Psychology- this is a field of scientific knowledge that studies the features and patterns of the emergence, formation and development (change) of mental processes (sensation, perception, memory, thinking, imagination), mental states (tension, motivation, frustration, emotions, feelings) and mental properties (orientation , abilities, inclinations, character, temperament) of a person, that is, the psyche as a special form of life, as well as the psyche of animals.

Psychology, as a science, studies the facts, patterns and mechanisms of the psyche.

The term "Psychic" itself comes from the Greek word "psyche", which means "soul".

The main tasks of psychology are:

1) qualitative study of mental phenomena;

2) analysis of the formation and development of mental phenomena;

3) the study of the physiological mechanisms of mental phenomena;

4) promoting the introduction of psychological knowledge into the practice of people's lives and activities.

The subject of psychology is the facts of mental life, the mechanisms and laws of the human psyche and the formation of the psychological characteristics of his personality as a conscious subject of activity and an active figure in the socio-historical development of society.

The behavior of a person with a normal psyche is always conditioned by the influence of the objective world. Reflecting the external world, a person not only learns the laws of development of nature and society, but also exerts a certain influence on them in order to adapt the world around him to the best satisfaction of his material and spiritual needs. In real human activity, his mental manifestations (processes and properties) do not arise spontaneously and are isolated from each other. They are closely interconnected in a single act of socially conditioned conscious activity of the individual. In the process of development and formation of a person as a member of society, as a person, diverse mental manifestations that interact with each other gradually turn into stable mental formations that a person directs to solve the vital tasks facing him. Consequently, all mental manifestations of a person are conditioned by his life and activity as a social being, as a person. Modern psychology considers the psyche as a property of a special form of organized matter, as a subjective image of the objective world, as an ideal reflection of reality in the brain. The physiological processes taking place in the human brain are the basis of mental activity, but they cannot be identified with it. The psyche always has a certain content, i.e. what it reflects in the surrounding world. Therefore, the human psyche should be considered not only in terms of their content.

Modern psychology is a series of scientific disciplines that are at different stages of formation, associated with different areas of practice. How to classify these numerous branches of psychology? One of the possibilities of classification is contained in the above-formulated principle of the development of the psyche in activity. Based on this, the psychological side can be chosen as the basis for the classification of branches of psychology:

1.specific activities;

2. development;

3. the relationship of a person (as a subject of development and activity) to society (in which his activity and development are carried out).

If we accept the first basis of classification, then we can distinguish a number of branches of psychology that study the psychological problems of specific types of human activity.

General psychology- Theoretical foundations of psychology, defines the basic concepts of this science (psychology of cognitive processes and personality psychology)

Psychophysiology- A science that arose at the junction of two sciences - psychology and physiology. It explores the relationship between mental phenomena and their bodily manifestations.

Age-related psychology-Features of changes in the psyche as a person develops and grows up

Pedagogical psychology-Patterns of training and education

medical psychology- The psyche of a sick person, as well as the features of the borderline conditions between health and disease

Social Psychology-Peculiarities of human interaction and the psychology of entire groups and large masses of people. Psychological phenomena and processes due to a person's belonging to specific communities

Psychodiagnostics-Develops methods that allow to study the human psyche, and to do this as reasonably and reliably as possible

-Psychotherapy- Engaged in the search and improvement of methods of treating people with psychological methods, without the use of pharmacological drugs

2. Research methods in psychology, their classification.

Method- this is a way, a way of knowing, through which the subject of science is known (

Methodology(from the Greek methodos - the path of research, logos - science) - a system of principles and methods for organizing and building theoretical and practical activities, as well as the doctrine of this system. Methodology is the doctrine of the scientific method in general and of the methods of individual sciences. It is a culture of scientific inquiry.

Methods(from the Greek methodos - the path of research or knowledge) - these are the methods and means by which scientists obtain reliable information; these are the paths of knowledge through which the subject of any science is known.

Method this is a way of knowing something: a mental process, activity, personality traits and other aspects of studying a person necessary for a psychologist. In psychology, there are a very large number of methods and individual varieties.

Methods: 1. Basic, 2. auxiliary

Main methods:

observation. The researcher simply observes without changing the course of the situation. It has many varieties: open or hidden, included or not included, laboratory or natural, and so on.

Experiment. In this case, the researcher intervenes in the situation. He can create certain conditions for the experiment or surround the subject with special equipment. Or it can include the subject in the activity unnoticed by him.

Test short term task. Based on the results of the implementation, one can judge the level of existing knowledge.

There are several approaches to the classification of methods of psychological research.

B. G. Ananiev identifies the following 4 groups of methods, those. organizational methods include:

1 -Comparative method ( comparison of different groups of subjects by age, type of activity, etc.), longitudinal method (examination of the same persons for a long time) and complex (representatives of different sciences participate in the study, one object is studied by different means), combining the advantages of both the above methods.

