Sources of the science of experimental psychology. Historical milestones in the development of experimental psychology. History of the development of experimental psychology. higher professional education

Lecture No. 1.

Thousands of years of practical knowledge of human psychology and centuries of philosophical reflection have prepared the ground for the formation of psychological science. This occurs in the 19th century as a result of the introduction of the experimental method into psychological research. The process of the formation of psychology as an experimental science took approximately a century (mid-18th to mid-19th centuries), during which the idea of ​​​​the possibility of measuring mental phenomena was hatched. The first to express this idea was H. Wolf, who published a work entitled “Empirical Psychology” in 1732, and “Rational Psychology” in 1734. He coined the term “psychometrics”. He considered it possible to measure the amount of pleasure by perceived perfection, and the amount of attention by the duration of argumentation. The idea of ​​psychometry was vaguely expressed in the same century by the natural scientist Bonet and the mathematicians Maupertuis and Bernoulli. In 1764 Plouke suggested that it is possible to measure the level of intelligence through the number of objects represented, the clarity of these ideas (images) and the speed of emergence of clear ideas. Hagen (1734) considered it possible to measure the intensity of attention by the number of thoughts a subject has and the time they remain in all their complexity. He also proposed some experimental ideas. For example, observe the behavior of a person in whom fear is artificially induced. Kruger (1743) came up with an experiment to measure the intensity of sensations, which, in his opinion, should be proportional to the force acting on the nerves. But, unfortunately, all these were only plans that were not actually realized.

In the first quarter of the 19th century. philosopher I.F. Herbart (1776-1841) proclaimed psychology a science that should be based on the experience of metaphysics and mathematics. True, he recognized observation as the main psychological method, and not experiment, which, in his opinion, is inherent in physics. Herbart's ideas had a strong influence on the recognized founders of experimental psychology - G. Fechner and W. Wundt.

According to P. Fress, philosophy provided psychology with the first concepts, but experimental psychology owes its first problems and first methods to physiology. In 1811-1822. Bell and Magendie discovered the presence of two types of nerves in the nervous system: sensory and motor. In 1832, Hall established that the brain is the center of motor reflexes. I. Muller (1838) discovered the law of specific nerve energy corresponding to only one type of sensation. Helmholtz in 1860 expanded the scope of this law, showing that nerves are differentiated not only according to the modality principle, but also according to the submodality principle, i.e. by the qualities of sensations (height and volume of sounds, colors of visual stimuli). The 19th century is the time of the discovery of various nerve centers that control the corresponding mental functions: movement, speech, vision, hearing. By the end of the century, the idea of ​​not only differentiation of brain functions, but also their integration, i.e. an idea of ​​the brain as a complexly structured whole emerges (Jackson, Sherrington).

The century-long maturation of the idea of ​​the measurability of mental phenomena culminated in the mid-19th century with the emergence of experimental psychology. And the most significant figure in this event is the German scientist Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801-1887). Doctor, physicist, philosopher, he achieved significant results in all these areas. But he immortalized his name as a psychologist. Being a supporter of panpsychism (a type of psychological parallelism), he set out to prove, using experimental and mathematical methods, the identity of spirit and matter, two sides of reality. He proceeded from the idea that by measuring the physical (material) side, one can also measure the mental (ideal) side of reality. One has only to find the law of their relationship.

In his research, he relied on the discovery of his predecessor in the Department of Physiology at the University of Leipzig, Prof. E.G. Weber, the relationship between sensation and stimulus, now called the Bouguer-Weber law. As a result, Fechner formulated the famous logarithmic law, according to which the magnitude of a sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the magnitude of the stimulus. This law received his name. By meticulously studying the relationship between physical stimulation and mental responses, Fechner laid the foundations of a new scientific discipline - psychophysics, which in essence represented the experimental psychology of the time. He carefully developed several experimental methods, three of which received the epithet “classical”: the method of minimal changes (or boundaries), the method of average error (or trimming), and the method of constant stimuli (or constants). Fechner's main work, Elements of Psychophysics, published in 1860, is rightfully considered the first work on experimental psychology.

Another German researcher Hermann Helmholtz (1821-1894) made a very significant contribution to the development of psychological experiment around the same time. Using physical methods, he measured the speed of propagation of excitation in a nerve fiber, which laid the foundation for the study of psychomotor reactions, in particular such a branch of experimental psychology as “Reaction Time”. His works on the psychophysiology of feelings are fundamental: “Physiological Optics” (1867) and “The Doctrine of Auditory Sensations as the Physiological Basis of the Theory of Music” (1875). His theory of color vision and resonance theory of hearing are still relevant today. His hypothesis of “unconscious conclusions” enriched the psychology of perception with the discovery in mental reactions of a subjective addition to the action of objective stimuli. Helmholtz's ideas about the role of muscles in sensory cognition were later creatively developed by the great Russian physiologist I.M. Sechenov in his reflex theory.

The next period in the development of EP is associated with the name of Wilhelm Wundt (1832 - 1920). He was also a scientist with wide interests: psychologist, physiologist, philosopher, linguist. But, perhaps, it is he who can be called the first professional psychologist. He has the honor of organizing the world's first psychological laboratory (Leipzig, 1879), which was later reorganized into the Institute of EP. This was accompanied by the publication of the first official document establishing psychology as an independent discipline. The Leipzig laboratory has become an international center for electronic research. From its walls came such outstanding researchers as Kraepelin, Külpe, Maymar (Germany); Stanley Hall, Mac Cattell, Munstenberg, Titchener, Warren (USA); Spearman (England); Bourdon (France); Thierry, Michotte (Belgium).

In “Fundamentals of Physiological Psychology” (1874), Wundt put forward a plan for the development of psychology as a special science that uses the method of laboratory experiment to divide consciousness into elements, study them and clarify the connections between them. The task of EP, according to Wundt, is the precise analysis of individual consciousness through precisely regulated introspection. The main subject of study is mental processes. At the same time, relatively simple phenomena (sensations, perceptions, emotions, memory) can, according to Wundt, be studied through experiment, but the area of ​​higher mental functions (thinking, speech, will) is not accessible to experiment and is studied by the cultural-historical method (through the study of myths , customs, language, etc.).

The main methodological features of scientific psychology, according to Wundt, are: self-observation and objective control. Without introspection, psychology turns into physiology, and without external control, introspection data is unreliable, and there is a return to the old speculative positions of introspectionism. These points were also emphasized by Wundt's students. Thus, one of the founders of digital electronics in Russia is N.N. Lange (1858-1921) believed that the role of experiment in psychology is to preserve and record observed processes using external means. They are so unstable that only experiment can preserve them in observable form. The American E. Titchener (1867-1927) noted that a psychological experiment is not a test of some strength or ability, but a dissection of consciousness, an analysis of part of the mental mechanism, and psychological experience consists of introspection under standard conditions. Every experience, in his opinion, is a lesson in introspection.

Gestalt psychologists (M. Wertheimer, W. Köhler, K. Koffa, etc.) criticized Wundt’s views on consciousness as a device made of elements, or, as they put it, “of bricks and cement.” Functional psychology, based on the evolutionary theory of Charles Darwin, instead of studying the elements of consciousness and its structure, is interested in consciousness as an instrument of adaptation of the organism to the environment, i.e. its function in human life. However, consciousness is interpreted from the standpoint of introspectionism - as a set of phenomena studied through introspection. The most prominent representatives of functionalism: T. Ribot (France); E. Claparède (Switzerland); D. Dewey (USA - Chicago School), R. Woodworth (USA - Columbia School).

Nevertheless, it was Wundt and his school that determined the further development of psychology along the path of experiment. Thus, psychologists of the famous Würzburg school, close to functionalism, expanded the scope of the use of laboratory experiments to study thinking and will, for which, by the way, Wundt himself condemned them. Their method of introspection was deepened and called “experimental introspection.” The school was headed by Wundt's student, the German O. Külpe (1862 - 1915).

A significant contribution to EP was made by another German scientist, Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909), who did not share Wundt’s views on introspection as a research method. Under the influence of Fechner's psychophysics, he put forward as a task for psychology the establishment of the fact of the dependence of a mental phenomenon on a certain factor. In this case, a reliable indicator is not the subject’s statement about his experiences, but his real achievements in one or another activity proposed by the experimenter. The subject was not even asked about his subjective impressions. Ebbinghaus's main successes were achieved in the study of memory and skills. The famous “Ebbinghaus curve,” which demonstrates the dynamics of the forgetting process, is still in the arsenal of science.

In Russia, the introspective approach was criticized by I.M. Sechenov (1829-1905), who put forward a program for building a new psychology based on an objective method and principle of mental development. Although Sechenov himself worked as a physiologist and doctor, his works and ideas provided a powerful methodological basis for all of psychology. His natural science theory of psychological regulation in the form of a reflex theory provided an explanatory principle for the phenomena of mental life. And his research practice developed and strengthened the authority of experimental methods in physiological and psychological fields.

The 90s of the 19th century were marked by the expansion of the instrumental base of psychology: a “test experiment” was added to the traditional “research” experiment. If the task of the first was to obtain data about a separate phenomenon or psychological patterns, then the task of the second was to obtain data characterizing a person or group of people. In fact, these are various tests, the results of which provide a basis for judging the level of development of certain human qualities. In other words, the test was included in the electronic signature as a full-fledged method. Its main advantage from the very beginning was its practical orientation.

The founder of test methods is considered to be psychologist James McKean Cattell (1860 - 1944), who used them in the study of a wide range of mental functions (sensory, intellectual, motor, etc.). He discovered the phenomenon of anticipation.

However, the idea of ​​using a test to study individual differences dates back to the English psychologist and anthropologist Francis Galton (1822-1911), who explained these differences as a hereditary factor. However, the tests were not fully formalized in his works. Galton laid the foundation for a new direction in science - differential psychology. He proposed the “twin method”, the method of studying associations of ideas and other empirical methods. For the first time in scientific practice, he used statistical data to substantiate his conclusions and in 1877 he proposed the method of correlations for processing mass data.

In fact, he paved the way for the introduction of statistical and mathematical methods into psychological research, which naturally increased the reliability of the results and made it possible to reveal dependencies invisible to the eye. The mathematician and biologist Karl Pearson (1857-1936), who developed a special statistical apparatus to test Darwin's theory, began to collaborate with Galton. As a result, the method of correlation analysis was carefully polished and tested, which still uses the well-known Pearson coefficient. Subsequently, the Englishmen R. Fisher and C. Spearman (1863-1945) joined similar work. The first became famous for the invention of analysis of variance and work on experimental design. Spearman, studying the intellectual sphere of a person, used factor analysis of data. This statistical method was developed by other researchers (G. Thompson, K. Burt, L. Thurston) and is now widely used as one of the most powerful means of identifying psychological dependencies.

In Russia at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, the most prominent figure in experimental psychology was G.I. Chelpanov (1862-1936). He put forward the concept of “empirical parallelism,” which goes back to the psychophysical parallelism of Fechner and Wundt. In studies of the perception of space and time, he honed his experimental techniques and obtained rich empirical material. But the main merit of G.I. Chelpanov, apparently, should be considered the active introduction of experimental psychological knowledge into higher education in Russia and the intensive training of experimental psychologists. Since 1909, he has taught the course “Experimental Psychology” at Moscow University and at the seminary at the Moscow Psychological Institute. Since then, experimental psychology in our country has become a mandatory academic discipline in the professional training of psychologists.

An outline of the formation of EP would be flawed if we did not mention the psychological experiments with animals that began at the end of the 19th century. At first they were carried out in natural conditions, later in laboratories. Here it is necessary to name the names of Lebocca, Morgan, Kline, resin. And of course, the forerunner of behaviorism was Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949). Ultimately, experimental work with animals resulted in a new discipline - animal psychology, where experiment and observation are the leading research techniques. Data from zoopsychology become material for another discipline - comparative psychology, a major contribution to the development of which was made by our compatriot - psychologist and biologist V.A. Wagner (1849-1934).

The term experimental psychology can have several meanings:

1. Experimental psychology is understood (following W. Wundt, S. Stevens and other scientists) as the whole of scientific psychology as a system of knowledge obtained on the basis of the experimental study of human and animal behavior. Scientific psychology is equated with experimental psychology and is contrasted with philosophical, introspective, speculative and humanitarian psychology (P. Fresse, J. Piaget).
2. Experimental psychology is sometimes practiced as a system of experimental methods and techniques implemented in specific studies (M.V. Matlin).
3. The term "experimental psychology" is often used in an expanded sense to characterize the scientific discipline that deals with the problem of methods psychological research generally.
4. Experimental psychology is understood only as the theory of psychological experiment, based on the general scientific theory of experiment and, first of all, including its planning and data processing (F.J. Mac Guigan).
5. Chelpanov G.I. viewed experimental psychology as academic discipline according to the methodology of psychological research, or rather, according to the experimental methodology in psychology (see Druzhinin V.N.).
6. Experimental psychology is an independent scientific discipline that develops the theory and practice of psychological research and has as its main subject studying a system of psychological methods, among which the main attention is paid to empirical methods (Nikandrov, p. 19).

QUESTIONS FOR TESTING IN THE DISCIPLINE “EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY”

1. Subject and tasks of experimental psychology

Experimental psychology means

1. all scientific psychology as a system of knowledge obtained on the basis of experimental studies of human and animal behavior. (W. Wundt, S. Stevenson, etc.) Scientific psychology is equated with experimental psychology and is contrasted with philosophical, introspective, speculative and humanitarian versions of psychology.

2. Experimental psychology is sometimes interpreted as a system of experimental methods and techniques, implemented and specific studies. (M.V. Matlin).

3. The term "Experimental psychology" is used by psychologists to characterize the scientific discipline that deals with the problem of methods of psychological research in general.

4. Experimental psychology is understood only as the theory of psychological experiment, based on the general scientific theory of experiment and, first of all, including its planning and data processing. (F.J. McGuigan).

Experimental psychology covers not only the study of general patterns of mental processes, but also individual variations in sensitivity, reaction time, memory, associations, etc.

The purpose of the experiment is not simply to establish or state cause-and-effect relationships, but to explain the origin of these relationships. The subject of experimental psychology is man. Depending on the goals of the experiment, the characteristics of the group of subjects (gender, age, health, etc.), the tasks can be creative, work, play, educational, etc.

Yu.M. Zabrodin believes that the basis of the experimental method is the procedure for controlled changes in reality for the purpose of studying it, allowing the researcher to come into direct contact with it.

2. History of the development of experimental psychology

Already in the 17th century, different ways of developing psychological knowledge were discussed and ideas about rational and empirical psychology were formed. In the 19th century Psychological laboratories appeared and the first empirical studies, called experimental, were carried out. In the first laboratory of experimental psychology, W. Wundt used the method of experimental introspection ( introspection- a person’s self-observation of his own mental activity). L. Fechner developed the basics of constructing a psychophysical experiment; they were considered as ways of collecting data about the sensations of the subject when the physical characteristics of the stimuli presented to him changed. G. Ebbinghaus conducted research into the patterns of remembering and forgetting, which traced techniques that have become standards for experimentation. A number of special techniques for obtaining psychological data, in particular the so-called association method, preceded the development of experimental treatment schemes. Behavioral Research ( behaviorism- a direction in psychology of the 20th century that ignores the phenomena of consciousness, psyche and completely reduces human behavior to the physiological reactions of the body to the influence of the external environment.), which paid primary attention to the problem of controlling stimulus factors, developed requirements for the construction of a behavioral experiment.

Thus, experimental psychology was prepared by the widespread study of elementary mental functions - sensations, perception, reaction time - in the mid-19th century. These works led to the emergence of the idea of ​​​​the possibility of creating experimental psychology as a special science, different from physiology and philosophy. The first master of exp. psychology is rightly called c. Wundt, who founded the Institute of Psychology in Leipzig in 1879.

The founder of the American exp. psychology is called S. Hall, who studied for 3 years in Leipzig in the laboratory of W. Wundt. He then became the first president of the American Psychological Association. Other researchers include James Cattal, who also received his doctorate from W. Wundt (in 1886). He was the first to introduce the concept of an intelligence test.

In France, T. Ribot formulated an idea of ​​​​the subject of experimental psychology, which, in his opinion, should not deal with metaphysics or discussion of the essence of the soul, but with identifying the laws and proximate causes of mental phenomena.

In Russian psychology, one of the first examples of methodological work towards understanding the standards of experimentation is the concept of natural experiment by A.F. Lazursky, which he proposed in 1910. on 1st All-Russian Congress on Experimental Pedagogy.

Since the 70s, the educational course “Experimental Psychology” has been taught in Russian universities. In the "State educational standard of higher vocational education"for 1995 he is given 200 hours. The tradition of teaching experimental psychology in Russian universities introduced by Professor G.I. Chelpanov. Back in 1909/10, he taught this course at the psychology seminary at Moscow University, and later at the Moscow Psychological Institute (now the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education).

Chelpanov considered experimental psychology as an academic discipline based on the methods of psychological research, or more precisely, on the methods of experiment in psychology.

3. Methodology of experimental psychology

Science is a sphere of human activity, the result of which is new knowledge about reality that meets the criterion of truth. Practicality, usefulness, and effectiveness of scientific knowledge are considered to be derived from its truth. In addition, the term “science” refers to the entire body of knowledge obtained to date by the scientific method. The result of scientific activity can be a description of reality, an explanation of the prediction of processes and phenomena, which are expressed in the form of text, a structural diagram, a graphical relationship, a formula, etc. The ideal of scientific research is the discovery of laws - a theoretical explanation of reality. Science as a system of knowledge (the result of activity) is characterized by completeness, reliability, and systematicity. Science as an activity is, first of all, characterized method. The method distinguishes science from other methods of obtaining knowledge (revelation, intuition, faith, speculation, everyday experience, etc.). Method is a set of techniques and operations for the practical and theoretical development of reality. All methods modern science are divided into theoretical and empirical. With the theoretical research method, the scientist does not work with reality, but with representation in the form of images, diagrams, models in natural language. The main work is done in the mind. Empirical research is conducted to test the validity of theoretical constructs. The scientist works directly with the object, and not with its symbolic image.

In empirical research, the scientist works with graphs and tables, but this happens “in the external plane of action”; Diagrams are drawn and calculations are made. In theoretical research, a “thought experiment” is conducted where the object of study is subjected to various tests based on logical reasoning. There is such a method as modeling. It uses the method of analogies, assumptions, and inferences. Simulation is used when it is not possible to conduct experimental research. There are “physical” and “sign-symbolic” modeling. The “physical model” is studied experimentally. When researched using a “sign-symbolic” model, the object is implemented in the form of a complex computer program.

Scientific methods include: observation, experiment, measurement .

In the 20th century over the course of one generation scientific views to reality have changed dramatically. Old theories were refuted by observation and experiment. So, any theory is a temporary structure and can be destroyed. Hence the criterion for the scientific nature of knowledge: knowledge that can be rejected (recognized as false) in the process of empirical verification is recognized as scientific. Knowledge for which it is impossible to come up with an appropriate procedure cannot be scientific. Every theory is just a guess and can be disproved by experiment. Popper formulated the rule: “We do not know - we can only guess.”

With different approaches to identifying methods of psychological research, the criterion remains that aspect of its organization that allows one to determine the methods of the research attitude to the reality being studied. Techniques are then seen as data collection procedures or “techniques” that can be incorporated into different research designs.

Methodology is a system of knowledge that defines the principles, patterns and mechanisms of using psychological research methods. Exp. methodology Psychology, like any other science, is built on the basis of certain principles:

· The principle of determinism is the manifestation of cause-and-effect relationships. in our case - the interaction of the psyche with the environment - the action of external causes is mediated by internal conditions, i.e. psyche.

· The principle of unity of physiological and mental.

· The principle of unity of consciousness and activity.

· The principle of development (the principle of historicism, the genetic principle).

· Principle of objectivity

· System-structural principle.

4. Psychological dimension

Measurement can be an independent research method, but it can act as a component of an integral experimental procedure.

As an independent method, it serves to identify individual differences in the subject’s behavior and reflection of the surrounding world, as well as to study the adequacy of reflection (a traditional task of psychophysics) and the structure of individual experience.

Measurement is included in the context of an experiment as a method of recording the state of the object of study and, accordingly, changes in this state in response to experimental influence. In psychology, there are three main procedures for psychological measurement. The basis for distinction is the object of measurement. Firstly, a psychologist can measure the characteristics of people's behavior in order to determine how one person differs from another in terms of the severity of certain properties, the presence of a particular mental state, or to classify him as a certain type of personality. A psychologist, measuring behavioral characteristics, determines the similarities or differences between people. The psychological dimension becomes the dimension of the subjects.

Secondly, the researcher can use measurement as a task for the subject, during which he measures (classifies, ranks, evaluates, etc.) external objects: other people, stimuli or objects outside world, eigenstates. Often this procedure turns out to be the measurement of stimuli. The concept of “stimulus” is used in a broad sense, and not in a narrow psychophysical or behavioral sense. A stimulus is any scalable object. Third, there is a procedure called joint measurement (or joint scaling) of stimuli and people. It is assumed that “stimuli” and “subjects” can be located on the same axis. The behavior of the subject is considered as a manifestation of the interaction between the individual and the situation.

Externally, the procedure for psychological measurement is no different from the procedure for a psychological experiment. Moreover, in psychological research practice, “measurement” and “experiment” are often used interchangeably. However, when conducting a psychological experiment, we are interested in causal relationships between variables, and the result of a psychological measurement is simply the assignment of the subject or the object he is assessing to one or another class, scale point or feature space. The psychological measurement procedure consists of a number of stages similar to the stages of experimental research.

The basis of psychological measurements is the mathematical theory of measurements - a branch of psychology that is intensively developing in parallel and in close interaction with the development of psychological measurement procedures. Today this is the largest section of mathematical psychology.

A measuring scale is a basic concept introduced into psychology in 1950 by S.S. Stevens; his interpretation of the scale is still used in scientific literature today. A scale is literally a measuring instrument.

The type of scale determines the set of statistical methods that can be used to process measurement data

There are several types of scales:

1. Naming scale - obtained by assigning “names” to objects. Objects are compared with each other, and their equivalence or non-equivalence is determined.

2. Order scale - ordering objects according to the degree of expression of some characteristic.

3. Interval scale.

4. Relationship scale.

5. Types of psychological measurements

In the natural sciences one should distinguish, as suggested by S.S. Papovyan, three types of measurements:

1. Fundamental measurement is based on fundamental empirical laws that allow one to directly derive a system of numerical relations from an empirical system.

2. Derivative measurement is the measurement of variables based on patterns that relate those variables to others. Derivative measurement requires the establishment of laws that describe the relationships between individual parameters of reality, allowing one to derive “hidden” variables based on directly measured variables.

