary its conditions, making it possible and accessible to study mental processes or pedagogical phenomena through their external manifestations, thereby revealing the mechanisms and tendencies of the emergence and functioning of the phenomenon under study. The foregoing determines the difference between an experiment and observation and a number of other methods that do not allow one to actively create research situations and change them.

Let's compare these two research methods.

Observation 1. The researcher studies the situation, phenomenon or mental processes that occur in the course of a person's natural life.

2. The researcher cannot actively interfere in the course of an event or the course of mental processes.

3. The researcher can wait a long time for such connections to arise between the phenomena and the factors and conditions influencing them that he would like to study. four.

The researcher fixes the background and conditions for the occurrence of the phenomenon under study and other facts of behavior. 5.

The researcher fixes the facts of the behavior of a person (people) and manifestations of mental processes in the prevailing conditions and circumstances. 6.

The researcher cannot reproduce a phenomenon that he has already observed.

Experiment

1. The researcher himself creates the conditions that cause the occurrence of the phenomenon, situation or mental processes under study, without waiting for their occurrence in the course of natural human activity. 2.

The researcher himself can purposefully change the conditions for the occurrence and course of an event or mental processes and observe the occurring phenomena. 3.

The researcher can vary the conditions for the occurrence and manifestation of the phenomenon, exclude and add them in order to identify causal, functional and other relationships between the conditions for the existence of an event or the occurrence of mental processes. four.

The researcher takes into account the conditions of the process or event under study, reveals their quantitative characteristics. 5.

The researcher fixes the facts of the behavior of a person (people) and manifestations of mental processes in the created conditions and circumstances.

6. The researcher during the experiment can reproduce the phenomenon that he has already observed.

The selection of the experiment as a research method was associated with the developments in the 19th century. ways and means of performing psychological measurements in the process of studying the patterns of sensations and perception, the speed of reactions, the conditions for the course of mental processes, etc. They served as a prerequisite for the isolation and widespread use of the laboratory experiment, which became the main component of experimental psychology.

A laboratory psychological experiment is carried out in special rooms where there is necessary equipment and registration devices. The subject finds himself in an unusual situation, he may experience a state of stiffness, anxiety, excitement, uncertainty in the assessment of the result, etc. The experimenter, following the instructions, informs the subject about the conditions for performing the task and then monitors his actions, and, if necessary, regulates them. Since the subject knows that he is in a situation controlled by the experimenter, and often does not know the true purpose of the experiment, therefore, one of the important factors in obtaining objective data is the relationship of trust and understanding that develops between them.

A laboratory experiment can be repeated many times (with different subjects) and as many times as necessary so that on the basis of the data obtained it would be possible to identify and formulate the existing connections and patterns. In a laboratory experiment, mental processes are studied outside the context of some integral activity. The content of the laboratory experiment, of course, reflects some part of the real situation and can be its model. For example, when studying the features of memorization in the laboratory, subjects are offered three groups of 10-15 words that cause a feeling of pleasant (pleasure), unpleasant (displeasure) and indifference. Let's say they give the words: gift (feeling pleasant), sadness (feeling unpleasant), paper (feeling of indifference), etc. and ask the subjects to memorize them by listening once, and then reproduce (write down) those words that have been preserved in memory. Naturally, experience shows that words that evoke a feeling of pleasure are reproduced better (correctly and in greater numbers), which means that they are better remembered. In reality, such a simultaneous “concentration” of such types of words practically does not occur, but the identified pattern persists and should be taken into account.

It is possible to conditionally call a laboratory experiment a psychological research method that makes it possible to simulate some part of natural integral activity and, on this basis, to study the mechanisms of the emergence and manifestation of mental processes.

Attempts to use the experimental method in solving problems teaching practice led to the emergence of a natural experiment. This type of experiment was developed, applied and proposed by A.F. Lazursky in 1910. The natural experiment found and is finding wide application in developmental and educational psychology, in pedagogy and methods of teaching individual subjects.

A natural experiment is carried out under real conditions of activity for the subjects, but under these conditions of activity, the phenomenon that should be studied is created or recreated. This type of experiment, due to the fact that it is carried out in the usual conditions of the activity of the subjects, makes it possible to disguise the content and goals of the experiment and at the same time preserve the essence, which lies in the activity of the researcher in changing the conditions for performing the activity.