2. Empirical Methods -- These primary information collection methods include:

* observational methods (observation and self-observation);

* various types of experiment (laboratory, field, natural, ascertaining, forming);

* psychodiagnostic methods (standardized tests, projective tests, conversation, interviews, questionnaires, questionnaires, sociometry);

* praximetric methods are methods for analyzing processes and products of activity: chronometry, cyclography, professiogram, evaluation of activity products;

* modeling:

* biographical method.

3 . Data processing methods include: methods of quantitative (statistical) and qualitative (differentiation of material by groups) analysis, allowing to establish patterns hidden from direct perception.

4 . Interpretive methods, involving various methods of explaining the patterns identified as a result of statistical data processing, and their comparison with previously established facts. They include

* genetic method - involves the study of genetic relationships (phylogenetic, ontogenetic, genetic and sociogenetic). the so-called research "in depth";

* Structural (classification, tapologization) method: psychography, typological classification, psychological profile - research "in breadth".

Methodological principles- Briefly formulated theoretical provisions that summarize the achievements of science in a particular area and serve as the basis for further research.

METHODOLOGY- (Greek methodike). 1) the same as methodology. 2) a part of pedagogy that sets out the rules for teaching various subjects

Method(gr. Method of cognition) - a way to something, a way to achieve a goal, a certain way ordered activity of the subject in any of its forms.

Function of the method- internal organization and regulation of the process of cognition or practical transformation of an object.

Research method- the general path that the researcher chooses to obtain the interest of his information of interest

Research methods in psychology- these are the techniques and means by which psychologists obtain reliable information used to build scientific theories and develop practical recommendations. The strength of science largely depends on the perfection of research methods, on how valid and reliable they are, how quickly a given branch of knowledge is able to absorb and use all the newest, most advanced that appears in the methods of other sciences. Where this can be done, there is usually a noticeable breakthrough in the knowledge of the world.

All of the above applies to psychology. Thanks to the application of the methods of natural and exact sciences, psychology, starting from the second half of the last century, stood out as an independent science and began to develop actively. Up to this point, psychological knowledge was obtained mainly through self-observation (introspection), speculative reasoning, and observation of the behavior of other people. The analysis of the facts obtained by such methods served as the basis for the construction of the first scientific theories explaining the essence of psychological phenomena and human behavior. However, the subjectivity of these methods, their lack of reliability were the reason that psychology for a long time remained a non-experimental science, divorced from practice, capable of assuming, but not proving, causal relationships that exist between mental and other phenomena.

In science, there are general requirements for the objectivity of scientific psychological research. The principle of objective psychological research is implemented by a variety of methodological means.
1., consciousness is studied in the unity of internal and external manifestations. However, the relationship between the external flow of the process and its internal nature is not always adequate. The general task of all methods of objective psychological research is to adequately reveal this relationship - to determine its internal psychological nature from the external course of an act.
2. Our psychology affirms the unity of mental and physical, therefore psychological research often includes a physiological analysis of psychological processes. For example, it is hardly possible to study emotional processes without analyzing their physiological components. Psychological research cannot study mental phenomena in isolation from their psychophysiological mechanisms.
3. The material foundations of the psyche are not reduced to its organic foundations, the way people think is determined by their way of life, the consciousness of people is determined by social practice. Therefore, the methodology of psychological research should be based on the analysis of human activity.
4. Psychological patterns are revealed in the process. The study of development is not only a special field, but also a specific method of psychological research. The point is not to fix the various levels of development, but to study the driving forces of this process.

Psychology, like any science, uses a whole system of different methods. In domestic psychology, the following four groups of methods are distinguished:
1. include:
a) comparative genetic method (comparison of different species groups according to psychological indicators);
b) cross-sectional method (comparison of selected same psychological indicators in different groups of subjects);
c) longitudinal method - the method of longitudinal sections (multiple examinations of the same persons over a long period of time);
d) a complex method (representatives of various sciences participate in the study, while, as a rule, one object is studied by different means). Research of this kind makes it possible to establish connections and dependencies between phenomena of various types, for example, between the physiological, psychological and social development of an individual.
2. . They include:
a) observation and self-observation;
b) experimental methods (laboratory, natural, formative);
c) psychodiagnostic methods (tests, questionnaires, questionnaires, sociometry, interviews, conversation);
d) analysis of products of activity;
e) biographical methods.
3. :
a) auto-training;
b) group training;
c) methods of psychotherapeutic influence;
d) training.
4. , including:
a) quantitative method (statistical);
b) qualitative method (differentiation of material by groups, analysis).

Organizational Methods
The knowledge of the patterns of mental development can be approached through two main types of research: the so-called transverse sections and longitudinal (longitudinal). Both types have a number of advantages and disadvantages.

Cross-sectional studies of mental development consist in studying the same psychological characteristics in groups of children of different ages, different levels of development, with different personality traits, clinical reactions, etc. The cross-sectional method also has its advantages and disadvantages. The main advantage of this method is the comparative speed of the study - the possibility of acquiring results within a short time.