3. A measurement “by definition” is made when we arbitrarily assume that the system of observable features characterizes precisely this, and not any other property or state of the object.

Psychological measurement methods can be classified on various grounds:

1) the procedure for collecting “raw” data;

2) the subject of measurement;

3) the type of scale used;

4) type of material being scaled;

5) scaling models;

6) the number of dimensions (one-dimensional and multidimensional);

7) the strength of the data collection method (strong or weak);

8) the type of response of the individual;

9) what they are: deterministic or probabilistic.

For the experimental psychologist, the main reasons are the data collection procedure and the subject of measurement.

The most commonly used subjective scaling procedures are:

Ranking method. All objects are presented to the subject at the same time; he must order them according to the value of the attribute being measured.

Paired comparison method. Objects are presented to the subject in pairs. The subject evaluates the similarities and differences between the members of the pairs.

Absolute assessment method. Stimuli are presented one at a time. The subject gives an assessment of the stimulus in units of the proposed scale.

Selection method. The individual is offered several objects (stimuli, statements, etc.), from which he must select those that meet a given criterion.

According to the subject of measurement, all methods are divided into a) methods for scaling objects; b) techniques for scaling individuals and c) techniques for joint scaling of objects and individuals.

Techniques for scaling objects (stimuli, statements, etc.) are built into the context of an experimental or measurement procedure. At their core, they are not the task of the researcher, but represent the experimental task of the subject. The researcher uses this task to identify the behavior of the subject (in this case - reactions, actions, verbal assessments, etc.) in order to know the characteristics of his psyche.

During subjective scaling, the subject performs the functions measuring instrument, and the experimenter has little interest in the features of the objects being “measured” by the test subject and examines the “measuring device” itself.

6. Experimental psychology and pedagogical practice

Social activity, morality, and the realization of individual abilities are the main tasks of education, the success of which largely depends on the direction and pace of reforms in school life. One of the problems facing teachers is the psychological and pedagogical dualism in relation to the developing personality - training and education are not always based on knowledge about the psychology of the child’s development and the formation of his personality.

Each schoolchild has only one inherent characteristics of cognitive activity, emotional life, will, character, each requires individual approach, which the teacher, for various reasons, cannot always implement.

IN Lately A structural approach has become traditional in the work of child psychologists, within the framework of which personal and interpersonal relationships etc.

Since the activities of a psychologist are largely aimed at solving specific problems with which students, their parents or teachers come to him, the main goal of the psychological service as a whole can be considered to be the promotion of mental health, educational interests and the disclosure of the individuality of the socializing individual, the correction of various kinds of difficulties in its development. The systematic work of a psychologist is ensured as follows. Firstly, the psychologist considers the student’s personality as a complex system that has different directions of manifestations (from the individual’s own internal activity to participation in various groups that have a certain influence on him). Secondly, the methodological tools used by psychological service workers also follow the logic of a systematic approach and are aimed at identifying all aspects and qualities of a student in order to help his development.

In the most general form, diagnostic, advisory and correctional work with students must be carried out at five important levels.

1. The psychophysiological level shows the formation of the components that make up the internal physiological and psychophysiological basis of all systems of the developing subject.

2. The individual psychological level determines the development of the basic psychological systems (cognitive, emotional, etc.) of the subject.

3. The personal level expresses the specific characteristics of the subject himself as an integral system, his difference from similar subjects at a given stage of development.

4. The microgroup level shows the peculiarities of the interaction of a developing subject as an integral system with other subjects and their associations.

5. The social level determines the forms of interaction of the subject with broader social associations and society as a whole.

In addition, the system of work of the psychological service should include various types of work with the staff of educational institutions (joint comprehensive research, consultations, seminars, etc.), aimed not only at increasing the psychological competence of teachers, but also at overcoming the isolation of the school from real life. The need for this form of work is also due to avoiding the transformation of psychological services into “ ambulance” or “order desk”, which carries out only assigned tasks, so that the psychologist can control the psychological situation at school, determine the prospects for his development, strategy and tactics of interaction with various groups of students and individuals.

Fundamental knowledge, as well as knowledge obtained in the system of other sciences, is used by pedagogy to solve the problems of training and education. Experimental psychology presupposes the necessary guidelines in modern methods of organizing experimental research and systems of methods that tend to be experimental.

One of the main methods of psychology is the experiment, which relies on precise accounting of variable independent variables that influence the dependent variable. And the individual and various groups of people are a ready-made experimental platform for psychologists.

Psychology is ahead of pedagogy, paving new paths for it, and providing a broad search for new things in teaching and upbringing.

Even Konstantin Dmitrievich Ushinsky emphasized that in terms of importance for pedagogy, psychology occupies first place among all sciences, because in order to teach and educate, it is necessary to know the psyche of those being educated and trained. Not a single pedagogical problem can be solved without relying on psychological knowledge.

The modern holistic approach, which makes it possible to more effectively carry out the process of teaching various disciplines at school and educating students, strengthens the role of psychology as a science in training teaching staff new generation.

That. experimental psychology and pedagogical practice are closely related.

7. Research program

Science differs from any other sphere of human activity in its goals, means, motives and conditions in which scientific work takes place. If the goal of science is to comprehend the truth, then its method is scientific research.

Research can be empirical and theoretical, although the distinction is conditional; most studies are of a theoretical-empirical nature. Any research is carried out not in isolation, but within the framework of an integral scientific program or for the purpose of developing a scientific direction. Research by its nature can be divided into fundamental and applied, monodisciplinary and interdisciplinary, analytical and complex, etc. Fundamental research is aimed at understanding reality without taking into account the practical effect of applying knowledge. Applied research is carried out in order to obtain knowledge that must be used to solve a specific practical problem. Monodisciplinary research is carried out within the framework of a separate science (in this case, psychology). Like interdisciplinary research, these studies require the participation of specialists from various fields and are carried out at the intersection of several scientific disciplines. These include studies: genetic; in the field of engineering psychophysiology; at the intersection of ethnopsychology and sociology. Complex research is carried out using a system of methods and techniques through which scientists strive to cover the maximum (or optimal) possible number of significant parameters of the reality being studied. Single-factor, or analytical, research is aimed at identifying one most significant, in the researcher’s opinion, aspect of reality. From the standpoint of critical rationalism (this is how Popper and his followers characterized their worldview), experiment is a method of refuting plausible hypotheses. The normative process of scientific research is structured as follows:

1. Proposing a hypothesis (hypotheses).

2. Study planning.

3. Conducting research.

4. Data interpretation.

5. Refutation or non-refutation of the hypothesis (hypotheses).

6. In case of rejection of the old one, the formulation of a new hypothesis (hypotheses).

After recording the results of the experiment, a primary analysis of the data, their mathematical processing, interpretation and generalization are carried out. Initial hypotheses are tested for reliability. New facts or patterns are formulated. Theories are refined or discarded as unsuitable. Based on the refined theory, new conclusions and predictions are made. Research based on the purpose of its conduct can be divided into several types. The first includes exploratory research. Their goal is to solve a problem that no one has posed before.

Scientific results should ideally not depend on time. Scientific knowledge is intersubjective, therefore the scientific result should not depend on the personality of the researcher, his motives, intentions, intuition, etc.

The famous methodologist M. Bunge believed that in reality it is impossible to create a study that would correspond to the ideal. The personal traits of the researcher leave a certain imprint on the experiment. But in any case, the scientific method should strive to be as close to ideal as possible.

8. Subject and object of research

The object of research is the area within which what will be studied is located (contains). The subject of the study is the patterns of processes occurring in this area. We can say that the subject of research is a specific part of the object of study, or a process occurring in it, or an aspect of the problem that is being investigated. Within the framework of the research object, we can talk about various subjects of research. Subject and object: through the relationship of the general and the particular: an object is a process, or a phenomenon affecting a problem situation, an object is what is on the border of the object. Through the subject: the object is the one who is being studied, the subject is what is being known. At one time, having separated from philosophy, psychology inherited from it the problem of consciousness, which was considered the unconditional prerogative of man. Darwin's idea of ​​evolution also affected this indisputable dogma, at least in the form of raising the question of prehistory human consciousness. At the end of the 19th century. A new direction in the sciences of living things appeared - comparative psychology. The thesis about the existence of rudimentary forms of consciousness, reason and even intelligence in animals was accepted as an axiom.

Comparative psychology, quickly passing through the stage of anthropomorphism (the work of George Romanes), was formed as an experimental discipline. The first experiments with animals were carried out by creating special controlled situations.

Beginning with the works of E. Thorndike, experiments with animals acquired more rigorous scientific outlines. In particular, the division of variables into independent (varied by the experimenter) and dependent (in the form of objectively recorded parameters and behavioral reactions of the animal) is already applied here.

Variables:

The complexity of the problem situation;

Reinforcement or punishment regime;

Condition of the animal

Registered parameters:

Total time to resolve the problem;

Number of mistakes;

The nature of the animal's activity.

Thorndike's work marked the beginning of a whole direction in experimental psychology, which is successfully developing at the present time - research into learning processes. During this time, the arsenal of experimental techniques has been significantly enriched, which are used with equal success (albeit with appropriate modifications) both on people (children and adults) and on animals.

In an experiment, the object of research is a person, and the subject is the human psyche.

9. Scientific problem

Statement of the problem is the beginning of any research. Unlike everyday ones, a scientific problem is formulated in terms of a certain scientific branch. It must be operationalized, i.e. formulated in terms of developmental psychology and can be solved by certain methods.

Statement of the problem entails the formulation of a hypothesis. The ability to detect a “blind spot” in knowledge about the world is one of the main manifestations of a researcher’s talent. The following stages of problem generation can be distinguished:

· Identifying the lack of scientific knowledge about reality;

· description of the problem at the level of ordinary language;

· formulation of the problem in terms of a scientific discipline.

The second stage is necessary, since the transition to the level of ordinary language makes it possible to switch from one scientific field(with its own specific terminology) to another. For example, the reasons for aggressive behavior of people can be sought not in psychological factors, but in biogenetic ones, and the problem can be solved using the methods of general or molecular genetics. You can plunge into astrological knowledge and try to formulate the problem in other terms - the influence of planets on a person’s character and behavior.

Thus, by already formulating the problem, we narrow the range of search for its possible solutions and implicitly put forward a research hypothesis. A problem is a rhetorical question that a researcher asks nature, but he must answer it himself. Let us also give a philosophical interpretation of the concept of “problem”. “Problem” is a question or set of questions that objectively arises in the course of the development of cognition, the solution of which is of significant practical or theoretical interest. Problems are divided into real problems and “pseudo problems” that seem significant. In addition, a class of insoluble problems is identified (the transformation of mercury into gold, the creation of a “perpetual motion machine”, etc.). Proving the unsolvability of a problem is itself one of the options for solving it.

10. Scientific hypothesis

A hypothesis is a scientific assumption resulting from a theory that has not yet been confirmed or refuted. In the methodology of science, a distinction is made between theoretical hypotheses and hypotheses as empirical assumptions that are subject to experimental verification. The former are included in the structure of theories as main parts. Theoretical hypotheses are put forward to eliminate internal contradictions in the theory or to overcome discrepancies between theory and experimental results and are a tool for improving theoretical knowledge. Fayerabend is talking about such hypotheses. A scientific hypothesis must satisfy the principles of falsifiability (to be refutable in an experiment) and verifiability (to be confirmed in an experiment). The second are assumptions put forward to solve the problem using the method of experimental research. Such assumptions are called experimental hypotheses, which do not necessarily have to be based on theory.

There are 3 types of hypotheses based on their origin:

· A hypothesis, which is based on models of reality, is necessary to test a specific theory;

· scientific and experimental hypotheses that are put forward to confirm or refute various laws;

· empirical hypotheses that are formulated for a specific case.

The main feature of any experimental hypotheses is that they are operationalizable, i.e. formulated in terms of a specific experimental procedure.

According to the content, hypotheses can be divided into hypotheses about the presence of: A) phenomena; B) connections between phenomena; B) a causal relationship between phenomena. Testing type A hypotheses is an attempt to establish the truth: “Was there a boy?” Type B hypotheses are about connections between phenomena, for example, the hypothesis about the relationship between the intelligence of children and their parents. Actually, type B hypotheses are usually considered experimental – about cause-and-effect relationships. An experimental hypothesis includes an independent variable, a dependent variable, the relationship between them, and levels of additional variables.

Gottsdanker identifies the following variants of experimental hypotheses:

Counterhypothesis - an experimental hypothesis alternative to the main assumption; occurs automatically;

The third competing experimental hypothesis is the experimental hypothesis about the absence of influence of the independent variable on the dependent variable; verified only in a laboratory experiment;

A precise experimental hypothesis is an assumption about the relationship between a single independent variable and a dependent variable in a laboratory experiment.

An experimental hypothesis about a maximum (or minimum) value is an assumption about at what level of an independent variable the dependent variable takes on its maximum (or minimum) value.

An experimental hypothesis about absolute and proportional relationships is an accurate assumption about the nature of a gradual (quantitative) change in the dependent variable with a gradual (quantitative) change in the independent one.

A single-relationship experimental hypothesis is an assumption of a relationship between one independent and one dependent variable.

A combined experimental hypothesis is an assumption about the relationship between a certain combination (combination) of two (or more) independent variables, on the one hand, and a dependent variable, on the other.

Researchers distinguish between scientific and statistical hypotheses. Scientific hypotheses are formulated as a proposed solution to a problem. A statistical hypothesis is a statement regarding an unknown parameter, formulated in the language of mathematical statistics. Any scientific hypothesis requires translation into the language of statistics. The experimental hypothesis serves to organize the experiment, and the statistical hypothesis serves to organize the comparison of parameters. Hypotheses that are not refuted by experiment turn into components of theoretical knowledge about reality: facts, patterns, laws.

11. Stages of scientific research

The main stages of psychological research.

Stages	Procedures
preparatory	1. the need to solve a certain problem, its awareness, study, selection of literature. 2.formulation of tasks 3.definition of the object and subject of research 4.formulation of the hypothesis 5. selection of methods and techniques.
research	Collect evidence using different methods. Various steps in a series of studies are carried out.
Processing of research data	Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the study. 1.analysis of the recorded factor. 2. establishing a connection: a recorded fact - a hypothesis. 3. identification of recurring factors. Statistical processing, drawing up tables, graphs, etc. takes place.
Data interpretation. Conclusion	1. establishing the correctness or fallacy of the research hypothesis. 2. correlation of results with existing concepts and theories.

During a real experiment, deviations from the design always arise, which must be taken into account when interpreting the results and repeating the experiment.

After recording the results of the experiment, a primary analysis of the data, their mathematical processing, interpretation and generalization are carried out. Initial hypotheses are tested for reliability. New facts or patterns are formulated. Theories are refined or discarded as unsuitable. Based on the refined theory, new conclusions and predictions are made.

Research based on the purpose of its conduct can be divided into several types. The first includes exploratory research. Their goal is to solve a problem that no one has posed before.

The second type is critical research. They are carried out in order to refute an existing theory, model, hypothesis, law, etc., or to test which of two alternative hypotheses more accurately predicts reality. Most of the research conducted in science is clarifying. Their goal is to establish the boundaries within which the theory predicts facts and empirical patterns.

And finally, the last type is replication research. The purpose of its implementation is to accurately repeat the experiment of predecessors to determine the reliability, reliability and objectivity of the results obtained.

12. Classification of methods of psychological research

In science, there are universal research methods that often coincide with basic methodological principles. There are so-called general research methods. They are used in many sciences: observation, method of analysis and synthesis, differentiation and generalization, induction and deduction, etc. There is also a group of specific methods for this science. Let us consider several examples of classifications of the method of experimental psychology.

Classification of methods of psychological research. B.G. Ananyev divided all methods into: 1) organizational (comparative, longitudinal and complex); 2) empirical (observational methods (observation and introspection), experiment (laboratory, field, natural, etc.), psychodiagnostic method, analysis of processes and products of activity (praxiometric methods), modeling and biographical method); 3) methods of data processing (mathematical-statistical data analysis and qualitative description) and 4) interpretive (genetic (phylo- and ontogenetic) and structural methods (classification, typologization, etc.). The genetic method interprets all research material in the characteristics of development, highlighting phases, stages, critical moments in the formation of mental functions, formations and personality traits.The structural method interprets all collected material in the characteristics of systems and types of connections between them that form individuals or a social group.

Classification of empirical methods by Vodolev-Stolen. Group 1: 2 main features: 1. Based on a comparison of methodological features (objective tests, standardized self-reports, questionnaire tests, open questionnaires, scale techniques, subjective classification), individually oriented techniques (method of role repertoire grids), projective techniques, dialogic techniques (conversation, interview, diagnostic games). 2. The basis of measures of the involvement of the psychologist in the psychodiagnostic procedure and the degree of his influence on the diagnostic result (objective methods - tests, questionnaires, scale techniques). Group 2: dialogical (conversation, interviews, diagnostic games, pathopsychological experiment and some of the projective techniques).

Classification of Pir'ov's methods (1966). Pirov identified several independent methods.

1 Observation.

1.1. Objective observation:

a) direct observation.

a 1) objective clinical observation (widely used in psychiatry);

b) indirect observation (questionnaire methods)

1.2. Subjective observation (self-observation):

a) direct introspection - a person’s verbal report;

b) indirect introspection - studying diaries, letters, photographs of a given person, his memories, etc.

2. Experimental method.

2.1. Laboratory experiment:

a) classic

b) psychometrics;

b 1) test method

b 2) psychological scaling

2.2. Natural experiment

2.3. Psychological and pedagogical experiment

a) stating

b) Formative

3. Simulation method

4. Method of psychological characteristics

5. Auxiliary methods (non-specific to psychology)

a) physiological, pharmacological, biochemical, etc.

b) mathematical;

c) graphic.

6. Special methods (specific to psychology):

a) genetic method (ontological and phylogenetic aspects)

b) a comparative research method (for example, a study of the development of a child and a small chimpanzee);

c) pathopsychological method (with its help, pathological deviations of the psyche from the accepted norm are studied)

Pir'ov's classification represents an example of a classical classification, in which the criterion is arbitrarily chosen by the author, but despite all the apparent arbitrariness, it quite strictly follows established traditions. Pirjov traditionally divides methods into groups of empirical methods, which, again following tradition, are divided into two separate classes - observation and experiment; into a group of theoretical methods, consisting of two classes - modeling and “methods of psychological characterization”, which can be called a class of methods for interpreting the results of empirical research. In a separate group, Pirov combined two classes of special methods, specific to psychology and non-specific to psychology, borrowed from other fields of knowledge.

13. Non-experimental methods in psychology: observation, conversation, survey, tests

Observation is the purposeful, organized perception and recording of the behavior of an object. Observation, along with self-observation, is the oldest psychological method. As a scientific empirical method, observation has been widely used since the end of the 19th century. in clinical psychology, developmental psychology and educational psychology, in social psychology, and since the beginning of the 20th century. - in labor psychology, i.e. in those areas where recording the characteristics of a person’s natural behavior in his usual conditions is of particular importance, where the experimenter’s intervention disrupts the process of human interaction with the environment.

There are non-systematic and systematic observations. Non-systematic observation is carried out as part of field research and is widely used in ethnopsychology, developmental psychology, and social psychology. For a researcher conducting non-systematic observation, what is important is not the fixation of causal relationships and a strict description of the phenomenon, but the creation of some generalized picture of the behavior of an individual or group under certain conditions.

Systematic observation is carried out according to a specific plan. The researcher identifies recorded behavioral features (variables) and classifies environmental conditions.

A distinction is made between “continuous” and selective observation. In the first case, the researcher (or group of researchers) records all behavioral features that are available for the most detailed observation. In the second case, he pays attention only to certain parameters of behavior or types of behavioral acts, for example, he records only the frequency of aggression or the time of interaction between mother and child during the day, etc. Observation can be carried out directly or using observation devices and means of recording results. These include audio, photo and video equipment, special surveillance cards, etc. The observation results can be recorded during the observation process or delayed. In the latter case, the importance of the observer’s memory increases, the completeness and reliability of recording behavior “suffers,” and, consequently, the reliability of the results obtained. The problem of the observer is of particular importance. The behavior of a person or group of people changes if they know that they are being watched from the outside. This effect increases if the observer is unknown to the group or individual, is significant, and can competently evaluate the behavior.

There are two options for participant observation: 1) the observed know that their behavior is being recorded by the researcher; 2) the observed do not know that their behavior is being recorded. In any case, the most important role is played by the personality of the psychologist - his professionally important qualities. With open observation, after a certain time, people get used to the psychologist and begin to behave naturally, if he himself does not provoke a “special” attitude towards himself. In the case where covert observation is used, the “exposure” of the researcher can have the most serious consequences not only for the success of the study, but also for the health and life of the observer himself. Moreover, participant observation, in which the researcher is masked and the purpose of the observation is hidden, raises serious ethical issues. Many psychologists consider it unacceptable to conduct research using the “method of deception,” when its goals are hidden from the people being studied and/or when the subjects do not know that they are the objects of observation or experimental manipulation.

The observational research procedure consists of the following: stages: 1) the subject of observation (behavior), object (individuals or group), situations are determined; 2) the method of observing and recording data is selected; 3) an observation plan is constructed (situations - object - time); 4) a method for processing the results is selected; 5) processing and interpretation of the received information is carried out.

A.A. Ershov (1977) identifies the following typical observation errors:

1. Gallo effect. The generalized impression of the observer leads to a gross perception of behavior, ignoring subtle differences.

2. The effect of leniency. The tendency is to always give a positive assessment of what is happening.

3. Error of central tendency. The observer tends to give an average assessment of the observed behavior.

4. Correlation error. An assessment of one behavioral characteristic is given on the basis of another observable characteristic (intelligence is assessed by verbal fluency).

5. Contrast error. The tendency of the observer to identify traits in the observed that are opposite to his own.

6. First impression mistake. The first impression of an individual determines the perception and assessment of his further behavior.

Conversation is a psychology-specific method for studying human behavior, since in other natural sciences communication between the subject and the object of research is impossible. A dialogue between two people, in which one person reveals the psychological characteristics of the other, is called conversation method. Psychologists of various schools and directions widely use it in their research. It is enough to name Piaget and representatives of his school, humanistic psychologists, founders and followers of “depth” psychology, etc. Conversation is included as an additional method in the structure of the experiment at the first stage, when the researcher collects primary information about the subject, gives him instructions, motivates, etc., and at the last stage - in the form of a post-experimental interview. Researchers distinguish between a clinical interview, an integral part of the “clinical method,” and a focused, face-to-face interview.