Depending on the nature of the research tasks to be solved, both laboratory and natural experiments can be ascertaining or formative. An experiment becomes ascertaining if the researcher sets the task of identifying the current state and the level of formation of a certain property or parameter under study, in other words, the actual level of development of the studied property in the subject or group of subjects is determined. This is a one-time “slice” that gives a “snapshot” of the state of the object under study, for example, the level of upbringing of schoolchildren, the nature of their attitude towards school, comrades, certain norms of social morality and rules of conduct, showing the real effectiveness of innovation. The obtained data can serve as a material for describing the situation as existing and recurring, or be the basis for studying the internal mechanisms of the formation of certain personality traits or qualities of pedagogical reality. This provides a basis for such a design of the study, which allows predicting further development studied properties, qualities, characteristics. For this it becomes necessary definition content and means of psychological and pedagogical influence on the subjects. This type of experiment is called formative.

The formative experiment is focused on studying the dynamics of development of the studied psychological property or pedagogical phenomena in the process of the researcher's active influence on the conditions for performing the activity. For example, in the process of individual training of the subject to solve a certain class of problems, it is possible to fix the features of generalizing the methods for solving them, the degree of formation of the corresponding skill, etc. i.e. it is investigated in the course of own formation in the natural situation of performing the activity.

The widespread use of formative experimentation is associated with innovations and innovations in pedagogical process. The formative experiment, along with the study of the mechanisms of the formation of a mental property, contributes to the solution of educational problems and the provision of assistance to students.

The creator of a holistic skill about a formative psychological and pedagogical experiment is V. V. Davydov. In such an experiment, the formation and study of the formation and development of the studied property is carried out in the conditions of a specially organized educational process, the organization of the interaction of the researcher with teachers and schoolchildren, the determination of the content and form of psychological and pedagogical influence on students who are also subjects. In the formative psychological and pedagogical experiment, all participants in the educational process systematically and purposefully interact to achieve the level of development of the studied properties predicted by the experimenter. In such an experiment, the study of the origin and reproduction of the studied psychological properties is of great importance, and therefore “a formative experiment can be called ... a genetic modeling experiment. It embodies the unity of the study of the mental development of children with their upbringing and education.

Long-term and comprehensive use of this type of experiment and analysis of the accumulated experience allowed V.V. Davydov to assert that the experiment involves the following stages:

philosophical and sociological definition of the projected qualities of consciousness and personality of students;

pedagogical definition of the goals of the educational process associated with the formation of these qualities;

logical-psychological definition of structure joint activities students and teachers, the implementation of which will lead to the formation of these qualities;

methodical search for means of implementing this activity;

psychological and pedagogical identification of the effectiveness of the final result;

physiological and medical verification of the admissibility of the use of these funds in terms of their impact on the health of students2.

The formative experiment simultaneously performs both teaching and educational functions. In some cases, when the experiment lacks signs of studying the holistic process of solving the entire complex of educational and educational tasks, as well as organizing the interaction of all participants in the educational process, which is characteristic of a formative experiment, it makes sense to use the concepts of "teaching experiment" or "educational experiment".

1 Davydov V, V. Theory of developmental education. - M., 1996. - S. 284.

2 See ibid. - S. 285.

In psychodiagnostics, there is another way to obtain information about a person - this is quantitatively qualitative analysis documentary and material sources, allowing to study the products of human activity.

Under the concept " documentary source» are understood:
a) letters
b) autobiography;
c) diaries;
d) photographs;
e) recordings on film and videotape;
f) creative results in different types arts, media materials mass media(newspapers, magazines, etc.).

In order to overcome the subjectivity of the researcher when studying documents, identify reliable information and register it accurately enough, a special method was developed, called content analysis (literally, “content analysis”). It was first used in the 1920s. of the last century for the processing of mass media materials. This is a more or less formalized method of document analysis, when, based on the researcher's hypothesis, special units of information are identified in documentary materials, and then the frequency of their use is calculated. So, for example, in the 20s. Russian researcher N. A. Rybnikov, in the course of analyzing essays, traced how schoolchildren's positive and negative assessments of their lives are distributed depending on age and gender. Or another example: in the 80s. N. N. Lepekhin and Ch. A. Shakeyeva conducted a content analysis of episodes of cruelty and aggression in Western and Russian films.