The term clinical conversation is assigned to a method of studying an integral personality, in which, through a dialogue with the subject, the researcher seeks to obtain the most complete information about his individual personality characteristics, life path, the content of his consciousness and subconscious, etc. To test particular hypotheses, the researcher can give the subject tasks, tests. Then the clinical conversation turns into a clinical experiment. A targeted survey is called an interview. The interview method has become widespread in social psychology, personality psychology, and labor psychology, but its main area of ​​application is sociology. Therefore, according to tradition, it is classified as sociological and socio-psychological methods.

In social psychology, interviews are considered one of the types of survey methods. The second type is correspondence survey, questionnaires ("open" or "closed"). They are intended to be completed independently by the subject, without the participation of the researcher.

But questionnaires can hardly be classified as psychological research methods. The information obtained using the questionnaire is declarative and cannot be considered reliable and reliable even if the subject is completely sincere. Every psychologist knows how the content of a subject’s statements is influenced by unconscious motivation and attitudes. Therefore, it makes sense to consider questioning a non-psychological method, which, however, can be used in psychological research as an additional one, in particular, when conducting socio-psychological research. Testing is a type of procedure for measuring the properties of an object. Property is a category that expresses such an aspect of an object that determines its difference and commonality with other objects and is revealed in its relation to them.

The psychological test includes a set of tasks:

· for the test taker – the rule for working with the test;

· for the experimenter – the rule for organizing the subject’s work with the test and the rule for working with data;

· theoretical description indicating the properties measured by the test;

· method of introducing scale assessment.

Using a test, you can measure a property quantitatively. Nowadays, a psychological test is considered as a set of tasks with the help of which a property can be identified. The general name for tasks is test items. The subject is offered various answer options in relation to each task. The response is recorded and considered to be the feature that detected the property.

14. Possibilities of using non-experimental methods in the activities of a teacher

The method of conversation, observation, testing, etc. are methods of pedagogical research, i.e. a set of methods and techniques for understanding the objective laws of teaching, upbringing and development.

The observation method is a purposeful, systematic recording of the specifics of the course of certain pedagogical phenomena, the manifestations of an individual, a team, a group of people in them, and the results obtained. Observations can be: continuous and selective; included and simple; uncontrolled and controlled (when recording observed events according to a previously worked out procedure); field (when observed in natural conditions) and laboratory (in experimental conditions), etc. Typically acts as a preliminary step before planning and executing an experimental study.

The conversation method is obtaining verbal information about a person, team, group, both from the subject of the study itself and from the people around him. In the latter case, the conversation acts as an element of the method of generalizing independent characteristics. The main function of the conversation is to attract the students themselves to evaluate events, actions, and phenomena of life and, on this basis, form in them the desired attitude towards the surrounding reality.

It is known from psychology that the younger the students, the greater the lag in their awareness of their own qualities compared to the awareness of the qualities of other people. The teacher can reveal the meaning of an action by comparing it with other similar actions.

The form of conversation can be very diverse, but it should lead students to think, the results of which should be a diagnosis and assessment of the qualities of the personality behind certain actions.

Testing method is the study of personality through diagnostics (psychodiagnostics) of it. mental states, functions based on the execution of a standardized task.

Based on various aspects (components) of the development and formation of human qualities, tests are classified into:

1. tests of general mental abilities, mental development.

2. tests of special abilities in various fields of activity

3. tests of learning, progress, academic achievements

4. tests to determine individual qualities (traits) of a person (memory, thinking, character, etc.)

5. tests to determine the level of education (formation of universal human, moral, social and other qualities).

Learning tests are used at all stages of the didactic process. With their help, preliminary, current, thematic and final control of knowledge, skills, and recording of progress and academic achievements are effectively ensured.

Survey - collection of primary information by asking a standardized system of questions (used in sociology, psychology, pedagogy and other studies). Survey techniques are divided into two main types: questioning and interviewing. Questionnaires are widely used in educational research. The questionnaire is a questionnaire for obtaining answers to a pre-compiled system of questions. It is used to obtain any information about who fills it out, as well as to study the opinions of large social groups. Questionnaires can be open (free answers by the respondent), closed (choose an answer from those offered) and mixed.

An interview is a way of obtaining socio-psychological information through oral questioning. There are two types of interviews: free (not regulated by the topic and form of the conversation) and standardized (close in form to a questionnaire with pre-given questions). The boundaries between these types of interviews are fluid and depend on the complexity of the problem, purpose and stage of the study. The degree of freedom of interview participants is determined by the presence and form of questions, the developing emotional atmosphere4 and the level of information received - the richness and complexity of the answers.

15. The importance of the experimental method for the development of psychology

In psychology, there is still no generally accepted view of experiment, its role and possibilities in scientific research.

The founder of the Leningrad school of psychology B.G. Ananyev especially emphasized the role of experiment in psychological research.

Psychology as a science began with the introduction of experiment into its arsenal of methods and has been successfully using this tool for obtaining data for almost 150 years. But throughout these 150 years, debates have not stopped about the fundamental possibility of using the experiment in psychology.

Along with traditional polar points of view:

1) the use of experiments in psychology is fundamentally impossible and even unacceptable;

2) without experiment, psychology as a science is untenable - a third science appears, which tries to reconcile the first two.

The compromise is seen in the fact that the use of experiment is permissible and makes sense only when studying certain levels of the hierarchy of the system of the integral psyche, and rather primitive levels at that. When studying fairly high levels of organization of the psyche, especially the psyche as a whole, the experiment is fundamentally impossible (not even permissible).

The proof of the impossibility of using experiment in psychology is based on the following provisions:

1. the subject of psychological research is too complex, the most complex of all subjects of scientific interest;

2. the subject of interest of psychology is too changeable and unstable, which makes it impossible to adhere to the principle of verification;

3. in a psychological experiment, interaction between the subject and the experimenter inevitably occurs (subject-subject interaction), which violates the scientific purity of the results;

4. the individual psyche is absolutely unique, which makes psychological measurement and experiment meaningless, since it is impossible to apply knowledge obtained on one individual to any other;

5. internal spontaneous activity of the psyche.

In psychology, an experiment is essentially psychological from the very beginning. From the very beginning it formed independently. From the natural sciences, only the very idea of ​​experimentation is taken as continuous monitoring and change of variables in the object of study.

The task in psychology is to find a method of contact with reality (between objective and subjective variables) that would allow us to obtain information about subjective variables from changes in objective variables.

As a research method in psychology, experiment turned out to be:

More ethical (volunteers);

More economical;

More practical.

“The organized activity of the experimenter serves to increase the truth of theoretical knowledge through obtaining a scientific fact.”

Experiment as an active method of psychological research

An experiment is an experiment conducted under special conditions for the purpose of scientific knowledge, the main feature of which is the purposeful intervention of the researcher in the object being studied. The main difference between a psychological experiment and other psychological methods is that it allows the internal Ps phenomenon to adequately and unambiguously manifest itself in external behavior accessible to objective observation. The adequacy and unambiguity of the objectification of experimentally caused Ps phenomena is achieved through targeted, strict control of the conditions for their occurrence and course. Rubinstein: the main task of a psychological experiment is to make beings accessible to objective external observation. features of the internal Ps process; To do this, it is necessary, by varying the environmental conditions, to find a situation in which the external course of the act would adequately reflect its internal Ps content, i.e. The task of experimentally varying conditions in a psychological experiment is, first of all, to reveal the correctness of one single psychological interpretation of an action and deed, excluding the possibility of all others.

16. The formation of the experimental method in psychology

The most important characteristic features of science are:

a) the systematic nature of the knowledge included in it;

b) use of certain research methods;

c) using only testable explanatory hypotheses.

G. Ebbinghaus said that psychology has a huge prehistory and is very Short story. The term “psychology” itself was proposed in 1500 by a professor from Marburg, Goclenius. According to other sources, the term “psychology” (the science of the soul) was introduced into science by the German philosopher Teacher M.V. Lomonosov Christian Wolf in 1732

Psychology has come a long way to becoming an independent science - from pre-scientific “everyday” psychology, through the formation and testing of basic psychological ideas in systems of philosophy, to the construction of psychology as a natural science.

1. Pre-scientific psychology. At this stage, a person got to know another person and himself directly in the processes of activity and communication. Pre-scientific psychology is based on common sense. This is the psychology that people create even before psychologists, according to P. Janet

Of course, the “stage of pre-scientific psychology” did not end in the Middle Ages, when psychological problems attracted the attention of philosophers. “Everyday” psychology and its main tool “common sense” still accompany us in our lives today. Good writer as a “specialist in everyday psychology” will give a hundred points ahead to many of the “scientific psychologists” with university diplomas. It is enough to remember F.M. Dostoevsky.

2. Philosophical psychology - the development of psychological topics within the framework of a particular philosophical system.

Already in ancient philosophy the following were put forward:

The idea of ​​law as an invariant relation that manifests itself in varying research conditions;

The idea of ​​preserving the primordial substance, ethical principles, unchanging beginning, etc., depending on the philosophical school.

The philosophical solution to psychological problems is based on abstract, logically deducible principles.

Only in the 17th century. the problem of human cognition has acquired its own specifics.

3. Scientific psychology. Scientific psychology did not arise out of nowhere. Throughout the entire history of the development of this science, including the “pre-scientific period,” research was carried out that we today could call psychological. For example, back in the 3rd century. n. e. Bishop Nemetius established that vision cannot simultaneously cover more than 3-4 elements.

The first data on psychological experiments, writes K.A. Ramul appeared only in the 16th century, but quite a lot of references to them date back to the 18th century. K.A. Ramul notes that:

1) the first psychological experiments were random and were not carried out for a scientific purpose;

2) the systematic setting up of psychological experiments for scientific purposes appears only among researchers in the 18th century;

3) for the most part these experiences were associated with elementary visual sensations.

The first person to talk about measurement in psychology was H. Wolf. For example, he believed that he could measure the amount of pleasure by the perfection we perceive.

However, it was still a long way from the experience he was talking about to a scientific experiment.

Galton came up with the idea of ​​using mathematics in psychology. He argued that until the phenomena of any field of knowledge are subject to measurement and number, they cannot acquire the status and dignity of science.

The first psychologists were often physiologists (Wundt, Binet, Pavlov), and sometimes doctors (Bekhterev) or physicists (Booger, Weber, Fechner, Helmholtz) by training. They approached psychological problems like natural scientists, accustomed to obeying and trusting facts more than mental constructs. Finally, they master the art of their methodology, and sometimes even some equipment that allows them, especially in the field of sensations, to vary the stimulation qualitatively and quantitatively.

In 1860, the book by G.T. was published. Fechner "Elements of Psychophysics". This work is rightfully considered the first work on experimental psychology. Thus psychophysics was born. Fechner defined psychophysics as “the precise theory of the relations between soul and body and, in general, between the physical world and the psychic world.”

Wilhelm Wundt (1832-1920) transformed "empirical" pre-experimental psychology into experimental psychology. In the psychological laboratory he created in 1879, psychologists from all over the world, including from Russia, were trained. Fechner began research before Wundt that laid the foundations of natural science psychology, but the first scientific school of psychology was created in Wundt's laboratory. Ebbinghaus, in his work “On Memory” (1885), already comes to understand the task of experimental psychology as establishing a functional connection between certain phenomena and certain factors. In Russia, the development of psychology followed the line of physiological psychology. In 1870, Sechenov published an article “Who and how to develop psychology?” To the question “Who?” he replied: “To a physiologist”; to the question “How?” - “Through the study of reflexes.” This position was completely original for that time.

I.P. Pavlov was not a student of Sechenov, but was deeply influenced by his works. Pavlov discovered conditioned reflexes, which he, however, initially called mental (1903). V.M. Bekhterev was more of a psychiatrist than a physiologist. Bekhterev created the term “reflexology,” which he defined as “a scientific discipline whose subject is the study of responses to external or internal stimuli.” Thus, Pavlov and Bekhterev founded objective psychology before Watson, although they did not call it psychology.

The founder of the Leningrad school of psychology B.G. Ananyev especially emphasized the role of experiment in psychological research. Psychology as a science began with the introduction of experiment into its arsenal of methods and has been successfully using this tool for obtaining data for almost 150 years. But throughout these 150 years, debates have not stopped about the fundamental possibility of using the experiment in psychology.

17. Types of experiment

An experiment is the conduct of research under specially created, controlled conditions in order to test an experimental hypothesis about a cause-and-effect relationship. During the experiment, the researcher always observes the behavior of the object and measures its state. Experiment - the main method modern natural science and natural science-oriented psychology. In the scientific literature, the term “experiment” is applied both to a holistic experimental study - a series of experimental tests carried out according to a single plan, and to a single experimental test - an experiment.

There are mainly three types of experiments:

1) laboratory;

2) natural;

3) formative.

Laboratory (artificial) experiment is carried out in artificially created conditions that make it possible, as far as possible, to ensure the interaction of the research object (subject, group of subjects) only with those factors (relevant stimuli), the impact of which is of interest to the experimenter. The experimenter tries to minimize the interference of “extraneous factors” (irrelevant stimuli) or establish strict control over them. Control consists, firstly, in identifying all irrelevant factors, secondly in keeping them unchanged during the experiment, and thirdly, if fulfilling the second requirement is impossible, the experimenter tries to track (as quantitatively as possible) changes in irrelevant stimuli during the experiment.

Natural (field) experiment is carried out under the conditions of the subject’s normal life activities with a minimum of experimenter intervention in this process. If ethical and organizational considerations permit, the subject remains unaware of his or her participation in the field experiment.

Formative experiment is specific specifically to psychology and its applications (usually in pedagogy). In a formative experiment, the active influence of the experimental situation on the subject should contribute to his mental development and personal growth. The active influence of the experimenter consists in creating special conditions and situations that, firstly, initiate the emergence of certain mental functions and, secondly, allow them to be purposefully changed and formed.

“In principle, such an impact can lead to negative consequences for the subject or society. Therefore, the qualifications and good intentions of the experimenter are extremely important. Research of this kind should not harm the physical, spiritual and moral health of people.”

There are many other more detailed, but, on the other hand, more formal classifications of experimental methods, carried out on different grounds (classification criteria) and with varying degrees of rigor.

On formal grounds, several types of experimental research are distinguished. There are research (search) and confirmatory experiments. Their difference is due to the level of development of the problem and the availability of knowledge about the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Search(exploratory) experiment is carried out when it is unknown whether there is a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Therefore, exploratory research is aimed at testing the hypothesis about the presence or absence of a causal relationship between variables A and B. If there is information about a qualitative relationship between two variables, a hypothesis is put forward about the type of this relationship. Then the researcher conducts confirming(confirmatory) experiment, in which the type of functional quantitative relationship between the independent and dependent variables is revealed.

18. Organization and conduct of a psychological experiment

Experimental research in psychology, as in any other sciences, is carried out in several stages. Some of them are mandatory, some may be absent in some cases, but the sequence of steps must be remembered so as not to make basic mistakes.

Main stages of psychological experimental research

1. Any research begins with defining its topic. The topic limits the area of ​​research, the range of problems, the choice of subject, object and method. However, the first stage of the research itself is the initial formulation of the problem. The researcher must understand why he is dissatisfied with modern psychological knowledge, where he feels gaps, what facts and patterns cannot be explained, what theories provide contradictory explanations of human behavior, etc.

2. After the initial formulation of the problem, the stage of working with scientific literature begins. The researcher should familiarize himself with the experimental data obtained by other psychologists and attempts to explain the causes of the phenomenon that interests him.

3. At this stage, the hypothesis is clarified and variables are identified. The initial formulation of the problem already suggests options for answering it.

4. The researcher must choose the methodology, equipment and conditions for conducting a psychological experiment.

5. Experimental research plan. The choice of design depends on what the experimental hypothesis is, how many external variables you must control in the experiment, what opportunities the situation provides for research, etc. When time and resources (including financial) are limited, the simplest experimental plans are chosen. To test complex hypotheses that require controlling several independent variables and/or taking into account many additional variables, appropriate designs are used.

The researcher can conduct an experiment with the participation of one subject. In this case, he applies one of the research designs for one subject. If the researcher is working with a group, he or she may choose a range of designs using experimental and control groups. The simplest are plans for two groups (main and control). If more sophisticated control is needed, multi-group plans are used.

6. In accordance with the plan, the subjects are selected and distributed into groups.

7. The actual conduct of the experiment is the most important part of the research. Let us briefly describe the main stages of the experiment.

A. Preparation of the experiment. The researcher prepares the experimental room and equipment. If necessary, several trial experiments are carried out to fine-tune the experimental procedure.

b. Instructing and motivating subjects. The instructions must include motivational components. The subject must know what opportunities participation in the experiment provides him with. The speed of understanding instructions depends on individual cognitive abilities, temperament, knowledge of language, etc. Therefore, you should check whether the subjects understood the instructions correctly and repeat them if necessary, avoiding, however, additional detailed comments.

V. Experimentation. First, you should make sure that the subject is competent, that he is healthy, and that he wants to participate in the experiment. The experimenter should have instructions in which the order of his actions during the study is recorded. Usually an assistant also takes part in the experiment. He takes on auxiliary tasks: keeping a protocol, general observation of the subject, etc.

8. Selection of statistical processing methods, its implementation and interpretation of results

9. Conclusions and interpretation of results complete the research cycle. The result of the experimental study is confirmation or refutation of the hypothesis about the causal relationship between the variables: “If A, then B.”

10. The final product of the research is a scientific report, manuscript of an article, monograph, letter to the editor of a scientific journal.

19. Main characteristics of a psychological experiment

Experimental research in psychology differs from other methods in that the experimenter actively manipulates the independent variable, whereas with other methods only options for selecting levels of independent variables are possible. A normal variant of an experimental study is the presence of a main and control groups of subjects. In non-experimental studies, as a rule, all groups are equal, so they are compared.

On formal grounds, several types of experimental research are distinguished.

There are research (search) and confirmatory experiments. Their difference is due to the level of development of the problem and the availability of knowledge about the relationship between the dependent and independent variables.

A search (exploratory) experiment is carried out when it is unknown whether there is a causal relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Therefore, exploratory research is aimed at testing the hypothesis about the presence or absence of a causal relationship between variables A and B.

If there is information about a qualitative relationship between two variables, then a hypothesis is put forward about the type of this relationship. Then the researcher conducts a confirmatory experiment, in which the type of functional quantitative relationship between the independent and dependent variables is revealed.

In psychological research practice, the concepts of “critical experiment”, “pilot study”, or “pilot experiment”, “field study”, or “natural experiment” are also used to characterize various types of experimental research. A critical experiment is conducted to test all possible hypotheses simultaneously. Confirmation of one of them leads to the refutation of all other possible alternatives. Conducting a critical experiment in psychology requires not only careful planning, but also a high level of development of scientific theory. Since our science is dominated not by deductive models, but by empirical generalizations, researchers rarely conduct critical experiments.

The term "pilot study" is used to refer to a trial, first, experiment, or series of experiments in which a basic hypothesis, research approach, design, etc. is tested. Typically, aerobatics are carried out before a “big”, labor-intensive experimental study, so as not to waste money and time later. A pilot study is conducted on a smaller sample of subjects, with a reduced design, and without strict control of external variables. The reliability of the data obtained as a result of piloting is low, but its implementation makes it possible to eliminate gross errors associated with putting forward a hypothesis, planning a study, controlling variables, etc. In addition, during piloting it is possible to narrow the “search zone”, specify the hypothesis and clarify the methodology for conducting a “large” study. A field study is conducted to study the relationship between real variables in Everyday life, for example, between the child’s status in the group and the number of his contacts in play with peers or the territory he occupies in the playroom. At its core, a field study (or field experiment) is a quasi-experiment, since it is not possible to strictly control external variables, select groups and distribute subjects within them, control the independent variable and accurately record the dependent variable. But in some cases, a “field” or natural experiment is the only possible way to obtain scientific information (in developmental psychology, ethology, social psychology, clinical or occupational psychology, etc.). Proponents of the “natural experiment” argue that a laboratory experiment is an artificial procedure that produces ecologically invalid results because it “takes” the subject out of the context of everyday life. But in field research, errors and interference affecting the accuracy and reliability of data are immeasurably greater than in laboratory research. Therefore, psychologists strive to plan a natural experiment as close as possible to the design of a laboratory experiment and double-check the results obtained “in the field” using more rigorous procedures.

20. Possibilities of using experiment in the activities of a teacher

Scientific pedagogical research - the process of forming new teachers. knowledge, a type of cognitive activity aimed at discovering objective laws of training, education and development.

The task of pedagogical research is the specific or more specific goals of pedagogical research. Educational psychology - studies the patterns of the process of appropriation by an individual of social experience in the conditions of specially organized training. In pedagogical practice, experiment refers to one of the scientific research methods. With the help of an experiment, you can obtain reliable information, which can later be used to solve personal and collective problems of students. The specificity of the experiment lies in the fact that it purposefully and thoughtfully creates an artificial situation in which the property being studied is highlighted, appears and is assessed best. The main advantage of the experiment is that it allows, more reliably than all other methods, to draw conclusions about the cause-and-effect relationships of the phenomenon under study with other phenomena. In the work of a teacher, experiment is often used to identify specific qualities of an individual and its behavioral aspects in a team, as well as to identify the level of various mental processes. To develop new practical methods and theories of education, an experiment is necessary, since only through various options for interaction with students is it possible to achieve harmony in the complex art of a teacher. A learning experiment is characterized by the fact that the study of certain mental processes occurs during their purposeful formation. Using this method, it is not so much the current state of knowledge, abilities, skills that is revealed, but rather the features of their formation. Within its framework, the subject is first asked to independently master a new action or new knowledge (for example, formulate a pattern), then, if this fails, he is provided with strictly regulated and individualized assistance. This entire process is accompanied by a confirmatory experiment, thanks to which it is possible to establish the difference between the initial, “actual” level and the final one, corresponding to the “zone of proximal development.” The educational experiment is used not only in theoretical psychology, but also for diagnosing mental development, in particular in pathopsychology. Began to be used in domestic psychology in the late 30s. The zone of proximal action is a theoretical construct designed to explain the possibilities of human learning. Specificity - characterizes the process of enhancing mental development following training. This zone is determined by the content of tasks that the child can solve only with the help of an adult, but after gaining experience in joint activities, he becomes capable of independently solving similar problems.

Most often used in schools:

Natural experiment. It is carried out in conditions of work, study, play, etc. Entered the arsenal of psychology after the works of A.F. Lazursky, who developed the methods of natural experiment.

Psychological and pedagogical experiment. Appeared in the 30s. based on the one developed by A.F. Lazursky method of natural experiment. Designed to improve student learning, and is divided into:

a) ascertaining;

b) Formative.

21. Experimenter and subject, their personality and activities

A classic natural science experiment is considered theoretically from a normative position: if the researcher could be removed from the experimental situation and replaced with an automaton, then the experiment would correspond to the ideal.

Unfortunately or fortunately, human psychology is one of the disciplines where this is impossible to do. Consequently, the psychologist is forced to take into account the fact that any experimenter, including himself, is a human being and nothing human is alien to him. First of all - errors, i.e. involuntary deviations from the norm of the experiment (ideal experiment). The experiment, including the psychological one, must be reproduced by any other researcher. Therefore, the scheme for conducting it (the norm of the experiment) should be as objectified as possible, i.e. reproduction of the results should not depend on the skillful professional actions of the experimenter, external circumstances or chance.

From the standpoint of the activity approach, an experiment is the activity of an experimenter who influences the subject, changing the conditions of his activity in order to identify the characteristics of the subject’s psyche. The experimental procedure serves as evidence of the degree of activity of the experimenter: he organizes the work of the subject, gives him a task, evaluates the results, varies the experimental conditions, records the behavior of the subject and the results of his activities, etc.

From a socio-psychological point of view, the experimenter plays the role of a leader, teacher, initiator of the game, while the subject appears as a subordinate, performer, student, and follower of the game.

A researcher interested in confirming a theory spontaneously acts so that it is confirmed. You can control this effect. To do this, experimental assistants who do not know its goals and hypotheses should be involved in the research.

The “ideal subject” must have a set of appropriate psychological qualities: to be obedient, smart, and eager to cooperate with the experimenter; efficient, friendly, non-aggressive and devoid of negativism. From a socio-psychological point of view, the model of the “ideal subject” fully corresponds to the model of the ideal subordinate or ideal student.

An intelligent experimenter understands that this dream is impossible.

The experimenter's expectations may lead him to unconscious actions that modify the behavior of the subject. Since the source of influence is unconscious attitudes, they manifest themselves in the parameters of the experimenter’s behavior, which are regulated unconsciously. This is primarily facial expressions and speech methods of influencing the subject, namely: intonation when reading instructions, emotional tone, expression, etc. The influence of the experimenter is especially strong before the experiment: during the recruitment of subjects, the first conversation, and reading the instructions. During the experiment great importance has the attention shown by the experimenter to the actions of the subject. According to experimental studies, this attention increases the productivity of the subject. Thus, the researcher creates the subject’s primary attitude towards the experiment and forms an attitude towards himself.

1. Automation of research. The influence of the experimenter remains during recruitment and the initial conversation with the subject, between individual series and at the “exit”.

2. Participation of experimenters who do not know the goals. The experimenters will make assumptions about the intentions of the first researcher. The impact of these assumptions needs to be controlled.

3. Participation of several experimenters and the use of a plan that allows eliminating the influence of the experimenter. The problem of the criterion for selecting experimenters and the maximum number of control groups remains.

The influence of the experimenter is completely irremovable, since it contradicts the essence of the psychological experiment, but it can be taken into account and controlled to one degree or another.

An experiment where the object of research is a person, and the subject is the human psyche, is distinguished by the fact that it cannot be carried out without including the subject in joint activities with the experimenter. The subject must know not only the goals and objectives of the study (not necessarily the true goals), but understand what and why he must do during the experiment, moreover, personally accept this activity.

From the point of view of the subject, an experiment is a part of his personal life (time, actions, efforts, etc.), which he spends in communication with the experimenter in order to solve some of his personal problems

Communication between the subject and the experimenter is a necessary condition organizing their joint activities and regulating the activities of the subject.

Organization of an experiment requires taking into account the basic, i.e. currently known psychological patterns that determine the behavior of an individual in conditions corresponding to experimental ones.

1. Physical: people participating in the experiment; objects that are manipulated or transformed by the subject; the means available to the subject for this purpose; conditions under which the experiment takes place. Similar components are identified in the activities of the experimenter.

2. Functional: methods of action that are prescribed to the subject; the required level of competence of the subject; criteria for assessing the quality of the subject’s performance; temporary characteristics of the subject’s activity and the experiment.

3. Sign-symbolic (instructions to the subject): description; 1) the goals of the study and the goals of the subject’s activities; 2) methods and rules of action; 3) communication with the experimenter; 4) acquaintance with the motivational setting, payment, etc.

22. Experimental communication

A psychological experiment is a joint activity of the subject and the experimenter, which is organized by the experimenter and aimed at studying the characteristics of the psyche of the subjects.

The process that organizes and regulates joint activities is communication. The subject comes to the experimenter with his own life plans, motives, and goals for participating in the experiment. And, naturally, the result of the study is influenced by the characteristics of his personality, manifested in communication with the experimenter. These problems are dealt with by the social psychology of psychological experiments.

The founder of the study of socio-psychological aspects of psychological experiment was S. Rosenzweig. In 1933, he published an analytical review on this problem, where he identified the main factors of communication that can distort the results of the experiment:

1. Errors of “attitude to the observable.” They are associated with the subject’s understanding of the decision-making criterion when choosing a reaction.

2. Errors related to the motivation of the subject. The subject may be motivated by curiosity, pride, vanity and act not in accordance with the goals of the experimenter, but in accordance with his understanding of the goals and meaning of the experiment.

3. Errors of personal influence associated with the subject’s perception of the experimenter’s personality.

Currently, these sources of artifacts do not relate to socio-psychological ones (except for socio-psychological motivation).

The subject can participate in the experiment either voluntarily or under duress. Participation in the experiment itself gives rise to a number of behavioral manifestations in the subjects, which are the causes of artifacts. Among the most well-known are the “placebo effect”, “Hawthorne effect”, “audience effect”.

It is necessary to distinguish the motivation for participation in the study from the motivation that arises in the subjects during the course of the experiment when communicating with the experimenter. It is believed that during the experiment, the subject can have any motivation.

The motivation for participating in the experiment can be different: the desire for social approval, the desire to be good. There are other points of view. It is believed that the subject seeks to prove himself with the best side and gives those answers that, in his opinion, are valued more highly by the experimenter. In addition to the manifestation of the “facade effect,” there is also a tendency to behave emotionally stable, “not to succumb” to the pressure of the experimental situation.

A number of researchers propose the “malicious subject” model. They believe that subjects are hostile towards the experimenter and the research procedure and do everything to destroy the hypothesis of the experiment.

But a more common point of view is that adult subjects strive only to accurately follow instructions, and not succumb to their suspicions and guesses. Obviously, this depends on the psychological maturity of the subject’s personality.

To control the influence of the subject’s personality and the effects of communication on the results of the experiment, a number of special methodological techniques are proposed.

1. Method "blind placebo" or "double-blind experiment". Identical control and experimental groups are selected. The experimental procedure is repeated in both cases. The experimenter himself does not know which group receives “zero” influence and which is subject to real manipulation. There are modifications to this plan. One of them is that the experiment is not carried out by the experimenter himself, but by a invited assistant, who is not told the true hypothesis of the study and which of the groups is actually being affected. This design makes it possible to eliminate both the effect of the subject's expectations and the effect of the experimenter's expectations.

2. "Method of deception." Based on the purposeful misleading of subjects. Naturally, ethical problems arise when using it, and many social psychologists of a humanistic orientation consider it unacceptable.

3. Method of "hidden" experiment. Often used in field research, when implementing the so-called “natural” experiment. The experiment is so integrated into the natural life of the subject that he is not aware of his participation in the study as a subject.

4. Method of independent measurement of dependent parameters. It is used very rarely.

5. Control of the subject’s perception of the situation.

23. The rights of the subject and their observance

"Do no harm!" - a principle that can be applied to any type of professional activity. Any engineering product contains measures to ensure user safety. However, medicine and psychology come too close to the border of a person’s intimate world, directly touching the problems of his health and often the possibility of continuing life, to consider one of the principles of universal ethics. Therefore, “do no harm!” It is specially declared as a principle of professional ethics of a doctor (the Hippocratic Oath) and in many countries - as the basis of the professional code of psychologists. It should be noted that a person quite easily demonstrates his sick body to the doctor, but really does not like it when someone tries to “look into his soul”, and in every possible way prevents this. This imposes special requirements on the professional behavior of the psychologist, on special delicacy of communication with the subject .

Many countries have adopted special professional codes for psychologists that regulate his activities and establish a strict ethical framework for this activity. In Russia (and earlier in the USSR), the adoption of the corresponding code did not go beyond projects and proposals.

Nevertheless, we present some ethical requirements specific to the experimental psychologist. When working with subjects you must:

1) obtain the consent of the potential subject by explaining to him the purpose and objectives of the study, his role in the experiment and to the extent that he is able to make a responsible decision about his participation;

2) protect the subject from harm and discomfort;

3) take care of the confidentiality of information about subjects;

4) fully explain the meaning and results of the study after completion of the work.

When working with animals it is prohibited:

1) harm the animal and cause suffering, if this is not caused by the objectives of the research determined by the approved program;

2) it is necessary to ensure sufficient comfort for keeping animals.

24. Ethics of scientific research, its basic principles

The decision to conduct research should be based on each psychologist's conscious desire to make a tangible contribution to psychological science and promote human well-being. Once psychologists decide to conduct research, they must conduct their research with respect for the people involved and with concern for their dignity and well-being.

The principles explain to the researcher the ethical and responsible attitude towards experimental participants during research work.

1. When planning an experiment, the researcher is personally responsible for making an accurate assessment of its ethical acceptability, based on the Principles of Research.

If, based on this assessment and having weighed scientific and human values, a researcher proposes to deviate from the Principles, then the researcher assumes an additional serious obligation to develop ethical guidelines and take stronger measures to protect the rights of research participants.

2. It is always the responsibility of each researcher to establish and maintain acceptable research ethics. The researcher is also responsible for the ethical treatment of research subjects by colleagues, research assistants, students, and all other employees.

3. Ethics requires that the researcher inform subjects about all aspects of the experiment that may affect their willingness to participate in it, and also answer all questions about other details of the study.

The inability to see the full picture of the experiment further increases the researcher's responsibility for the well-being and dignity of the subjects.

4. Honesty and openness are important features of the relationship between researcher and subject. If concealment and deception are necessary according to the research methodology, then the researcher must explain to the subject the reasons for such actions in order to restore their relationship.

5. Research ethics requires that the researcher respect the client's right to reduce or terminate his participation in the research process at any time.

The obligation to protect this right requires particular vigilance when the researcher is in a position of dominance over the participant.

A decision to limit this right increases the researcher's responsibility for the dignity and well-being of the participant.

6. Ethically acceptable research begins with the establishment of a clear and fair agreement between the researcher and the participant that explains the responsibilities of the parties. The researcher is required to honor all promises and understandings included in this agreement.

7. An ethical researcher protects his clients from physical and mental discomfort, harm and danger. If the risk of such consequences exists, then the researcher is obliged to inform the subjects about this, reach agreement before starting work and take all possible measures to minimize harm. A research procedure may not be used if it is likely to cause serious and lasting harm to participants.

8. Work ethics requires that after data collection, the researcher ensures that the experiment is fully explained to the participants and that any misunderstandings that arise are resolved. If scientific or human values ​​justify delaying or withholding information, then the researcher has a special responsibility to ensure that there are no dire consequences for his clients.

9. If a research procedure may have undesirable consequences for participants, the researcher is responsible for identifying, eliminating or correcting such consequences (including long-term ones).

10. Information obtained during the study about the participants in the experiment is confidential.

If there is a possibility that other people may have access to this information, then ethical research practice requires that this possibility, as well as plans to ensure confidentiality, be explained to participants as part of the process to achieve mutual information consent.

25. Basic ways of knowing and mastering reality

Orientation in the world always presupposes adequate reproduction; this reproduction is the essence of the cognitive attitude to reality. The result of a cognitive attitude is knowledge. Knowledge is necessary for a person not only for orientation in the world around him, but also for explaining and predicting events, for planning and implementing activities and developing new knowledge.

There are two main stages of cognition: sensory and abstract. Cognition is called sensory because to cognize objects at this level, the functioning of the senses, nervous system, and brain is necessary, due to which sensation and perception of material objects arises. Sensation and perception are the primary forms of the cognitive process. It is on their basis, thanks to them, that a person contacts the world of material objects. Abstract cognition is called because such cognition does not involve the senses, but uses other analyzers (for example, auditory and visual).

The mental processes by which images of the environment are formed, as well as images of the organism itself and its internal environment, are called cognitive processes.

Cognition is the process of reflecting and reproducing reality in human thinking, conditioned by the development of socio-historical practice, the result of which is new knowledge about the world. Specially organized cognition is the essence of the educational process. Cognitive processes are levels of reflection of reality, varying in complexity and adequacy, that form a system.

Each of the cognitive processes has its own characteristics. While occurring simultaneously, these processes interact with each other so smoothly and so imperceptibly for us that we currently perceive and understand the world not as a jumble of colors, shades, shapes, sounds and smells, but as a single integral object. All knowledge of the highest order, including knowledge about the structure of the world, is the result of the integration of knowledge obtained through cognitive mental processes at various levels. The main cognitive processes include: sensation, perception, thinking, memory.

Sensation is a reflection (the simplest) of the properties of objects under direct influence on receptors. The result of the sensation process is the emergence of a sensory image. Our behavior and performance largely depend on auditory (acoustic) and visual (visual) sensations. Perception is formed through the interaction of several sense organs, the synthesis of sensations coming from the eyes, ears, skin, and muscles. Closely related to thinking. If a person has developed perception, then he has developed observation and memory. Perception is an active process that uses information to formulate and test hypotheses. The nature of the hypotheses is determined by the content of the individual’s past experience. The richer a person’s experience, the richer his knowledge, the more he will see in an object or another person - a communication partner. The sense organs receive, select, accumulate information, and transmit its huge flow every second. If a person lost his senses, he would not be able to communicate or avoid danger.

Memory is a psychophysical process, the material basis of which is the brain and nervous system. However, memory is inextricably linked with knowledge, past experience, and emotions. Memory is necessary for the accumulation of knowledge, successful and productive work and is an indispensable condition for the learning and development of an individual, his formation as a person.

Attention in itself is not a cognitive process, but characterizes the conditions for the occurrence of any cognitive process. The main characteristics of attention are concentration, stability, distribution, switchability and volume. Concentration - concentration. Stability is a long-term attraction of attention to one object or object. Distribution is a person’s ability to simultaneously concentrate on several objects, which makes it possible to do several things at once.

Thinking and imagination. These are higher cognitive processes, the result of which is the formation of a concept.

Thinking is a special kind of mental and practical activity, a person’s ability to logically analyze a problem.

Imagination is the ability to create new images and concepts.

The way of thinking can be creative or critical. Creative thinking is associated with the discovery of something fundamentally new, with the generation of one’s own original ideas. A person with a critical tendency of thinking pays main attention to criticizing other people's ideas, thoughts, and words.

Depending on the various circumstances that characterize the situation, the same problem can be solved both with the help of imagination and with the help of thinking. Imagination works at that stage of cognition when the uncertainty of the situation is great. And vice versa, if you have very approximate information about the situation, on the contrary, it is difficult to get an answer with the help of thinking - this is where fantasy comes into force.

The value of imagination is that it allows you to make a decision and find a way out of a problem situation even in the absence of the necessary completeness of knowledge.

26. Data collection methods

Typically, data processing methods are selected at the stage of experiment planning or even earlier - when putting forward an experimental hypothesis. The experimental hypothesis is transformed into a statistical one. There are few possible types of statistical hypotheses in an experimental study: a) about the similarity or difference of two or more groups; b) about the interaction of independent variables; c) about the statistical relationship between independent and dependent variables; d) about the structure of latent variables (relates to correlation research).

Statistical assessments provide information not about the presence, but about the reliability of the similarities and differences in the results of the control and experimental groups.

There are “links” of certain methods of processing results to experimental plans. Factorial designs require the use of analysis of variance to evaluate the influence of independent variables on the dependent variable, as well as to determine the measure of their interaction with each other.

There are standard software packages for mathematical data processing. All packages are divided into types: 1) specialized packages; 2) packages general meaning and 3) incomplete general purpose packages. General purpose packages are recommended for researchers. Western statistical packages require good user training at the level of knowledge of a university course in mathematical statistics and multivariate data analysis. Each program is supplied with documentation. Domestic packages are closer to the capabilities of our user. Related information (reference book, output interpreter, etc.) is included in software system. Examples are the domestic statistical packages “Mesosaurus” and “Eurista”.

The collection of data using diagnostic techniques is preceded by a period of familiarization with a certain set of objective and subjective indicators (conversation, medical history, opinions of other specialists, etc.) about the subject, during which the research task is formed. The authors of all known diagnostic methods pay special attention to a thorough preliminary study of the subject, the need to take into account his past and present. This creates the basic background of the study, outlines the elements of a working picture of the personality necessary for diagnosis and prognosis.

Since a psychodiagnostic examination always forms a system of “experimenter-subject” interaction, much attention in the literature is paid to analyzing the influence of various variables included in this system. Typically, situational variables, survey goal and task variables, and researcher and subject variables are identified. The significance of these variables is quite large, and their influence must be taken into account when planning and conducting research, processing and using the results obtained.

In psychological diagnostics there are often no clear instructions regarding the choice of certain techniques depending on the tasks. This is especially clearly manifested in the field of diagnosing personal characteristics, where the same technique is used for different purposes. Theoretically, the validity (the actual ability of the test to measure the psychological characteristic for which it is stated to diagnose) of a particular technique in relation to the formulated diagnostic task should be a criterion for its selection as a research tool.

However, significant difficulties arise in determining the validity of personality-based techniques. The known unreliability of psychiatric diagnosis must be taken into account; the existence of clinical and diagnostic inconsistencies in different schools and areas; the feasibility of using a psychiatric diagnosis as an external criterion for questionnaires aimed at detecting pathology. But even in the case when the empirical coefficient of validity of the technique is known, it must be assessed in relation to the basic level of the parameter being diagnosed. The basic level is understood as the proportion of presence in the studied population of the trait (feature) that we are going to diagnose. The correlation between the test's validity coefficient and the baseline level allows us to answer the question of how justified its use will be.

It is also known that the validity of the test depends on the characteristics of the examined groups (subgroups) or so-called moderators.

When choosing methods, one should also be guided by what can be described as the breadth of their coverage of personal characteristics. The accuracy of the diagnostic decision and prognosis depends on this.

After formulating the diagnostic problem, selecting the appropriate methods and conducting the study, the results obtained should be presented in a form that is determined by the characteristics of the methods used. “Raw” assessments are converted into standard values, IQ is calculated, “personality profiles” are constructed, etc.

27. Personality of the subject and the experimenter

A psychological experiment is a meeting between the subject(s) and the experimenter. However, it is followed by separation. The experimental situation can be considered both from the external side (the “entry” and “exit” from the situation) and from the internal side (what happened during the experiment).

The subject reacts not just to the experiment as some incomprehensible whole, but identifies it with some class of real life situations that he encounters, and builds his behavior accordingly.

The experimenter not only recruits a representative group, but also actively recruits people to participate in the experiment.

This means that it is not indifferent to the researcher what uncontrolled psychological characteristics distinguish the people involved in the study from all others; what motives motivated them when they were included in psychological research as subjects.

The subject can participate in the study voluntarily or forcibly, against his will. Taking part in a "natural experiment", he may not even know that he has become a test subject.

Why do people volunteer for research? Half of the subjects agreed to participate in the experiments (long and tedious), driven only by curiosity. Often the subject wants to know something about himself, in particular, in order to understand relationships with others.

Voluntary participation in the experiment is taken by subjects seeking to earn money and receive credit (if we are talking about psychology students). The majority of subjects who were forced to participate in the experiment resisted this, were critical of the experiment, and were hostile and distrustful of the experimenter. Often they seek to destroy the experimenter’s plan, to “outplay” him, i.e. consider the experimental situation as a conflict.

M. Matlin introduced a classification, dividing all subjects into positive, negative and gullible. Typically, experimenters prefer the former and the latter.

The study can be conducted with the participation of not only volunteers or forced participants, but also anonymous subjects who provide their passport details. It is assumed that during anonymous research, subjects are more open, and this is especially significant when conducting personal and socio-psychological experiments. However, it turns out that during the experiment, non-anonymous subjects are more responsible about the activity and its results.

Research work is included in the context of the practical activity of a psychologist, thereby limiting freedom in choosing research objects, varying conditions, methods of influence and control of variables. This choice is strictly subordinated to the achievement of a consulting or psychotherapeutic effect. On the other hand, the subject’s life situation is clearer, the motivation for his participation in the study is defined, which allows a stricter approach to the design and typology of the experimental situation, and therefore, taking into account and controlling its influence on the subject’s behavior.

The solution to a scientific-practical problem comes down to a certain change in the fate of the subject: he may or may not be accepted for work, into a university, prescribed or not prescribed treatment, etc. At the end of the examination (the “exit” point), the subject can receive the results and, based on them, determine his behavior and life path. Otherwise, his life path is changed by another person (psychodiagnostician, administrator, etc.). In this case, the decision of the experimenter or the person to whom the psychodiagnostician entrusted the data does not depend on the further actions of the subject and is determined only by the will of others. Consequently, in the first case, the subject of choice (decision making) is the subject, in the second - another person.

28. Observation as a method of scientific psychology. Its types

Observation is the study of certain characteristics of a particular process, with the goal of identifying its invariant features, without active inclusion in the process itself. Can be focused on recording acts of behavior and physiological processes. Typically acts as a preliminary step before planning and executing an experimental study.

Signs of scientific observation

1. Observation must be directed to socially significant areas.

2. Observation must be carried out in an organized and systematized manner. Unplanned and unsystematic observation does not lead to knowledge of significant phenomena, relationships and determinants. Many erroneous assessments of people and groups result from judgments derived from casual, “everyday experience” observations.

3. Observation requires the widest possible collection of information. Technical means can be used, but observation through the intermediate switching on of equipment can only partially replace the observer; it only enriches the possibilities and increases the reliability of his judgments. Often technical means can disrupt the natural environment in the observation field.

4. The results of scientific observation must be clearly recorded and can be reproduced without much difficulty.

5. Observation and processing of its results require objectivity from the observer. Therefore, it is necessary to strive:

Towards subjective independence in perception (reception);

Toward subjective independence in choosing the event to be covered;

Towards subjective independence in data classification;

Towards subjective independence when interpreting results.