Thus, the main content analysis procedure associated with the translation of qualitative information into the language of the account. For this purpose, two types of units are distinguished: semantic, or qualitative, units of analysis and units of account, or quantitative. The main difficulty in working with documentary sources is the ability to conduct a qualitative analysis, i.e., to identify semantic units. This largely depends on the personal competence of the researcher, the level of his creative abilities.

Since content analysis is based on the principle of repetition, the frequency of using various semantic units (for example, certain concepts, judgments, images, etc.), it should be used only when there is a sufficient amount of material for analysis.

In content analysis, from a simple calculation of the frequencies of occurrence of certain semantic units, they gradually moved on to more complex statistical techniques (correlation technique and factor analysis). A new stage in the development of this method was its computerization. This is especially widely used in the United States - standard programs for analyzing various documents are being developed there, allowing you to quickly and reliably analyze a huge amount of information and free encoders from the tedious manual method.

AT psychological diagnostics content analysis is most often used as an auxiliary method or procedures for processing data obtained from other studies. With its help, the speech messages of the subject, accompanying almost any diagnostic examination, are analyzed, especially with an individual procedure. Specifically, content analysis can be used when processing data obtained through projective techniques (for example, TAT, the Rorschach technique, sentence completion), interviews, the content of conversations, other speech and written products of the subject, open questions of questionnaires, etc. For example, in the methods for diagnosing personality traits (anxiety, neuroticism, etc.), a content analysis of the grammatical and stylistic structures of the subject's speech is carried out: the number of "thematic" statements (illness, fear, uncertainty, etc.), verbs, logical blocks, etc. Such an analysis often makes it possible to reveal and objectify a hidden tendency in the answers of the subject.

We should briefly dwell on one more class of methods. Recently, the term “teacher tests” has appeared in Western psychological literature. It means not only traditional tests of accounting and control of school achievements, but the purposeful use by the teacher in his work of low-formalized diagnostics. In particular, the ability to conduct systematic observations aimed at studying the individual psychological characteristics of students and their behavior is highlighted. In terms of the thoroughness of the development of teacher tests, they lag far behind what has been achieved in formalized diagnostics. However, their very appearance in the psychodiagnostic literature should be considered as one of the manifestations of dissatisfaction with the formalism that has become an integral feature of psychological diagnosis. Only a combination of formalized diagnostic methods with observations, conversations, teacher tests and similar forms of studying the subject can give a satisfying result.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the classification of psychodiagnostic methods given in this chapter is not exhaustive. It can be extended by using other principles for dividing methods into classes. So, in the book "General Psychodiagnostics" a classification of psychodiagnostic methods is given on such a basis as the presence or absence of assessments of the performance of tasks according to the type of correct or incorrect. A class of psychodiagnostic methods, where the answers of the subjects are always evaluated as correct or incorrect, are intelligence tests, ability tests, achievement tests and some personality tests of action (for example, the Whitkinn Test of Disguised Figures). The class of techniques in which the concept of "correct or incorrect answer" does not exist includes most personality questionnaires, projective techniques and psychophysiological techniques.

Another basis for the classification of methods may be the degree of involvement in the diagnostic procedure of the psychodiagnostic himself and the degree of his influence on the results of the experiment. This principle allows us to divide psychodiagnostic methods into the following groups:
1) the influence of the psychodiagnostic is minimally expressed;
2) the influence of the psychodiagnostic is expressed as much as possible;
3) the influence of the psychodiagnostic is expressed to an average degree (an intermediate position between the two poles).

The first group includes tests of intelligence, abilities, achievements, many questionnaires and psychophysiological methods. In them, both the procedure of the experiment and the fixation of the results are a routine operation and can be entrusted to a laboratory assistant or a computer.

The second group consists different kinds interviews, conversations, observations. Here, on the contrary, the psychodiagnostician, by his reactions, remarks, and behavior, can create such working conditions in which obtaining the necessary information will be difficult or even distorted.

The third group includes multidimensional questionnaires, open-ended questionnaires, projective techniques, in which the degree of involvement of the psychodiagnostic at the stage of interpreting the results obtained is high. The psychodiagnostic conclusion, which is made on the basis of these methods, is not free from the influence of the personality of the diagnostician, his professional competence.