Forms of observation

1. Mindful Observation. It is carried out in contact with the observed and with his knowledge. The role of the observer, as well as the purpose of observation, is generally known. In some procedures, this form of observation is used primarily to diagnose work behavior. Most often, for this purpose, the persons concerned are observed in very special situations or are encouraged to perform certain acts of behavior. Conscious observation can also be done in groups.

2. Unconscious internal observation. In this case, observation is carried out in communication with the observed, but they are not aware that the person who came into contact with them is acting as an observer. This form of observation is particularly suitable for studying the social behavior of small groups. Here the observer takes part in the life of the group. The features of this form are the following: the presence of the observer is considered natural, and his social position affects the observed less, since they do not know his function as an observer.

3. Unconscious external observation. The observer remains unknown to the observed because the first is either not noticed by the second or does not catch his eye, appearing as an indifferent outsider who does not reveal his functions. An observer can, for example, observe from behind a one-sided transparent wall; collect data through the intermediate inclusion of technical means.

4. Environmental observation. Through this form of observation, the researcher discovers and analyzes those environmental conditions of the observed that critically shape or influence their behavior.

29. Self-observation method

The method of self-observation is obtaining empirical psychological data by observing oneself. By comparing the results of introspection, presented in a more or less verbalized protocol about the current individual life, with a similar reflection of the introspection of other people, their fundamental kinship is postulated and agreed upon with external manifestations. Elements of this method form the basis of any scientific research. In the case of following instructions for direct reporting, when the subject of observation is one’s own mental phenomena and experiences, one speaks of self-observation. Self-observation is seen as the main way to obtain data about psychological phenomena; it is also included in any process for reporting external surveillance data.

Introspection - Observation of one's own mental processes, without using any tools or standards. As a special method, introspection was substantiated in the works of R. Descartes, who pointed out the direct nature of knowledge of one’s own mental life, and J. Locke, who divided human experience into internal, relating to the activities of our mind, and external, focused on the world. In the psychology of consciousness, the method of introspection (literally, “looking inside”) was recognized not only as the main, but also the only method of psychology. These positions should, first of all, be separated terminologically. Although "introspection" is an almost literal translation of the word "introspection", the two terms, at least in our literature, have taken different positions. We will call the first one the method of introspection. The second is the use of self-observation data. Each of these positions can be characterized by at least the following two points: firstly; by what and how it is observed; secondly, by how the data obtained is used for scientific purposes.

Thus, we get the following simple table.

So, the position of introspectionists, which is represented by the first vertical column, assumes a bifurcation of consciousness into the main activity and the activity of introspection, as well as the direct acquisition, with the help of the latter, of knowledge about the laws of mental life. In our position, “data of introspection” means facts of consciousness that the subject knows about due to their property of being directly revealed to him. To be aware of something means to know it directly. And the second point of our position: in contrast to the method of introspection, the use of introspection data involves addressing the facts of consciousness as phenomena or as “raw material”, and not as information about regular connections and causal relationships. Registration of facts of consciousness is not a method of scientific research, but only one of the ways to obtain initial data. The experimenter must, in each individual case, apply a special methodological technique that will allow him to reveal the connections that interest him. He must rely on the ingenuity of his own mind, and not on the sophistication of self-observation of the subject. This is the sense in which we can talk about using self-observation data.

How do self-knowledge, self-esteem, self-awareness differ from introspection?

First, the processes of cognition and self-evaluation are much more complex and lengthy than the usual act of introspection. They include, of course, introspection data, but only as primary material that is accumulated and subjected to processing: comparison, generalization, etc.

For example, you can evaluate yourself as an overly emotional person, and the basis will, of course, be the too intense experiences you experience (data from self-observation). But to make a conclusion about such a property, you need to collect a sufficient number of cases, make sure of their typicality, see a calmer way of reacting to other people, etc.

Secondly, we receive information about ourselves not only (and often not so much) from introspection, but also from external sources. They are the objective results of our actions, the attitude of other people towards us, etc.

30. Psychodiagnostics. The concept and history of its formation

Psychodiagnostics - includes the development of requirements for measuring instruments, design and testing of methods, development of examination rules, processing and interpretation of results. Psychodiagnostics is based on psychometrics, which deals with the quantitative measurement of individual psychological differences and uses concepts such as representativeness, reliability, validity, and reliability. Interpretation of data obtained using certain psychodiagnostic methods can be carried out based on the use of two criteria: with a qualitative comparison with a norm or standard, which can be ideas about non-pathological development or socio-psychological standards, with a subsequent conclusion about the presence or absence of a certain sign ; in a quantitative comparison with a group with a subsequent conclusion about the ordinal place among others. The term “psychodiagnostics” appears in 1921. and belongs to G. Roschach, who so called the examination process using the “perception-based diagnostic test” he created

Story. There is information about the use of psychodiagnostic tests from the 3rd millennium BC. V Ancient Egypt, China, Ancient Greece.

The emergence of scientific psychodiagnostics is associated primarily with the penetration of experiment and the idea of ​​measurement into psychological science. The idea of ​​quantifying psychological observations was born quite a long time ago, in the 30s. XIX century. This was first discussed by the German researcher Wolf, who believed that the amount of attention can be measured by the duration of the argument, which we are able to follow. The same scientist introduced the concept of psychometry. However, the psychological plans of philosophers, natural scientists and mathematicians of those years began to take on blood and flesh only a century later. The implementation of the idea of ​​measuring mental phenomena, starting with the work on psychophysics of E. Weber and G. Fechner (mid-19th century), determined the most important direction of research in experimental psychology of that time.

Actually, scientific psychodiagnostics begins at the end of the 19th century, when in 1884 F. Galton ((02/16/1822, Birmingham - 01/17/1911, London) - English anthropologist and psychologist, one of the founders of eugenics and differential psychology) began to conduct examinations of people according to the severity of their particular characteristics of perception and memory. The founder of the scientific study of individual differences, F. Galton, was the creator of a tool for measuring them - a test. At the beginning of the twentieth century. A. Binet ((07/11/1857, Nice - 10/18/1911, Paris) - French psychologist, one of the founders of testology) began to develop methods for diagnosing mental development and mental retardation. At the suggestion of V. Stern ((04/29/1871, Berlin - 03/27/1938) - German psychologist, founder of “personalistic psychology”), the concept of mental development coefficient (IQ) was introduced. From the same time, the first projective methods began to be created, intended for personality analysis (K. G. Jung, G. Rorschach), which reached - due to the active development of psychotherapy and psychological counseling - their apogee in the late 30s and 40s. From the 40-60s. Personality questionnaires are being actively created.

In recent years, the task of reconciling theoretical developments with empirical results has become widely recognized in psychology, for which methods have become necessary that allow this to be done without a noticeable loss in the quality of such coordination. Tests are now the most scientifically developed part of the methodological arsenal, which allows one to adequately connect theory with empirical evidence, in accordance with some well-known standards of information quality. This understanding of tests is increasingly being established in domestic and foreign literature. This can be seen in the works of Anastasi A., Burlachuk L.F., Kabanova M.M., Lichko A.E. and etc.

31. Types of psychological tests

A test (English test - sample, test, check) is understood as an ensemble of standardized tasks that stimulate a certain form of activity, often time-limited, the results of which are amenable to quantitative (and qualitative) assessment and allow one to establish the individual psychological characteristics of a person.

The term “test”, which has become extremely widespread in various fields of knowledge in the sense of testing, verification, has a long history. ETC. Panto and M. Gravitz (1972), the word “test” comes from Old French and is synonymous with the word “cup” (Latin testa - clay vase). This word denoted small vessels made of baked clay, used by alchemists to conduct experiments. In Russian the word "test" for a long time had two meanings:

1) the probationary oath, a religious English oath that everyone entering public office must take to prove that he is not a secret Catholic;

2) a flat melting vessel or vessel made of leached ash for separating tin from gold or silver.

The term “test” as a psychological term acquired similar modern content at the end of the 19th century. In psychodiagnostics, various classifications of tests are known. They can be divided according to the characteristics of the test tasks used into verbal tests and practical tests, by the form of the examination procedure - into group and individual tests, by focus - into ability tests, personality tests and tests of individual mental functions, and depending on the presence or absence of time restrictions - for speed tests and performance tests. Tests may also differ in the principles of their design. Over the past decades, many well-known tests have been adapted to the computer environment (presentation, data processing, etc.); they can be designated as computerized tests. Computer tests are being actively developed, initially designed taking into account the capabilities of modern computer technology.

During the formation of Soviet psychodiagnostics in the 1970s, the word “test”, for obvious reasons, had an additional negative meaning, denoting not only a research tool, but also its “bourgeois origin.” Therefore, all tests used were renamed methods. Today there is no reason to abandon the term-concept with which the entire history and present day of psychodiagnostics is connected. It is advisable to reserve the term “methodology” for non-standardized diagnostic tools, as well as those that, as a rule, due to claims to global personality diagnostics, rather than measure it, but evaluate it. Such diagnostic tools primarily include projective techniques. One should also take into account the tradition of using the term “questionnaire” that has developed in Russian-language literature. Questionnaires (the artificial term “questionnaire test” has gradually fallen out of use) are psychodiagnostic tools that, unlike other tests, are aimed at the subject’s subjective assessment of himself or other people.

The test, like any other cognition tool, has features that, in the specific circumstances of the study, can be considered as its advantages or disadvantages. The effective use of tests depends on taking into account many factors, of which the most important include: the theoretical concept on which a particular test is based; application area; the whole complex of information determined by the standard requirements for psychological tests and their psychometric characteristics. Common ideas about the “simplicity” and accessibility of tests are not true. Being a means of studying the most complex mental phenomena, the test cannot be interpreted simplistically as proposing a task(s) and recording its solution. The scientific use of tests is possible only if one relies on general psychological knowledge and competence in the theory and practice of relevant psychodiagnostic research. No less important is adherence to the ethical standards of psychodiagnostics.

32. The tasks of psychodiagnostics and the scope of its application.

In “Fundamentals of Psychodiagnostics,” edited by A.G. Shmelev (1996) we encounter a definition of the subject of psychodiagnostics, which places emphasis on the already known connection of this science with “the development and use of various methods for recognizing individual psychological characteristics of a person.”

Thus, most researchers recognize that psychodiagnostics as a field of psychological knowledge is aimed at developing methods for recognizing individual psychological characteristics, regardless of whether they are indicators of trouble or the lack thereof. At the same time, psychodiagnostics deals not only with tests (standardized measures of individual psychological characteristics), but also with qualitative (non-standardized) personality assessments. It is also important to take into account the fact that psychodiagnostics is not an auxiliary, servicing discipline, a kind of technology, but a full-fledged science that studies the nature of individual differences. Psychodiagnostics is a field of psychological science that develops theory, principles and tools for assessing and measuring individual psychological characteristics of a person.

Over the course of more than a century of development of psychodiagnostics, the main areas of application of psychological techniques have emerged, which can be designated as branches of general psychodiagnostics. Education and medicine were the first to show interest in methods for studying personality and intelligence, even at the stage of formation of the science of individual psychological differences, which determined the emergence of the corresponding areas of psychodiagnostics - educational and clinical.

Educational psychodiagnostics not only widely uses a variety of psychological techniques, this area should include those tests that are created in accordance with psychometric requirements, but are intended not to assess abilities or personality traits, but to measure the success of mastering educational material (success tests). Clinical psychodiagnostics is aimed at studying the individual psychological characteristics of the patient (structural and dynamic personality characteristics, attitude towards the disease, psychological defense mechanisms, etc.), which have a significant impact on the occurrence, course and outcome of both mental and somatic illness. Both educational and clinical psychodiagnostics are those areas of general psychodiagnostics in which the most significant amount of research has been carried out today.

In addition to these areas, professional psychodiagnostics should be highlighted, since career guidance and selection are impossible without the use and development of diagnostic techniques. Each of the areas not only borrows the principles and research methods of general psychodiagnostics, but also has a developmental impact on it.

Psychodiagnostic tasks (and psychodiagnostic situations in general) can also be distinguished from the point of view of who will use diagnostic data and how and what is the responsibility of the psychodiagnostician for choosing ways to intervene in the situation of the subject.

1. The data is used by a related specialist to make a non-psychological diagnosis or formulate an administrative decision. This situation is typical for the use of psychodiagnostic data in medicine. The psychologist makes a judgment about the specific characteristics of thinking, memory, and personality of the patient, and the doctor makes a medical diagnosis. The psychologist is not responsible either for the diagnosis or for what kind of treatment the doctor will provide to the patient. The same scheme applies to the use of psychodiagnostic data in psychodiagnostics at the request of the court, comprehensive psychological and psychiatric examination, psychodiagnostics professional competence employee or professional suitability at the request of the administration.

2. The data is used by the psychodiagnostician himself to make a psychological diagnosis, although intervention in the situation of the subject is carried out by a specialist of a different profile. This is, for example, the situation of psychodiagnostics in relation to the search for the causes of school failure: the diagnosis is psychological (or psychological-pedagogical) in nature, and the work to implement it is carried out by teachers, parents, and other educators.

3. The data is used by the psychodiagnostician himself to make a psychological diagnosis, and the latter serves as the basis for him (or the basis for the actions of his fellow psychologist) for developing ways of psychological influence. This is the situation of psychodiagnostics in the conditions of psychological consultation.

4. Diagnostic data is used by the subject himself for the purposes of self-development, behavior correction, etc. In this situation, the psychologist is responsible for the correctness of the data, for the ethical, deontological aspects of the “diagnosis” and only partially for how this diagnosis will be used by the client.

33. Methods of psychological influence and their significance for teaching practice

For the proper functioning of the pedagogical process, at least five groups of methods of influencing the individual are needed:

1. belief;

2. exercise and training;

3. training;

4. stimulation;

5. control and evaluation.

Personality interventions have a complex impact on students and are rarely used in isolation. The very concept of method is a system of pedagogical techniques for achieving certain pedagogical objectives.

1. persuasion is a multifaceted influence on the mind, feelings and will of a person in order to form the desired qualities in him. If we turn to reason to convince a person of the truth of some scientific position, then in this case it is necessary to build a logically impeccable chain of arguments, which will be the proof. If the task is to cultivate a love for the Sublime and the Beautiful in all their possible forms, then it is necessary to appeal to the feelings of the student. In this case, persuasion acts as suggestion. Most often, evidence and suggestion complement each other.

Techniques such as conversation, lecture, and debate play an important role in persuasion.

2. exercise and training. Exercise is a systematically organized performance of various actions by students in order to form and develop their personality. Training is the organization of systematic and regular exercises by trainees in order to develop good habits. Exercise (training) is used to solve a wide variety of problems of civil, moral, physical and aesthetic perception and personal development. Without the systematic use of intelligently designed exercises, it is impossible to achieve the effectiveness of educational work.

3. training. The classification of teaching methods is characterized by great diversity. Methods are divided according to dominant means into verbal, visual and practical.

4. stimulation methods. To stimulate means to encourage, to give an impulse, a push to a thought, a feeling, an action. A certain stimulating effect is already outlined within each method, but additional stimulating influence is needed, which is carried out through competition, encouragement, and punishment.

Competition. The desire for primacy, priority, and self-affirmation is characteristic of all people, but especially young people. In this regard, the main task of the teacher is to prevent competition from degenerating into the desire for superiority at any cost. The educational function of competition is to stimulate the development of initiative and responsibility, and the achievement of high results.

Incentives. One of the most effective methods of influencing the development of students’ abilities. The feeling of satisfaction that the rewarded person experiences gives him a surge of strength, increased energy, self-confidence, and increased self-esteem. This is especially important when working with people who are timid, shy, or unsure of themselves. At the same time, rewards should not be too frequent so as not to lead to devaluation.

Punishment. According to famous teachers, the system of penalties helps to develop a strong human character, fosters a sense of responsibility, trains the will, corrects a person’s behavior, and creates the need to change it. At the same time, punishment should not cause a person either moral humiliation or physical suffering.

Punishment for unintentional acts, or hastily, without sufficient grounds, should be avoided; combine punishment with persuasion and other methods of education, take into account the age and individual characteristics of pupils.

With the expansion of the subject of psychological research, the prospect arose of developing new experimental methods in which it would be possible to use special equipment that increases the accuracy and reliability of observation results, and the use of mathematics to calculate the data obtained. The achievements of physiologists who studied the functioning of the sense organs and nervous system were of great importance for the development of the experimental method in psychology. First of all, we are talking about the development of an anatomical and morphological model of the reflex, which filled the rather speculative concepts of Descartes and Hartley with real content.

A new era in the development of knowledge about the reflex was opened by the work of the Czech anatomist, psychophysiologist and doctor I. Prochazka. He introduced the concept of the “general sensory”, which is the most important part of the reflex system; This is the area of ​​the brain where nerves originate, and when stimulated, a transition occurs from sensation to the body’s motor response to an external impulse. Thus, for the first time, a clear, not speculative, but verified by physiological experiments, description of the scheme of a reflex act was obtained.

Prochaska’s work “Treatise on the Functions of the Nervous System” was written at the end of the 18th century, but, according to the leading modern scientists, it contains everything that can be said about the reflex arc today. In his treatise, Prochaska specifically emphasizes that reflection in the brain does not occur according to physical laws, according to which the angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection. This is expressed in the fact that external stimuli are assessed by the living body from the point of view of whether they bring harm or benefit to it. In the first case, the body, through a reflex, rejects the harmful influence from the body, in the second, it makes movements that allow it to maintain a favorable position for as long as possible. It is obvious that laws unknown to the inorganic world operate here. These laws, as Prochaska noted, are “written down by nature itself” in the centers of the brain - in the general sensorium, where the transition of sensitive (sensory, centripetal) nerves into motor (motor, centrifugal) nerves occurs. In other words, this transition is recorded in the very morphological structure of the nervous system, which secures the connection of nerves in the form of a reflex arc.

Moreover, according to Prochaska, such a direct transition is only an elementary form of expression of the more general reflex principle of the life of the organism. The principle in question here makes it possible to explain more complex forms of the transition of feeling into movement, for which the participation of consciousness is not required. Having a large amount of experimental material, Prochazka insisted that not only the brain, but also the spinal cord is involved in the organization of behavior, but its elementary forms, a kind of automatisms, which, however, also act not purely mechanically, but in accordance with the biological needs of the body .

In his main general book “Physiology, or the doctrine of human nature” (1820), Prochaska sought to ensure that specific information about the functions of the body served as the basis for a natural scientific understanding of the essence of human existence in the material world. Thus, for the first time in the history of scientific thought, the idea arose that in the relationships of living beings with the environment to which they adapt, the nervous and mental satisfy their needs for self-preservation. At the same time, the concept of the Prochazka reflex was enriched with the idea of ​​​​the biological purpose of the reflex and the various levels of its implementation.

The study of the reflex system was continued in the works of the English anatomist and physiologist C. Bell and the French scientist F. Magendie. Previously it was believed that external impressions were transmitted to the nerve centers and caused a motor reaction through the same nerve trunk. Based on anatomical experiments, Bell in his work “On the New Anatomy of the Brain” (1811) proved that this trunk consists of two different nerve structures and represents their ligament, in which the fibers running from the roots through the spinal cord to the fibers should be identified. activating the muscular system. Thus, the model of the reflex was defined as a kind of automaton, consisting of three blocks: centripetal, central and centrifugal. This anatomical and morphological model of the central nervous system was called the Bell-Magendie law. This law describes the pattern of distribution of nerve fibers in the roots of the spinal cord: sensory fibers enter the spinal cord as part of the dorsal roots, and motor fibers enter the anterior roots.

Bell made a number of other important discoveries in psychophysiology. Among them, especially noteworthy is his idea, according to which the reflex reaction does not stop at muscle movement, but transmits information about what happened to the muscle back to the nerve centers (brain). Thus, the idea of ​​feedback as the basis for self-regulation of the body’s behavior was formulated for the first time. Bell illustrated the model's performance using eye muscle movement data. Based on carefully verified data from experiments studying the functions of the visual apparatus as an organ in which sensory effects and motor activity are inseparable, Bell proved the dependence of the mental image on an anatomical and physiological device operating on the principle of a reflex. Bell's idea of ​​a "nervous circuit" connecting the brain to the muscle was a remarkable insight into the reflexive nature of sensory cognition, which was later confirmed by the research of other scientists.

If Bell developed the reflex theory of perception, then in the works of another famous physiologist I. Muller, the exact opposite idea was put forward - about the receptor nature of perception. Müller created at the University of Berlin the largest scientific school in the last century for the study of physiological problems, including the physiology of the sense organs.

In his first work, “On the Comparative Physiology of the Visual Sense” (1826), he put forward the thesis about the “specific energy of the sense organs,” which gained wide popularity and became one of the most important principles of psychophysiology for a long time. Müller's student Helmholtz put it indisputably on a par with Newton's laws in physics. According to the principle of "specific energy", the nature of sensations corresponds not to the nature of the external stimulus acting on a particular receptor, but to the nature of this receptor, which has a special energy. In other words, the modality of sensations (light, sound, etc.) is inherent in the nervous tissue itself, and does not reflect images of the external world independent of it. On this basis, Muller came to the conclusion that all the richness of sensations is provided by the physical properties of the nervous system. This point of view was called “physiological idealism” and was subsequently refuted by the work of physiologists themselves.

At the same time, Müller himself said that no matter what stimulus (including electric current) is applied to the optic nerve, it does not give rise to any sensation other than visual. Unlike a light beam, Muller emphasized, although other stimuli provide subjective sensations of objects, they are not comparable in their clarity, completeness, and dissection with the visual image. Thus, his original version of the equivalence of all stimuli was called into question. Under the pressure of experience and experiments, Müller was forced to make a distinction between stimuli that were homogeneous (similar) in nature to the irritated organ and those that did not correspond to this nature.

He was also the author of the “Textbook of Physiology” (1833), which became the main book in this specialty for several decades. In this textbook, a significant part of the text was devoted not only to physiological topics (including the concept of the reflex arc), but also to the explanation, based on physiological data, of many psychological problems, in particular the doctrine of associations, the development of skills, and dreams.

The work of the Czech physiologist J. Purkinė was also devoted to research into the physiology of perception. Possessing an amazing gift for analyzing subjective phenomena, especially in the field of visual perception, he made a number of discoveries that later gave reason to name these phenomena after him. These include, in particular, the so-called “Purkine figures” (vision of shadows of the blood vessels of the retina), “Purkine images” (reflections from the cornea and the surface of the lens), “Purkine phenomena” (changes in light blue and red colors during twilight vision) . Purkine also described how the colors of the perceived stimulus change when moving in the direction from the center to the retina.

Purkinė turned to these phenomena under the influence of the teaching about flowers created by the famous poet I. Goethe, who was also engaged in natural scientific research. Goethe's works sought to reproduce the richness of color that the subject actually directly experiences. Purkin dedicated his first book to this teaching, “New Materials for the Knowledge of Vision in Subjective Relation” (1825). At the same time, he was guided by the opinion of the need to distinguish between the purely subjective in the testimony of the senses, as depending exclusively on these organs, and sensations that correspond to external reality. According to Purkina, each feeling is intimately connected with others. The basis of their unity is the fact that “in the object itself, as a product of nature, its (i.e., nature’s) elementary qualities are united.” There are countless such qualities, but only a few are open to our senses and are necessary for fulfilling life’s tasks. If we had receptors (sense organs) capable of sensing magnetic fields, then the picture of the world revealed by these organs would be different and have different contours.

According to Purkinė, the body is endowed with a special mental form, which he called “general feeling.” It is a kind of trunk from which diverse sensations branch. These are either sensations that reflect the life of the body (pleasure, hunger, pain, etc.), or the properties of external objects. Taking these objective properties as a starting point, Purkine included sensations of changes in weather, water temperature, etc., unusual for the accepted classifications, in the category of sensations related to the “general feeling.”

How, then, from the initial “general feeling” that conceals the beginnings of all sensations, are different types of sensations with unique originality isolated? Purkine argued that in the analysis of the evolution of sensations, the most important role belongs to life experience. In explaining how the division of the subjective and objective is accomplished, he paid special attention to the real objective actions of the organism, thanks to which sensations acquire variety and objectivity (relationship to the outside).

In his criticism of Kant, Purkynė sought to connect sensations and thinking; he argued that a thorough analysis of perception helps to discover in it the rudiments of the categories of abstract thought (such as reality, necessity, causality, etc.). He failed to uncover the complexity of the transition from sensation to thought, but these studies were continued by other scientists, including modern cognitive psychologists.

The idea of ​​the influence of thinking on the functioning of the senses was partially explored in the works of the famous German physiologist G. Helmholtz. He owns a number of outstanding discoveries and theories that actually laid the foundation for a new branch of psychology - psychophysiology.

Helmholtz was one of the authors of the transformation of the law of conservation and transformation of energy to psychology; he was the first to measure the speed of a physiological process in a nerve fiber (it was considered huge and inaccessible to study) using a device he invented - a cinegraph, which made it possible to record reactions on a rotating drum. By stimulating sections of the nerve located at different distances from the muscle, he determined the speed of impulse propagation: it turned out to be relatively small - on the order of several tens of meters per second. These results became the basis for psychological experiments related to the study of reaction time.

Of even greater importance for psychology are the works of Helmholtz related to the experimental study of the activity of the sense organs. It is important that in these experiments he also used methods of mathematical data processing.

Helmholtz’s works “The Doctrine of Auditory Sensations as the Functional Foundations of the Theory of Music” (1873) and “Physiological Optics” (1867) formed the foundation of modern knowledge about the structure and functions of the sense organs. Following from the theory of his teacher I. Muller about the “specific energy of the sense organs,” Helmholtz believed that sensation arises as a result of the release of energy when a nerve is irritated by some external signal.

The main difficulty was to explain the connection between the sensation generated by the nerve (visual, auditory, etc.) and an external object independent of it. Helmholtz proposed to overcome this difficulty by turning to the theory of signs, or symbols. According to this theory, the relationship of sensation to an external object is iconic, or symbolic. The symbol indicates an object, but has nothing to do with its objective properties. Nevertheless, the symbol is useful because it helps not to confuse external stimuli and to distinguish one from another. And this is enough to ensure the body’s successful orientation in the environment and action in it.

The dependence of sensory sensations on external stimuli was clearly manifested in Helmholtz’s classical experiments on studying the formation of a spatial image of things. Here the factor clearly appeared objectivity of perception . Spatial coordinates determine the disposition of objects, their volume, etc. The study of the muscle and the weakly conscious muscle (kinesthetic) signals associated with it revealed the role of motor activity of the visual apparatus. The interaction of sensory and motor components of perception was especially clearly demonstrated in Helmholtz's experiments using various prisms that distorted the natural visual image. Despite the fact that in this case the refraction of rays gives a distorted perception of the object, the subjects very soon learned to correctly see objects through a prism. This was achieved through experience, which consisted of repeatedly checking the actual position of an object, its shape, size, etc. through movements of the eyes, hands and the whole body.

These movements, Helmholtz believed, are subject to certain rules, which are essentially rules of logic, a kind of inference, but unconscious. By recording the movement of muscles, changes in their configuration and tension, the body unconsciously determines the true position of the object in external space. Thus, Helmholtz’s teaching, using rich experimental material, proved the close connection of sensory, muscular and mental factors in constructing a picture of the visible world.

The phrenology of the Austrian anatomist F. Gall, who proceeded from the principle of the localization of abilities in various parts of the brain, also had a great influence on the development of experimental psychology. In his works published at the beginning of the 19th century, in particular in the book “Studies on the Nervous System,” Gall proposed a “map of the brain”, in which he tried to place all the mental qualities that were developed by the psychology of abilities, while for each ability the corresponding organ. He also expressed the idea that the development of individual areas of the cortex and the brain as a whole affects the shape of the skull. Therefore, examination of the surface of the skull makes it possible to diagnose the individual characteristics of a person.

For various abilities, feelings and character traits, Gall and especially his students led by Sprutzheim found corresponding “bumps”, the size of which they considered to correlate with the development of abilities. Phrenology acquired in the first half of the 19th century. extraordinary popularity and prompted scientists to turn to experimental studies of the localization of mental functions.

An attempt to experimentally verify phrenology data was made in the first third of the 19th century. French physiologist Flourens. Using the method of extirpation (removal) of individual sections of the nervous system, and in some cases using the effects of drugs on nerve centers, he came to the conclusion that the main mental processes - perception, thinking, memory - are the result of the work of the brain as an integral system. The cerebellum coordinates movements, vision is connected to the quadrigeminal, the spinal cord conducts excitation along the nerves - and they all act in concert, determining the mental life of a living being. Therefore, when certain areas of the cortex are removed, their function can be restored due to the work of other parts of the brain. Flourens's idea of ​​complete functional homogeneity of the brain was refuted by further research, but at the time it played an important role both in overcoming the influence of phrenology and in stimulating further research into the localization of brain functions.

The emergence of evolutionary theory Darwin(1809-1882), as noted above, was also of great importance for psychology and contributed, in particular, to the emergence of experimental psychology. Darwin's main work, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection (1859), showed that the environment was a force capable of not only causing reactions, but also changing life activities, since the organism was required to adapt to it. The concept of the organism itself has also changed: previous biology considered species unchanged, and the living body as a kind of machine with a once and for all fixed physical and mental structure. Considering bodily processes and functions as a product and instrument of adaptation to the external conditions of life, Darwin put forward a new model for the analysis of behavior in general and its components (including mental ones) in particular. At the same time, the psyche became a natural result of the development of life, an instrument of adaptation.

Darwin’s book “The Descent of Man and Sexual Selection” (1871) had equally important scientific and ideological significance. Comparing the human body with an animal, Darwin did not limit himself to anatomical and physiological characteristics. He carefully compared the expressive movements that accompany emotional states, establishing similarities between these movements in humans and highly organized living beings (monkeys). He outlined his observations in the book “The Expression of Emotions in Animals and Man” (1872). Darwin's main explanatory idea was that expressive movements (baring teeth, clenching fists, etc.) are nothing more than rudiments (residual phenomena) of the movements of our distant ancestors. Once upon a time, in conditions of direct struggle for life, these movements had an important practical meaning.

Darwin's teaching changed the very style of psychological thinking and stimulated the emergence of new areas of psychological science - differential psychology , the impetus given by Darwin's idea that genetic factors (heredity) determine differences between people; genetic psychology; zoopsychology.

The formation of related fields - psychophysics and psychometry - was also of great importance for psychology. The founder of psychophysics is the famous German physicist and psychologist G. T. Fechner(1801-1887). In his works, he relied on the works of the anatomist and physiologist E. G. Weber, who studied the physiology of the sense organs: hearing, vision, skin sensitivity. Weber discovered the effect of temperature adaptation and identified three types of skin sensations: sensations of pressure or touch, temperature sensations, and localization sensations. Weber's studies of touch showed that different areas of the skin have different sensitivities. Based on experimental materials, he hypothesized that early childhood is sensitive to bilateral, i.e., relating to both sides of the body, transfer of motor skills.

However, the greatest significance was carried out by Weber in the 30s of the 19th century. research to study the relationship between sensations and external influences that cause them. These studies showed that in order to perceive a difference in two sensations, the new stimulus must differ by a certain amount from the original one. This value represents a constant fraction of the original stimulus. This position was reflected by him in the following formula: Δ J/ J= TO, Where J- initial stimulus, Δ J-difference between the new stimulus and the original one, TO- a constant depending on the type of receptor.

It was these works of Weber that attracted the attention of Fechner, who, due to illness and partial blindness, took up philosophy, paying special attention to the problem of the relationship between material and spiritual phenomena. As his health improved, he began to study these relationships experimentally, using mathematical methods.

Fechner's first experiments showed differences between sensations depending on the initial magnitude of the stimuli that caused them. Thus, ringing a bell in addition to one bell already sounding produced a different impression than its addition to ten bells. (Analyzing the data obtained, Fechner drew attention to the fact that similar experiments were carried out a quarter of a century before him by his compatriot E. Weber.)

Fechner then began to study how the sensations of various modalities change under these conditions. Experiments were carried out on the sensations that arise when weighing various items, when perceiving objects at a distance, with different illumination, etc. It turned out that the difference between the original and new sensations is not the same. It is one when perceiving differences between objects assessed by weight, another when distinguishing changes in lighting. This is how the idea of threshold of sensation , i.e., about the magnitude of the stimulus that causes or changes the sensation. In cases where a minimal increase in the magnitude of the stimulus is accompanied by a barely noticeable change in sensation, people began to talk about difference threshold . A pattern was established: in order for the intensity of a sensation to grow in an arithmetic progression, it is necessary to increase in a geometric progression the magnitude of the stimulus that causes it (Weber-Fechner law). From his experiments, Fechner derived a general formula: the intensity of sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the magnitude of the stimulus (irritant). Fechner carefully developed experimental techniques to determine thresholds of sensation so that subtle differences between sensations could be established.

He is also the author of other methods for measuring various sensations (skin, visual, etc.). This direction of research was called psychophysics , since the content of this science was determined by the experimental study and measurement of the dependence of mental states on physical influences.

Fechner's book “Fundamentals of Psychophysics” (1860) became a reference book in many psychological laboratories, in which the determination of thresholds and testing of the Weber-Fechner law became one of the main topics of research.

Along with psychophysics, Fechner became the creator of experimental aesthetics. He applied his general experimental and mathematical approach to comparing objects of art, trying to find a formula that would make it possible to determine which objects and due to what properties are perceived as pleasant, and which do not evoke a feeling of beauty. Fechner began to carefully measure books, maps, windows, a variety of household items, and works of art (particularly images of the Madonna) in the hope of finding those quantitative relationships between lines that evoke positive aesthetic feelings. Some of Fechner's experiments were subsequently used by the domestic psychologist G. I. Chelpanov during his work in the psychophysical laboratory of the State Academy of Artistic Sciences.

Fechner's works became a model for subsequent generations of researchers who, not limiting themselves to the study of psychophysics in the narrow sense of the word, extended Fechner's methodological techniques to the problems of psychodiagnostics, the study of decision-making criteria, and differences in the meanings of emotional states in individuals.

In the 60s of the XIX century. Dutch physiologist F. Donders(1818-1889) conducted experiments to study the speed of mental processes and began to measure the speed of the subject’s reaction to objects perceived by him. Thus the foundations were laid psychometrics. At the same time, the time of both simple and complex reactions was measured. For example, subjects were asked to give the fastest motor response to a certain stimulus, or to respond to one of several stimuli as quickly as possible, to choose the correct motor response depending on the stimulus, etc. These experiments, as well as the study of absolute and relative thresholds, became central to the emerging experimental psychology.

Its appearance is rightfully associated with the name of the German scientist W. Wundt (1832-1920). After graduating from the medical faculty of the University of Tübingen, Wundt worked in Berlin with I. Müller. Having defended his doctoral dissertation in Heidelberg in 1856, he took a position as a teacher of physiology as Helmholtz's assistant. Working with famous physiologists who were also involved in the study of psychological issues (sensations, color vision), helped him subsequently apply the knowledge acquired in their laboratories when developing a psychological experiment. Having become a professor of philosophy in Leipzig in 1875, Wundt in 1879 created the world's first laboratory of experimental psychology, which was later transformed into an institute.

In the tradition of associative psychology, Wundt viewed it as a science that helps to understand the inner life of a person and, based on this knowledge, manage it. He saw the tasks facing psychology as: a) identifying the initial elements through analysis; b) establish the nature of the connection between them and c) find the laws of this connection.

He believed that consciousness (which he identified with the psyche, denying the presence of unconscious mental processes) consists of individual elements that, connecting with each other according to the laws of association, form ideas that reflect objective reality. Sensations (i.e., elements of consciousness) are characterized by such qualities as modality (for example, visual sensations are different from auditory ones) and intensity. The basic elements of consciousness also include feelings(emotional states). According to Wundt's hypothesis, every feeling has three dimensions: pleasure-displeasure, tension-relaxation, excitement-calm. Simple feelings as mental elements vary in their quality and intensity, but any of them can be characterized in all three aspects.

This hypothesis gave rise to many experimental works in which, along with introspection data, objective indicators of changes in a person’s physiological states during emotions were also used. Wundt's idea that feelings are the same initial elements of consciousness as sensations became the starting point for many researchers who, like him, believed that excessive attention paid to the study of cognitive processes “intellectualized” the nature of psychology, which became its serious drawback. From Wundt's point of view. feelings, especially the will, which guides human activity, are no less important than cognition, especially since both will and attention direct the flow of cognition processes. The transfer of research attention from the process of cognition to the study of other aspects of the psyche, to volitional behavior made Wundt the creator of a new direction in associative psychology, which was called voluntarism.

The main part of Wundt's theory was his doctrine of the connections between elements. The selection of this part as the main one becomes understandable if we consider that connections are those universal mechanisms that connect individual elements into complexes - representations, ideas, etc. Before Wundt, associations were considered such universal mechanisms, as was repeatedly mentioned above. He also introduced another connection - apperceptive. Concept apperception he borrowed from Wolf and Kant, who defined it as spontaneous activity of the soul. It was used by Wundt to explain higher mental processes, which, from his point of view, cannot be associated only with the laws of associations. The associative connection explains the development of perception and memory, the creation of holistic images from individual sensations. In the same way, different laws of association (contiguity, contrast, etc.) can explain how we move from one memory to another. An important point in all these explanations is the connection between perception, memory and other elementary mental functions with the external situation. It is the external world, the change in its objects, that stimulates and determines their activity.

At the same time, thinking cannot be explained, according to Wundt, only by the laws of associations. After all, its course does not always depend on the external situation, but is stimulated by internal motivation, focus on a task, on achieving a certain goal. Awareness of this goal allows you to focus on solving the problem, ignoring the interfering influences of the environment. Thus, Wundt came to the conclusion that it is spontaneous, internal activity that regulates the flow of thoughts, selecting the necessary associations and building them into a certain connection, based on a given goal. In his concept, apperception was actually identified with attention and will, which improve and regulate human activity. Directed into the inner world of the psyche, apperception plays the role of attention, helping the flow of higher mental functions, such as thinking. Directed to the external plane, to the plane of behavior, apperception is identified with the will, which regulates human activity. Thus, in the doctrine of connections his concept of voluntarism was confirmed. This gave Wundt the basis, following Schopenhauer, to say that the will is the primary, absolute force of human existence, helping associations to connect individual elements into a holistic picture at the highest stages of mental development.

The introduction of a new type of communication had significant consequences for the development of associative psychology, the inviolability of which was built on the recognition of association as a universal and universal mechanism. The emergence of the theory of apperception questioned this universality and forced us to look for new explanatory principles for building psychology.

From the recognition of the apperceptive connection it also followed that the experiment is possible only when studying those processes that depend on external stimulation - reaction time, sensations, perception, memory. In the study of thinking and other higher cognitive processes, the experiment is useless, since apperception does not depend on the external situation and its laws are open only to introspection.

An important part of Wundt's theoretical concept was associated with the study of the laws by which mental life is built. Defending the independence of psychology, Wundt argued that it has its own laws, and its phenomena are subject to a special “psychic causality.” He included the most important laws: the law of creative synthesis, the law of mental relationships, the law of contrast and the law of heterogeneity of goals. The law of creative synthesis, as already indicated above, was, in fact, a slightly modified Mill's position on the fusion of elements to form a new one, the properties of which are fundamentally different from the previous ones and inexplicable by analogy with the original ones. In other words, in fact, the law of creative synthesis proved the possibility of not only reproductive, but also creative thinking. The law of mental relations revealed the dependence of an event on the internal relationships of elements within a complex, for example, a melody on the relationships in which individual tones exist among themselves. The law of contrast, which Wundt extended mainly to the emotional sphere, said that opposites reinforce each other and, for example, after grief, even a small joy seems significant. The law of heterogeneity of goals stated that when committing an act, actions not provided for by the original goal may arise, affecting its motive.

However, Wundt's main merit is not his theoretical concept, but the development of an experimental method for studying the psyche. Already in his first book, “Materials for the Theory of Sensory Perception” (1862), based on facts related to the activities of the senses and movements, Wundt put forward the idea of ​​​​creating experimental psychology. The plan for its formation was outlined in “Lectures on the Soul of Man and Animals” (1863) and included two areas of research: analysis of individual consciousness using experimentally controlled observation of the subject’s own sensations, feelings, and ideas; the study of the “psychology of peoples”, i.e. psychological aspects of culture - language, myth, customs of various peoples, etc.

Following this plan, Wundt initially focused on the study of the subject's consciousness, defining psychology as the science of “immediate experience.” He called it physiological psychology, since the states experienced by the subject were studied through special experimental procedures, most of which was developed by physiology (mainly the physiology of the sense organs - vision, hearing, etc.). The task was seen to be to carefully analyze these images, highlighting the initial, simplest elements from which they are built. Wundt also used the achievements of two other new branches of knowledge - psychophysics, which studies, on the basis of experiment and using quantitative methods, the natural relationships between physical stimuli and the sensations they cause, and the direction that experimentally determines the time of a subject’s reaction to presented stimuli. He also used the achievements of Galton, who attempted to experimentally study what associations a word as a special irritant can evoke in a person. It turned out that the person to whom it is presented responds to the same word with various reactions, for the calculation and classification of which Galton used quantitative methods.

By combining all these methods and slightly modifying them, Wundt showed that on the basis of experiments, the object of which is a person, it is possible to study mental processes that were previously inaccessible to experimental research. Thus, in Wundt’s laboratory, for the first time, sensation thresholds and reaction times to various stimuli, including speech, were experimentally studied. The results obtained were presented by him in the main work “Fundamentals of Physiological Psychology” (1880-1881). This book became the first textbook in a new discipline - experimental psychology, for which scientists from all over the world came to Wundt's laboratory to study.

Subsequently, leaving the experiment, Wundt began developing in his youth the “second branch” of psychology he had conceived, dedicated to the mental aspect of the creation of culture. He wrote the ten-volume “Psychology of Peoples” (1900-1920), characterized by an abundance of material on ethnography, history of language, anthropology, etc. In this work, Wundt also expressed an important idea that a method for studying the psychology of a people can be an analysis of the products of their creative activity, such as language, fairy tales, myths, religion and other cultural items. Subsequently, the idea that analysis of the results of creative activity is a way to study the psyche became fundamental for other areas of psychology, receiving special development in psychoanalysis.

The name of Wundt was often associated with the emergence of psychology as a separate discipline. Although, as we have seen, this statement is not entirely accurate, since psychology gained independence much earlier, its contribution to the development of experimental psychology is invaluable. Considering the positivist attitudes of that time, it can be argued that giving psychology the status of experimental actually gave it the right to remain among the leading scientific disciplines. Wundt also created the largest school in the history of psychology, after which young researchers from different countries, returning to their homeland, organized laboratories and centers where ideas and principles were cultivated new area knowledge. He played an important role in consolidating the community of researchers who became professional psychologists. Discussions about his theoretical positions, prospects for the use of experimental methods, understanding of the subject of psychology and many of its problems stimulated the emergence of concepts and directions that enriched psychology with new scientific ideas.

By the beginning of the 20th century. psychological laboratories were created in many cities in Europe and the USA. However, the most interesting and significant experimental studies carried out during this period are associated with Germany, more precisely, with G. Ebbinghaus(1850-1909).

Ebbinghaus studied at the universities of Halle and Berlin, first in history and philology, then in philosophy. After the end of the Franco-Prussian War, in which he took part, he became an assistant professor at the university in Berlin (1880), and then a professor at the university in Halle (1905), where he organized a small laboratory of experimental psychology. He also created the first professional organization of German psychologists, the German Society for Experimental Psychology, and became the first editor of the Journal of Psychology and Physiology of the Sensory Organs, which began publication in 1890 and gained recognition among physiologists and psychologists.

Initially, Ebbinghaus's work differed little from the traditional research carried out in Wundt's laboratory. However, gradually the content of his experiments changed. By combining the study of the senses with a quantitative analysis of the data obtained, Ebbinghaus came to the conclusion that it was possible to experimentally study not only elementary, but also more complex mental processes. His merit lies precisely in the fact that he dared to experiment with memory.

By chance in Paris, he found in a second-hand bookshop a book by T. Fechner, “Fundamentals of Psychophysics,” in which mathematical laws were formulated about the relationship between physical stimuli and the sensations they cause. Inspired by the idea of ​​​​discovering the exact laws of memory, Ebbinghaus decided to begin experiments. He put them on himself.

Based on the theoretical postulates of associationism, Ebbinghaus was guided by the idea that people remember, retain in memory and recall facts between which associations have developed. But usually a person comprehends these facts, and therefore it is very difficult to establish whether the association arose due to memory or the mind intervened.

Ebbinghaus set out to establish the laws of memory in a “pure” form and for this purpose invented a special material. The unit of such material was not whole words (after all, they are always associated with concepts), but parts of words - individual meaningless syllables. Each syllable consisted of two consonants and a vowel between them (for example, “bov”, “gis”, “loch”, etc.). According to the American scientist E. Titchener, this was the most outstanding invention of psychology since the time of Aristotle. Such a high assessment stemmed from the opened opportunity to study memory processes regardless of the semantic content with which people’s speech is inevitably connected.

Having compiled a list of meaningless “words” (about 2300), Ebbinghaus experimented with it for five years. He outlined the main results of this research in his now classic book “On Memory” (1885). First of all, he found out the dependence of the number of repetitions required to memorize a list of nonsense syllables on its length, establishing that with one reading, as a rule, seven syllables are remembered. When the list was enlarged, a significantly greater number of repetitions was required than the number of syllables added to the original list. The number of repetitions was taken as memory factor.

The influence of so-called overlearning was also subjected to special study. After a series of syllables was reproduced correctly, Ebbinghaus continued to memorize it. The preservation method he developed was that after a certain period of time, after the series had been memorized, an attempt was made to reproduce it again. When a known number of words could not be retrieved from memory, the series was repeated again until it was correctly reproduced. The number of repetitions (or time) required to regain full knowledge of the series was compared with the number of repetitions (or time) spent during initial memorization. The data obtained by the method of storing in memory was compared with the number of repetitions during the so-called superlearning, i.e., it was determined how many repetitions would be required to complete the learning of the material (to the point of complete and error-free reproduction), if it had previously been “overlearned.”

The one drawn by Ebbinghaus gained particular popularity. forgetting curve . Falling quickly, this curve becomes flat. It turned out that the greatest part of the material is forgotten in the first minutes after memorization. Much less is forgotten in the coming hours and even less in the coming days. Learning of meaningful texts and a list of nonsense syllables was also compared. Ebbinghaus memorized the text of Byron's Don Juan and an equally long list of syllables. Meaningful material was remembered 9 times faster. As for the “forgetting curve,” it had the same shape in both cases, although when meaningful material was forgotten, the decline in the curve was slower. Ebbinghaus also experimentally studied other factors affecting memory (for example, the comparative effectiveness of continuous and time-distributed learning).

Ebbinghaus is the author of a number of other works and techniques that still retain their significance. In particular, he created a test that bears his name for completing a phrase with a missing word. This test was one of the first in the diagnosis of mental development and was widely used in child and educational psychology. He also developed the theory of color vision. Ebbinghaus is the author of the small but brilliantly written “Essay on Psychology” (1908), as well as the fundamental two-volume work “Fundamentals of Psychology” (1902-1911).

Although Ebbinghaus did not develop “his own” psychological theory, his research became key to experimental psychology. They actually showed that memory can be studied objectively; the importance of statistical processing of data was also shown in order to establish the patterns to which mental phenomena, no matter how whimsical, are subject. Ebbinghaus was the first to destroy the stereotypes of the previous experimental psychology created by Wundt's school, where it was believed that experiment was applicable only to elementary processes measured using special instruments. They also opened the way to the experimental study of complex forms of behavior - skills. The “Forgetting Curve” has acquired the significance of a model for later constructing graphs for developing skills and solving problems in the school of behaviorism.

The appearance of the first experimental psychological laboratory, opened by Wundt, became the culminating point in the development of associationism, but at the same time its logical conclusion. This was due to the fact that Wundt, having substantiated the possibility (based on the methodology of associative psychology) of building experimental methods for studying the psyche, at the same time proved that association is not a universal mechanism of mental life. This marked the beginning of the search for new theoretical postulates for psychology, and ultimately its division into several independent directions.

The search for a new methodology was also accelerated by Wundt’s conviction that it was impossible to experimentally study thinking and other higher cognitive processes. However, Wundt's closest students proved that such complex processes as thinking and will are just as open to experimental analysis as the most elementary ones. This position was also proved by the works of Ebbinghaus. Discussions about the legitimacy of these studies and the connection of the materials obtained in them with the data of introspective studies opened the way to a methodological crisis in psychology.

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Federal budgetary state institution

higher professional education

Siberian State Transport University

Department of “Vocational Training, Pedagogy and Psychology”

Course work

in the discipline "History of Psychology"

The emergence of experimental psychology

Developed by student gr. PLB 411

Silkina N.V.

Supervisor

Professor

Rozhkova A.V.

2017

Introduction

Conclusion

Introduction

In modern psychology there are different evaluative positions regarding the role played by experimental research. It is undeniable that it is the experimental method that provides the “ideal” fulcrum for understanding the variety of scientific methodological approaches in psychology. In teaching psychological experimentation, there has been a significant restructuring of the textbooks themselves, reflecting a change in the relationship of this basic discipline with other theoretical courses.

The purpose of the work is to study the formation of experimental psychology.

The object of research is experimental psychology.

The subject of the research is the formation of experimental psychology.

– study the development of experimental psychology abroad;

– consider the opening and formation of the Psychoneurological Institute;

– analyze the formation of experimental psychology in the 1910-1920s;

– to study the formation of experimental psychology on the basis of the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education named after. L.G. Shchukina.

1. The formation of experimental psychology abroad

1.1 The origins of experimental psychology: E. Weber, G. Fechner

According to K.A. Ramul, the first psychological studies were carried out already in the 16th century, but quite a large number of their references date back to the 18th century. At the same time, he notes:

– the first psychological experiments were random and were not carried out with a scientific purpose;

– systematic staging of psychological experiments for scientific purposes appears only among researchers of the 18th century;

– Most of these studies were related to elementary visual sensations.

In the first quarter of the 19th century. German philosopher, teacher and psychologist I.F. Herbart (1776-1841) proclaimed psychology an independent science, which should be based on metaphysics, experience and mathematics. Despite the fact that he recognized the method of observation rather than experiment as the main psychological method, the ideas of this scientist had a strong influence on the views of the founders of experimental psychology - E. Weber, G. Fechner, W. Wundt.

Experimental psychology was prepared by the widespread research in physiological laboratories of elementary mental functions: sensations, perception, reaction time, which began widely in the mid-19th century. This work led to the emergence of the idea of ​​the possibility of creating experimental psychology as a special science that could differ from philosophy on the one hand and physiology on the other.

Ernst Heinrich Weber (1795-1878, Leipzig) - German anatomist and physiologist, one of the founders of scientific psychology, who introduced the idea of ​​measurement into it. He studied the inhibitory effect of the vagus nerve on the activity of the heart (1845). He conducted his research, primarily in the field of physiology of the sense organs: hearing, vision, skin sensitivity. He studied the effect of temperature adaptation: if you first place one hand in cool water and the other in hot water, then the warm water will then seem warmer to the first hand than to the second. He developed a scheme for an experimental study of the sense of touch, for which he constructed a special compass-type device (“esthesiometer” or “Weber compass”), with the help of which he assessed the distance sufficient to prevent two touches on the surface of the skin from merging into one sensation. In these studies, E. Weber determined that this distance is different for different areas of the skin and, therefore, the skin has different sensitivity. In 1834, he conducted his world-famous research, in which he established the relationship between the strength of physical stimuli and the sensations they caused (the Weber-Fechner psychophysical law). He created a number of methods and devices for determining the threshold of skin sensitivity. The works of E. Weber laid the foundation for new scientific directions - psychophysics and experimental psychology. The scientist also carried out research on determining absolute muscle strength, studying the mechanisms of walking and other types of motor activity.

Gustav Theodor Fechner (1801-1887, Leipzig, Germany). The research of this German scientist in the field of sensations, carried out in the 19th century, laid the foundation for modern experimental psychology. They allowed him to substantiate several laws, including the basic psychophysical law. G. Fechner developed a number of methods for indirectly measuring sensations, in particular three classical methods for measuring thresholds (the method of minimal differences, the method of average errors, the method of constant stimulation). G. Fechner in his work “Elements of Psychophysics” (1860) formulated the main task of psychophysics: to develop an accurate theory of the relationship between the physical and mental worlds, as well as between the soul and body. He distinguished between two psychophysics: internal (it should resolve the question of the relationship between the soul and the body, i.e. between the mental and the physiological) and external (its task is the relationship between the mental and the physical). G. Fechner developed only external psychophysics. His goal was to measure sensations. Since the stimulus that causes sensation can be measured, G. Fechner suggested that sensation can be measured by measuring the intensity of the physical stimulus. The starting point in this case was the minimum value of the stimulus at which the first, barely noticeable sensation occurs. Ego is the lower absolute threshold. G. Fechner accepted the assumption that all subtle differences in sensations are equal if the increases between stimuli are equal, which occur in geometric progression. G. Fechner chose the difference threshold as a measure of sensation. Thus, the intensity of the sensation is equal to the sum of the difference thresholds. These considerations and specific mathematical calculations led G. Fechner to the well-known equation, according to which the intensity of sensation is proportional to the logarithm of the stimulus. G. Fechner was the first to apply mathematics to psychology. This aroused interest and, of course, criticism. It was noted that the law is true only within certain limits, i.e. if the intensity of the stimulus increases, then, in the end, such a magnitude of this stimulus occurs, after which any increase in it no longer leads to an increase in sensation. Agreeing with critics in detail, he said: “ Tower of Babel was not completed because the workers could not agree on the method of its construction; my psychophysical monument will survive because the workers cannot agree on the method of its destruction.”

Thus, psychophysics was an important source on the basis of which experimental psychology was formed.

1.2 Psychometry as the basis of experimental psychology

Another area from which experimental psychology grew is psychometrics. Its subject is to measure the speed of mental processes: sensations and perceptions, simple associations. This line in psychology began in astronomy. It was noted that the response to an influence never occurs immediately; there is always some delay in the response to the signal. The fact of individual differences in the speed of perception was established. The difference in readings between individual observers was called the "personal equation" by Bessel. The time measurement of the personal equation has begun. It turned out that even for one person it can be different. It turned out that one of the conditions that significantly influences this time is whether a signal is expected or not.

A great impetus for research in the field of psychometry was given by the invention by astronomers of a special apparatus for measuring reaction time - the chronoscope.

Psychometry received its real development in the research of the Dutch physiologist Franz Donders (1818-1889), who invented a method for studying the time of complex mental processes (“Reaction Time”, 1869). First, the simple reaction time was measured, i.e. the time that elapses from the moment of the appearance of some simple auditory or visual stimulus until the moment of movement in response to it. Then the task became more complicated and took the form of choice reactions, discrimination reactions. The timing of these more complex reactions was measured. Then the time spent on a simple reaction was subtracted from the time of complex reactions, the remainder was attributed to the mental process that is required for the operation of choice, discrimination or solving other problems. Currently, the work of F. Donders has received a new reading within the framework of cognitive psychology, in connection with the problem of finding an expert criterion for judging the level organization of the psyche; it was republished in 1969.

The Austrian physiologist Sigmund Exner (1846-1926) made a great contribution to psychometry. He coined the term "reaction time". Research into the quantitative aspects of mental processes has opened up the possibility of an objective approach to mental phenomena. This is the significance of work in the field of psychophysics and psychometry. Their results contributed to the materialistic understanding of the psyche. The very formulation of the question of the course of mental processes in time met with sharp criticism from idealists.

Other German scientists also made significant contributions to the development of psychological experiments. Experimental studies in Germany were also carried out by G.E. Müller (1850-1934), O. Külpe (1862-1915), O. Selz (1881-1944).

Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand Helmholtz (1821-1894) using physical methods, he measured the speed of propagation of excitation in a nerve fiber, which laid the foundation for the study of psychomotor reactions. Until now, his works on the psychophysiology of feelings have been republished: “Physiological Optics” (1867) and “The Doctrine of Auditory Sensations as the Physiological Basis of the Theory of Music” (1875). His theory of color vision and resonance theory of hearing are still relevant today. G. Helmholtz's ideas about the role of muscles in sensory cognition were later creatively developed by the Russian physiologist I.M. Sechenov in his reflex theory.

Under the influence of psychophysics G. Fechner, Hermann Ebbinghaus (1850-1909) put forward as a task for psychology the establishment of the fact of the dependence of a mental phenomenon on a certain factor. He realized the idea of ​​a quantitative and experimental study of not only the simplest mental processes, such as sensations, but also memory based on memorizing syllables. He was the first to carry out experimental studies of memory. To do this, I conducted many experiments on myself, first of all, on memorizing meaningless syllables - artificial combinations of speech elements (two consonants and a vowel between them) that do not cause any semantic associations. He developed several methods for studying memory processes, a test for identifying mental development. Discovered the “edge factor” (more efficient memorization of the first and last syllables of a series). He developed a “forgetting curve”, according to which the largest percentage of material is forgotten in the period immediately following memorization. This curve acquired the significance of a model, according to the type of which later curves for developing a skill, solving a problem, etc. were constructed. Experimental studies of memory were reflected in his book “On Memory” (1885). G. Ebbinghaus also owns a number of important works on the experimental study of visual perception.

1.3 Experimental psychology of Wilhelm Wundt

The first plan for the emergence of experimental psychology was put forward by Wilhelm Wundt (1831-1920). He is the founder of experimental psychology. In 1879, in Leipzig (Germany), W. Wundt opened the world's first psychological research laboratory, which was soon transformed into an institute, which for many years was the most important international center and the only school of its kind in experimental psychology for researchers from many countries in Europe and America. In 1883, W. Wundt founded the world's first journal of experimental psychology, Philosophische Studien (Philosophical Research). He created a concept where the subject of psychology is consciousness and its content. I tried to build psychology according to the same principle on which the natural sciences are built, in particular physics and chemistry (elements of consciousness). In an article in 1862, he declared the method of introspection as the main experimental method. The experiment only clarifies the data of self-observation. In 1863, in a course of lectures on psychology, he expressed the idea that experiment cannot be the only source of knowledge; ethnological observations (language, myths, customs) should also be used.

In his work “Fundamentals of Physiological Psychology” (1874) W. Wundt presented the results of an experimental study of sensations and feelings. Research methods are borrowed from physiology. In this pile, psychology appears as an exact science. W. Wundt borrowed the very idea of ​​the experiment from G. Fechner. He considered an experiment to be such a study when, by systematically changing the stimulus, one can change manifestations, i.e. This is a study that involves instruments and calculations.

1.4 The emergence of experimental psychology in America and France

The founder of American experimental psychology is Stanley Granville Hall (1844-1924, USA). In 1876 he prepared doctoral dissertation, dedicated to the muscular perception of space. S. Hall studied first in Wundt's laboratory, and then with Helmholtz. Returning to the United States in 1883, he founded a psychological laboratory at Johns Hopkins University. Later, S. Hall becomes the first president of the American Psychological Association. When studying the problem of stages in the development of animals and humans, S. Hall went beyond just laboratory experiments.

James McKean Cattell (1860-1944) made significant contributions to the development of experimental psychology in America. He created psychological laboratories at 2 universities. J. Cattell studied problems of human behavior, education, and organization of science; developed methods of psychological measurement and various practical applications of the principles of psychology. Founder of testing methods, author of a number of psychological tests, president of the first American International Psychological Congress, editor of many scientific publications, including Psychological Review, American Men of Science, Scientific monthly" ("Scientific Monthly") and "Science". He was W. Wundt's assistant in Leipzig. His experimental research (in the field of association studies, reaction time, reading, psychophysics) emphasized the problem of individual differences. He was the first to introduce the concept of an intelligence test. His successors were E.L. Thorndike (author of the trial and error method used in learning research) and R.S. Woodworth (author of a textbook on experimental psychology, 1950).

Théodule Armand Ribot (1839-1916) - French psychologist, founder of the experimental trend in French psychology. Professor at the Sorbonne (1885) and the College de France (1888), where he was director (1889) of the first French psychological laboratory. Founder and editor of the first psychological journal in France, Revue philosophique. Chairman of the 1st International Psychological Congress (Paris, 1889). Having spoken out against the spiritualism of the so-called eclectic school (V. Cousin and others), which dominated French philosophy and psychology in the mid-19th century, T. Rioo tried, based on a critical analysis of the main directions of contemporary psychology (English with its associationism and German with its atomism), to formulate a program of new, experimental psychology that would study higher mental processes and personality as a whole. Unlike W. Wundg, T. Ribot had in mind, first of all, a psychopathological experiment (“illness is the most subtle experiment carried out by nature itself in precisely defined circumstances and in ways that human art does not have”). This largely determined the character of the entire tradition in French psychology coming from T. Ribot.

Experimental psychology covers the study of general patterns of psychological processes, but also individual variations in sensitivity, reaction time, memory, and associations. In the depths of experimental psychology, differential psychology was born as a branch that deals with the study of individual differences between people and groups.

Initially, the main object of experimental psychology was considered to be the internal mental processes of a normal adult, which were analyzed using introspection. But with the advent of the experiment and the possibility of carrying it out in the future, research begins to be carried out on animals, mentally ill people and children.

psychoneurological experiment psychometry

2. The formation of experimental psychology in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century

2.1 Opening and development of the Psychoneurological Institute

The history of the Moscow Psychological Society (MPS) begins on January 24, 1885, when it held its first meeting. The society was created at Moscow University by a group of professors from different faculties on the initiative of the head of the philosophy department, Matvey Mikhailovich Troitsky. The scientist attracted professors from all faculties of Moscow University to its establishment. 15 of them, together with Professor M.M. Troitsky were the founders of the Psychological Society.

In 1907, the Psychoneurological Institute, a higher educational and scientific institution, opened in St. Petersburg, the purpose of which was a comprehensive study of man and the construction of applied disciplines for the purposes of pedagogy, medicine and criminology. As a student of this institute recalled, A.R. Paley, later a Soviet science fiction writer, “it was very original educational institution, and the name by no means gives a complete idea of ​​its true character. It was a real university with various faculties - both natural sciences and the humanities. Only the university is not state-owned, but founded public organizations. The programs and training procedures there were aimed at educating not narrow, but comprehensively educated specialists. Therefore, the course of study lasted for more than a year. state universities. It took six years, not five, to graduate from medical school. The first course was general education - future doctors took humanitarian subjects. The law faculty program was completed not in four, but in three years - due to the intensity of the classes. But before that, it was necessary to take two year-long courses in general education subjects. Future lawyers also became acquainted with anatomy and physiology, but not to the extent medical faculties, and paramedic schools. The course in Russian literature was mandatory for all faculties. But the name of the institute - psychoneurological - was not at all accidental. It is not for nothing that one of its main leaders was Academician V.M. Bekhterev.”

The president of the institute was a famous scientist, academician V.M. Bekhterev. The number of listeners included persons of both sexes with secondary education. The V. M. Bekhterev Psychoneurological Institute was one of the first in history high school embodied the concept of integration of science, education and practical activities. A harmonious combination of natural science and humanities knowledge, theoretical and practical study of scientific problems constituted the specifics of the educational activities of the university. At the institute they successfully carried out scientific work and taught V.M. Bekhterev, A.P. Nechaev, M.M. Kovalevsky, I.A. Baudouin de Courtenay.

The institute was planned as a higher scientific and educational institution, “in which all questions of psychology and neurology could be developed, including questions of suggestion and hypnosis, pathological psychology, neuropathology, experimental pedology and criminal anthropology.” The institute was distinguished by a high degree of freedom and independence, which led to it becoming one of the centers for the dissemination of anti-government ideas. In 1914, on the eve of the war, Minister of Public Education L.A. Kasso in a letter to the Administrator of the Council of Ministers I.N. Lodyzhensky reported: “The composition of professors and teachers of the institute (153 people) is distinguished by a completely definite anti-government direction and the Ministry cannot influence changes in this composition, since their election is carried out by the institute independently and the elected persons are only reported to the Ministry for information.” However, the Council of Ministers, recognizing that anti-government agitation must be eradicated, spoke out against closure at a meeting on July 2. In turn, Nicholas II supported the Minister of Public Education and on July 18, 1914, signed a resolution in which he ordered the institute to be closed. But the outbreak of the war, as well as the administration’s assurances of complete loyalty and readiness to provide premises and resources to help the army, allowed V.M. Bekhterev to avoid the closure of his favorite brainchild.

By 1917, during the 9 years of the Institute’s existence, 15 scientific works on the physiology and psychology of the child had been published from its laboratory, and in addition, in connection with its activities, about 20 works had been published.

2.2 The formation of experimental psychology in the 1910-1920s

The 1910-1920s in psychology presented a motley picture, where the main trends stood out: empirical psychology, Freudianism, behavior, socially oriented trends. V.A. Mazilov noted the special attention to methodological issues in Russia (and then in the USSR), associated “with some features of the Russian mentality - the desire to certainly “get to the very essence” and not be content with pragmatic consequences. Due to well-known circumstances, after the October Revolution of 1917, the development of methodology for certain philosophical foundations. Increased attention to methodological issues was facilitated by the worsening crisis in world psychological science.”

Issues of methodology of experimental psychology were dealt with by N.N. Lange, M.Ya. Basov, P.P. Blonsky, V.A. Wagner, L.S. Vygotsky, A.R. Luria, S.L. Rubinstein, B.G. Ananyev, later - B.G. Ananyev, A.N. Leontyev, A.V. Petrovsky, A.A. Smirnov, L.I. Antsiferova, K.A. Abulkhanova, P.I. Zinchenko, A.V. Brushlinsky, P.Ya. Galperin, V.V. Davydov, B.F. Lomov, E.V. Shorokhova, K.K. Platonov and others. In the shadow of their famous works there remained many large and not very large works of other contemporary authors, who were also concerned about the fate of science. Some of these scientists were so-called “provincial” psychologists, some were famous, but the questions they wrote about were devoted to topics that we now classify as methodological - the history of the formation of the foundations of psychology.

Let us designate some authors whose interest is conditional, “from the framework of that time,” can be designated as the methodology of psychology, and for us now - the history of methodological research. Such modern research always progresses with difficulty, because the main difficulty has not been overcome - the search for publications; Unfortunately, it often happens that either there is no source, or it is simply not clear where to look. Let us briefly dwell on those works whose authors, looking at the difficult landscape of contemporary science, proposed their vision of this picture and a new area of ​​research, which, in their opinion, should become dominant in psychology.

Considering the content of little-known psychological works devoted to the historical and methodological understanding of the problems of experimental psychology, they can be divided into groups: analysis of the situation in psychology as a whole, description of existing trends, their characteristics; justification of a new field of psychology; a detailed analysis of one direction, which the author considers to be a kind of leader in modern science; reviews and opinions following the methodological discussions that took place at the congresses.

Pyotr Iosifovich Kruglikov at one time collaborated at the Kazan Institute of NOT (1921) together with I.M. Burdyansky, A.R. Luria, in 1923 he left the psychotechnical laboratory of the Institute of NOT (together with Luria). He was the author of books on teaching correspondence students and organizing local history work. In his little-known book “In Search of a Living Man,” Kruglikov, calling himself “a historian who intensely feels the need for “correct” psychology, which would provide knowledge of the motives of human behavior,” tried to substantiate a new psychology, free from “idols” (according to Bacon ): “they distort the image of a living person, hide from us the living properties of human nature, prevent us from understanding the true springs of human behavior in history, the incentives that encourage a person, on the one hand, to create culture, society and his own well-being, on the other hand, to their destruction." The author called on the help of historians, ethnologists and economists to create a new psychology. In his opinion, such a science should be a philosophical discipline, “united by the task of studying the hereditary properties of human nature, their historical manifestations and historical changes,” - historical anthropology, the subject of the study should be a person or group against the background of history, the goal is to answer the questions: “ 1) how these people emerged from the hands of nature; 2) how history “made” these people; and 3) how they made history. We examine sex and variety, i.e. hereditary nature (genological study), historical type (typological study), historical figure, partial (to a greater or lesser extent) creator of the cultural and social whole, creator of a given historical society (koinological study). Before us...is a historical person." The author considered every person to be a historical figure, not just an outstanding personality.

“History moves along the resultant, which is determined by the pressure of a huge number of infinitesimal quantities. Among them, the central place is occupied by elements of passive suggestibility, short-sightedness, and infatuation with the immediate, immediate, petty concerns and interests of the day. Without these elements, the resultant history would take a completely different direction. That is why people whose behavior is determined by this type of “infinitesimal” are historical figures precisely because of their passive suggestibility, short-sightedness, passion for the immediate, immediate, petty interests and concerns of the day.” This is precisely their determining influence on the character of the cultural and social whole among which they live, and on the course of historical development, their contribution to history. The method that is intended to become the main one is biographical. Belarusian psychologist Alexander Aleksandrovich Gaivorovsky (1899-1963) noted that modern experimental psychology studies the processes and functions of consciousness and nervous activity personality, but in it a branch that would study personality as a whole, he called it “individualology” and described the tasks facing it: the study of the constitution, its types in their biological and social significance(socio-biological typology); study of external factors and conditions of personality manifestations (factorology); the study of internal stimuli and inclinations that determine the development and behavior of the individual (potentiology); the study of character as a type of manifestations (behavior) of a person, conditioned by the existing relationship between the environment, constitution and inherited inclinations (characterology); study of the physiological mechanisms of the nervous system and the activity of the endocrine glands (reactology and reflexology); study of the internal content of the personality as a real intentional system of the socio-biological vitality of the organism (psychology); the study of the nature of a person’s knowledge of his environment (epistemology and phenomenology). According to the author, despite the study of various areas united by a single, but multifaceted object, “it is, of course, completely impossible to talk about eclecticism here, since there is a harmonious system that unites all these individual tasks of scientific research.”

Georgy Yurievich Malis (1904-1962), Leningrad pedologist who worked in the Cabinet state institute on the study of the criminal and crime of the NKVD, noted that psychology “has created a lot of valuable things, understood a lot, with the exception of how a simple, inconspicuous human life is built.” Psychologists of various directions approach the phenomena of consciousness in different planes, but do not consider the social dependence of the thinking subject; as a result, the value of scientific psychology is increasingly being questioned. G.Yu. Malis hoped that such a psychology would be built. “Everywhere... we will study... the psyche and activity of a social unit actively fighting for the right to exist,” i.e. this will be the doctrine of the behavior of social man - social psychology. Further: “the struggle for social psychology... will be led (along with psychotechnical centers) by criminological institutes. A person’s personal life will remain completely inaccessible for psychological analysis for many years to come. Only its obvious asocial orientation gives the team the right to objective intervention.” The author is confident that soon psychology as a doctrine of phenomena and states of consciousness will turn into an exact discipline, “with an orderly edifice towering above the achievements of the social natural sciences.”

2.3 I.M. Sechenov, N.N. Lange and A.F. Lazursky

In Russian psychology, Ivan Mikhailovich Sechenov (1829-1905) put forward a psychological concept in which he defined the subject of scientific knowledge in psychology. From his point of view, the subject of psychology should have been mental processes. Thus, he influenced the development of experimental psychology in Russia. Further experimental studies were continued by A.F. Lazursky. He was interested in questions of personality and human character, and he proposed the method of natural experiment.

One of the founders of experimental psychology in Russia is Nikolai Nikolaevich Lange (1858-1921). Studied sensations, perception, attention. His works marked the beginning of an open struggle for the establishment of the experimental method in Russian psychology and thereby became a major contribution to experimental psychology. Being a student of V. Wundt, returning from Germany, N.N. Lange at the Novorossiysk University (Odessa) opens the first laboratory of experimental psychology in Russia.

Alexander Fedorovich Lazursky (1874-1917) was the first to propose the concept of a natural experiment. He was one of the organizers and active participants of all-Russian congresses on educational psychology and experimental pedagogy. Since 1895, he worked in a psychiatric laboratory, where he conducted research on clinical psychophysiology. Collaborated with A.P. Nechaev. Since 1904, they jointly began to conduct experimental research in educational psychology. A commission is being organized at this laboratory to develop experimental methods in psychology. A.F. Lazursky was one of the first to conduct personality research in natural conditions of the subject’s activity.

2.4 Psychological Institute RAO named after. L.G. Shchukina

The founder and director of Russia's first Moscow Psychological Institute of Experimental Psychology at Moscow University was Georgy Ivanovich Chelpanov (1862-1930). 1911/1912 - first academic year. The institute was created with funds from philanthropist S.I. Shchukin. The official opening of the institute took place in March 1914. The tradition of teaching experimental psychology began with his lectures (the first course of experimental psychology was given by G.I. Chelpanov in the 1909/1910 academic year). On the positive side The activities of the institute were high experimental culture conducted under the leadership of G.I. Chelpanov's research. Several prominent domestic psychologists emerged from the circle of young employees of this institute (K.N. Kornilov, N.A. Rybnikov, B.N. Severny, V.N. Ekzemplyarsky, A.A. Smirnov, N.I. Zhinkin, etc. ), who worked during Soviet times. In 1915, for the first time G.I. Chelpanov publishes the textbook “Introduction to Experimental Psychology,” in which great importance is given to practical work.

In the first post-revolutionary years, the scientists of the institute had to either leave it (G.I. Chelpanov, M.M. Rubinshtein, S.N. Spielrein) or adapt to the Marxist, dialectical-materialist ideology (P.P. Blonsky, L.S. Vygotsky, S.G. Gelershtein, K.N. Kornilov, S.V. Kravkov, A.R. Luria, I.N. Spielrein). However, at the same time, they sought to respond to the achievements of foreign science, assimilate and correlate them with the conditions for the development of domestic psychology in Soviet times. The reactological program of K.N. is well known. Kornilov as a vulgar-materialistic modification of behaviorism or the cultural-historical theory of L.S. Vygotsky as a response to the French sociological school and the works of P. Janet, J. Piaget and others. This theory is still a significant contribution of Russian psychology to the world humanities.

Much less known is the role of the institute’s psychologists in the assimilation and development of the achievements of Freud’s psychoanalysis. So, in the 1920s. the then scientific secretary of the institute A.R. Luria and his other scientists - L.S. Vygotsky (1930), B.D. Friedman (1925), as well as B. Bykhovsky (1923), V.N. Voloshinov (1927) and others - linked one of the ways of development of domestic psychology with the construction of Freudo-Marxism. Nowadays, psychoanalysis is one of the most popular methodological approaches in various fields of modern psychology and psychotherapy, including when studying the interaction of the unconscious and reflection in altered states of consciousness of the individual.

In the second half of the twentieth century. Institute scientists, developing problems of general and educational psychology, began to conduct theoretical and experimental research on the study of reflexive processes (L.V. Bertsfai, M.E. Botsmanova, V.V. Davydov, L.L. Gurova, N.I. Gutkina , A.Z. Zak, A.V. Zakharova, G.I. Katrich-Davydova, A.K. Osnitsky, I.V. Palagina, V.V. Rubtsov, I.N. Semenov, V.I. Slobodchikov , S.Yu. Stepanov, G.A. Tsukerman, etc.), assimilating the works of Western philosophers and psychologists on consciousness and reflection (A. Busemann, E. Husserl, V. Dilthey, D. Dewey, K. Rogers, O. Külpe, A. Marc, J. Piaget, Z. Freud, etc.). Therefore, an important direction in the logic of development of psychological science at the institute was the advancement from the analysis of mental reactions (K.N. Kornilov) and the phenomena of consciousness and the unconscious (P.P. Blonsky, L.S. Vygotsky, S.V. Kravkov, A.R. Luria, S.L. Rubinstein, S.N. Spielrein) through the study of conscious self-regulation and personality consciousness (A.N. Leontiev, L.L. Gurova, O.A. Konopkin, Yu.A. Mislavsky, A.K. Osnitsky, E.M. Bokhorsky) to the study of the role of reflection in mental development(N.I. Nepomnyashchaya, V.I. Slobodchikov, G.A. Tsukerman, B.D. Elkonin), theoretical thinking (V.V. Davydov, G.I. Katrich-Davydova, A.Z. Zak, V. .V. Rubtsov) and in the creative process (I.N. Semenov, S.Yu. Stepanov, I.V. Palagina, A.V. Markov).

One of the institute's innovative contributions to modern psychology is the ripening in it of prerequisites for the emergence at the forefront of science of such a little-studied area of ​​psychological knowledge as the psychology of reflection, as well as for its further transformation into reflexive psychology - as a new rapidly developing section of modern human science. The social relevance of this especially increases in an era of change, which requires a reflexive understanding of the rapidly changing circumstances of social life.

The 20th century can be called the century of rapid development of experimental psychology. However, as researchers note (B.G. Ananyev, V.V. Nikandrov, M.D. Konovalova, etc.), the emergence of more and more new psychological disciplines led to the “pulling away” of experimental psychological problems into different sections of psychological science and the erosion its boundaries as an independent scientific discipline.

Modern psychological dictionaries and reference books that define “experimental psychology”, as a rule, emphasize the relative lack of independence of this scientific discipline, and there is no indication of its subject. Thus, in the “Psychological Dictionary” (edited by V.V. Davydov and others), experimental psychology is the general name for the areas and sections of psychology in which the method of laboratory experiment is effectively used. In the dictionary, edited by A.V. Petrovsky and M.G. Yaroshevsky, experimental psychology is a general designation for various types of research into mental phenomena through experimental methods.

Conclusion

At the beginning of the 20th century. a broad idea of ​​experimentation made it possible to include the first psychodiagnostic developments in this section; studies that combined introspection with the presentation of one or another stimulus material (method of experimental introspection, according to W. Wundt); method of associations, or associative techniques, the use of which within the framework of empirical psychology of consciousness preceded the development of experimental schemes. The mastery of experimental design schemes in behaviorism led to an unjustified idea of ​​​​a behavioral experiment as a substitute concept for a psychological experiment. Echoes of this substitution can still be heard now, when behavioral experiments are chosen as the object of criticism of the experimental method. What is the change in ideas about psychological experimentation that are associated with the history of the issue?

Firstly, the historical crisis in psychology, which was expressed in the isolation of a number of psychological schools, had as one of the most important aspects the consolidation of diverse research as models of experimentation as a collection of experimental data. As a result, a variety of methods began to be called experimental: from research into thinking using the technique of “reasoning out loud” (the experiments of K. Duncker) to demonstration experiments at the school of K. Lewin.

In addition to the truly experimental work carried out within the framework of this school (B. Zeigarnik, V. Mahler, etc.), Levin’s students implemented the observation method of T. Dembo in her study of the dynamics of anger and other techniques. In Russian literature, this is connected, among other things, with the translation of the German noun der Versuch experience, attempt (as an experiment).

Secondly, the reduction of the concept of experimentation to such a meaning of the term as organizing influences and recording “responses” or consequences of these influences has given rise to an unfounded idea of ​​psychological experimentation as necessarily associated with the adoption of a natural scientific paradigm in relation to a cognizable object. As a result, those studies that, in addition to controlling situational or other factors, involved the activity of the subject ensuring the use of (experimentally) given stimulus-means, were no longer recognized as experimental. Surprisingly, even psychologists who had learned the foundations of the cultural-historical school in their basic education began to insist that studies carried out using double stimulation techniques are non-experimental.

It is in this context that the contrast between the schools of A. N. Leontiev and L. S. Vygotsky is perceived as an incident. In this case, the confusion (non-distinction) between the understanding of the subject of study and the methodological tools used and schemes for interpreting experimental data plays a role. It so happened that it was the teaching of courses in the methodology of psychology that supposedly had to solve the problem of presenting the connections between theoretical approaches, understanding the subject of study and the methods used. However, two aspects of curriculum design prevent students from adequately presenting this issue. On the one hand, this is the distance between courses in experimental psychology and methodology of psychology in the time of their teaching. On the other hand, the non-distinction between the subjects “Experimental Psychology” and “Empirical Methods in Psychology” made it possible to “put all methods of methodological development by psychologists of the subject of study” into one basket, supposedly experimenting.

List of sources used

1. Egorova S.L. Place of the psychoneurological institute in higher education Imperial Russia // Moscow Scientific Review. - 2011. - No. 7 (July). - P. 7-9.

2. Zhdan A.N. History of the Psychological Society at the Imperial Moscow University (1885-1922) To the 125th anniversary of the MPO // National psychological journal. - 2010. - No. 1. - pp. 34-38.

3. Kvasova Yu.A. Experimental psychology. - Naberezhnye Chelny: Naberezhnye Chelny State Pedagogical University, 2011. 142 p.

4. Mazilov V.A. Theory and method in psychology: The period of formation of psychology as an independent science. - Yaroslavl: MAPN, 1998. - 359 p.

5. Prashkevich G. Red Sphinx. History of Russian science fiction from V.F. Odoevsky to Boris Stern. - Novosibirsk: Svinin and Sons Publishing House, 2007. - 600 p.

6. Rostovtsev E.A., Sidorchuk I.V. First World War and Higher Medical School of Petrograd // Military Medical Journal. - 2014. - No. 9. - P. 81-84.

7. Semenov I.N. To the centenary of the RAO Psychological Institute. Milestones, directions and methodology of reflection research at the Moscow Psychological Institute // Psychology. Historical-critical reviews and modern research. - 2012. - No. 4. - P. 76-107.

8. Stoyukhina N.Yu. On the issue of Russian experimental psychology in the first years of the twentieth century // History of Russian psychology in persons: Digest. 2016. - No. 6. - P. 287-306.

9. Stoyukhina N.Yu. Problems of studying the history of “provincial psychology” // World of science, culture, education. - 2013. - No. 1 (38). - pp. 152-157.

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The first achievements of physiology in connection with psychology. Origins of experimental psychology. The relationship between physiology and psychology within the framework of Russian science of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Analysis of a person’s psychological state based on his physiological reactions.

abstract, added 03/20/2011


Features of the causal approach. Historical background the emergence of the causal approach in experimental psychology. Scientific discussion about the causal approach in modern stage. Methodological strategy developed by L.S. Vygotsky.

abstract, added 11/28/2015


Subject, methodology of experimental psychology. Experimental psychology and pedagogical practice. Non-experimental methods in psychology. Organization of a psychological experiment, its place in the activities of a teacher. Ethics of scientific research.

cheat sheet, added 11/19/2010


The subject and methods of psychology, its relationship with other sciences. Historical stages in the development of psychological knowledge. Development of experimental and differential psychology. Representatives of Russian psychosociological thought: Potebnya, Yurkevich, Ushinsky.

book, added 01/29/2011


The role of Russia in world psychological thought. Psychological views of M.V. Lomonosov, A.N. Radishcheva, A.I. Herzen. The doctrine of needs. Temperament and character. The origins of experimental psychology and reflexology. The principle of activity in psychology.

QUESTIONS FOR TESTING IN THE DISCIPLINE “EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY”

1. Subject and tasks of experimental psychology

Experimental psychology means

1. all scientific psychology as a system of knowledge obtained on the basis of experimental studies of human and animal behavior. (W. Wundt, S. Stevenson, etc.) Scientific psychology is equated with experimental psychology and is contrasted with philosophical, introspective, speculative and humanitarian versions of psychology.

2. Experimental psychology is sometimes interpreted as a system of experimental methods and techniques, implemented and specific studies. (M.V. Matlin).

3. The term "Experimental psychology" is used by psychologists to characterize the scientific discipline that deals with the problem of methods of psychological research in general.

4. Experimental psychology is understood only as the theory of psychological experiment, based on the general scientific theory of experiment and, first of all, including its planning and data processing. (F.J. McGuigan).

Experimental psychology covers not only the study of general patterns of mental processes, but also individual variations in sensitivity, reaction time, memory, associations, etc.

The purpose of the experiment is not simply to establish or state cause-and-effect relationships, but to explain the origin of these relationships. The subject of experimental psychology is man. Depending on the goals of the experiment, the characteristics of the group of subjects (gender, age, health, etc.), the tasks can be creative, work, play, educational, etc.

Yu.M. Zabrodin believes that the basis of the experimental method is the procedure for controlled changes in reality for the purpose of studying it, allowing the researcher to come into direct contact with it.

2. History of the development of experimental psychology

Already in the 17th century, different ways of developing psychological knowledge were discussed and ideas about rational and empirical psychology were formed. In the 19th century Psychological laboratories appeared and the first empirical studies, called experimental, were carried out. In the first laboratory of experimental psychology, W. Wundt used the method of experimental introspection ( introspection- a person’s self-observation of his own mental activity). L. Fechner developed the basics of constructing a psychophysical experiment; they were considered as ways of collecting data about the sensations of the subject when the physical characteristics of the stimuli presented to him changed. G. Ebbinghaus conducted research into the patterns of remembering and forgetting, which traced techniques that have become standards for experimentation. A number of special techniques for obtaining psychological data, in particular the so-called association method, preceded the development of experimental treatment schemes. Behavioral Research ( behaviorism- a direction in psychology of the 20th century that ignores the phenomena of consciousness, psyche and completely reduces human behavior to the physiological reactions of the body to the influence of the external environment.), which paid primary attention to the problem of controlling stimulus factors, developed requirements for the construction of a behavioral experiment.

Thus, experimental psychology was prepared by the widespread study of elementary mental functions - sensations, perception, reaction time - in the mid-19th century. These works led to the emergence of the idea of ​​​​the possibility of creating experimental psychology as a special science, different from physiology and philosophy. The first master of exp. psychology is rightly called c. Wundt, who founded the Institute of Psychology in Leipzig in 1879.

The founder of the American exp. psychology is called S. Hall, who studied for 3 years in Leipzig in the laboratory of W. Wundt. He then became the first president of the American Psychological Association. Other researchers include James Cattal, who also received his doctorate from W. Wundt (in 1886). He was the first to introduce the concept of an intelligence test.

In France, T. Ribot formulated an idea of ​​​​the subject of experimental psychology, which, in his opinion, should not deal with metaphysics or discussion of the essence of the soul, but with identifying the laws and proximate causes of mental phenomena.

In Russian psychology, one of the first examples of methodological work towards understanding the standards of experimentation is the concept of natural experiment by A.F. Lazursky, which he proposed in 1910. at the 1st All-Russian Congress on Experimental Pedagogy.

Since the 70s, the educational course “Experimental Psychology” has been taught in Russian universities. In the “State Educational Standard for Higher Professional Education” for 1995, 200 hours are allocated to it. The tradition of teaching experimental psychology at Russian universities was introduced by Professor G.I. Chelpanov. Back in 1909/10, he taught this course at the psychology seminary at Moscow University, and later at the Moscow Psychological Institute (now the Psychological Institute of the Russian Academy of Education).

Chelpanov considered experimental psychology as an academic discipline based on the methods of psychological research, or more precisely, on the methods of experiment in psychology.

3. Methodology of experimental psychology

Science is a sphere of human activity, the result of which is new knowledge about reality that meets the criterion of truth. Practicality, usefulness, and effectiveness of scientific knowledge are considered to be derived from its truth. In addition, the term “science” refers to the entire body of knowledge obtained to date by the scientific method. The result of scientific activity can be a description of reality, an explanation of the prediction of processes and phenomena, which are expressed in the form of text, a structural diagram, a graphical relationship, a formula, etc. The ideal of scientific research is the discovery of laws - a theoretical explanation of reality. Science as a system of knowledge (the result of activity) is characterized by completeness, reliability, and systematicity. Science as an activity is, first of all, characterized method. The method distinguishes science from other methods of obtaining knowledge (revelation, intuition, faith, speculation, everyday experience, etc.). Method is a set of techniques and operations for the practical and theoretical development of reality. All methods of modern science are divided into theoretical and empirical. With the theoretical research method, the scientist does not work with reality, but with representation in the form of images, diagrams, models in natural language. The main work is done in the mind. Empirical research is conducted to test the validity of theoretical constructs. The scientist works directly with the object, and not with its symbolic image.

In empirical research, the scientist works with graphs and tables, but this happens “in the external plane of action”; Diagrams are drawn and calculations are made. In theoretical research, a “thought experiment” is conducted where the object of study is subjected to various tests based on logical reasoning. There is such a method as modeling. It uses the method of analogies, assumptions, and inferences. Simulation is used when it is not possible to conduct experimental research. There are “physical” and “sign-symbolic” modeling. The “physical model” is studied experimentally. When researched using a “sign-symbolic” model, the object is implemented in the form of a complex computer program.

Scientific methods include: observation, experiment, measurement .

In the 20th century Over the course of one generation, scientific views on reality have changed dramatically. Old theories were refuted by observation and experiment. So, any theory is a temporary structure and can be destroyed. Hence the criterion for the scientific nature of knowledge: knowledge that can be rejected (recognized as false) in the process of empirical verification is recognized as scientific. Knowledge for which it is impossible to come up with an appropriate procedure cannot be scientific. Every theory is just a guess and can be disproved by experiment. Popper formulated the rule: “We do not know - we can only guess.”

With different approaches to identifying methods of psychological research, the criterion remains that aspect of its organization that allows one to determine the methods of the research attitude to the reality being studied. Techniques are then seen as data collection procedures or “techniques” that can be incorporated into different research designs.

Methodology is a system of knowledge that defines the principles, patterns and mechanisms of using psychological research methods. Exp. methodology Psychology, like any other science, is built on the basis of certain principles:

· The principle of determinism is the manifestation of cause-and-effect relationships. in our case - the interaction of the psyche with the environment - the action of external causes is mediated by internal conditions, i.e. psyche.

· The principle of unity of physiological and mental.

· The principle of unity of consciousness and activity.

· The principle of development (the principle of historicism, the genetic principle).

· Principle of objectivity

· System-structural principle.

4. Psychological dimension

Measurement can be an independent research method, but it can act as a component of an integral experimental procedure.

As an independent method, it serves to identify individual differences in the subject’s behavior and reflection of the surrounding world, as well as to study the adequacy of reflection (a traditional task of psychophysics) and the structure of individual experience.