However, studies in purely transverse sections are static and do not show the dynamics of the development process, its continuity, and many patterns of development obtained in this way are very approximate.

Modern longitudinal studies aim to record the somatic and mental development of the child. Many specialists, children's doctors and psychologists (Stern, Buhler, Menchinskaya, and others) devoted themselves to long-term observation of their own children. The 1930s brought significant progress in the study of development. Valuable are the observations of young children carried out by Gesell's laboratory (carried out for a whole day). Gesell also studied a group of children month by month, and on the basis of his observations he deduced "norms for the development of behavior" for different age levels, ranging from 0 to 16 years.

In our country, ontogenetic research has a long tradition (V.M., N.M. Shchelovanov, L.S., A.N., D.B., A.A. Lyublinskaya, N.D. Levitov, etc.) . Particularly well-known are studies of the development of speech and its influence on the ability to learn and develop the personality of children, conducted in the laboratory of A.R. Luria (1959, 1961).

R. Gotgshaldt (1960) conducted longitudinal psychological research on twins for more than 20 years. In France, René Zazzo dealt with the same problem. Gemini is a particularly suitable model for studying the influence of constitutional and social factors. This problem directly requires the use of a longitudinal study of twins, called the twin method.

The longitudinal method, in comparison with the method of transverse sections, has many advantages:
- longitudinal study allows processing data for individual age periods;
- it makes it possible to determine the dynamics of the development of each child;
- only a longitudinal study makes it possible to resolve the issue of the so-called critical periods in development.
However, it is obvious that even objective observation of one child does not allow us to come to a conclusion with universal significance. The main disadvantage of longitudinal studies is the significant time required to organize and conduct them.

The comparative method consists in considering individual mechanisms of behavior and psychological acts in comparison with similar phenomena in other organisms. This method is most widely used in zoopsychology and child psychology. This method is called "comparative genetic". The most productive use of this method in the field of comparative psychology (zoopsychology) belonged to V.A. Wagner. In his works, he was the first to substantiate and use the evolutionary method, the essence of which is to compare the psyche of the studied animal with representatives of the previous and subsequent stages of evolution of the animal world. For example, using the comparative method, it was found that chickens are not capable of extrapolation thinking, but dogs are.

Empirical Methods in Psychology
The group of empirical methods in psychology has been considered the main one since psychology emerged as an independent science.

Features of the experimental research method:
1. The researcher himself causes the phenomenon he is studying and actively influences it.
2. The experimenter can vary, change the conditions under which the phenomenon occurs.
3. In the experiment, it is possible to repeatedly reproduce the results.
4. The experiment makes it possible to establish quantitative patterns that allow mathematical formulation.

The main task of a psychological experiment is to make mental regularities accessible to objective observation. In the structure of the experiment, it is possible to designate a system of research stages and tasks:
I - theoretical stage of the study (problem statement). At this stage, the following tasks are solved:
a) the formulation of the problem and the topic of the study, the title of the topic should include the basic concepts of the subject of the study,
b) definition of the object and subject of research,
c) determination of experimental tasks and research hypotheses.

At this stage, the known facts on the topic of research obtained by other scientists are clarified, which makes it possible to determine the range of solved problems and unsolved problems and formulate hypotheses and problems of a particular experiment. This stage can be considered as a relatively independent research activity of a theoretical nature.

II - methodological stage of the study. At this stage, the experimental methodology and experimental plan are developed. There are two sets of variables in an experiment: independent and dependent. The factor that the experimenter changes is called the independent variable; The factor that the independent variable causes to change is called the dependent variable.

The development of an experimental plan involves two steps: 1) drawing up a work plan and a sequence of experimental procedures, and 2) a mathematical model for processing experimental data.

III - experimental stage. At this stage, direct experiments are carried out. The main problem of this stage is to create in the subjects an identical understanding of the task of their activity in the experiment. This problem is solved through the reproduction of the same conditions for all subjects and instructions, which aims to bring all subjects to a common understanding of the task, acting as a kind of psychological attitude.

IV - analytical stage. At this stage, a quantitative analysis of the results (mathematical processing), scientific interpretation of the facts obtained is carried out; formulation of new scientific hypotheses and practical recommendations. Regarding the mathematical coefficients of statistics, it should be remembered that they are external in relation to the essence of the studied mental phenomena, describing the probability of their manifestation and the relationship between the frequencies of the compared events, and not between their essences. The essence of phenomena is revealed through the subsequent scientific interpretation of empirical facts.

The expansion of the use of the experiment moved from the elementary processes of sensation to the higher mental processes. The modern experimental method exists in three forms: laboratory, natural and formative experiment.

Three considerations are put forward against the laboratory experiment. The artificiality of the experiment, the analyticity and abstractness of the experiment, the complicating role of the experimenter's influence are pointed out.

A peculiar version of the experiment, representing, as it were, an intermediate form between observation and experiment, is the method of the so-called natural experiment proposed by the Russian scientist A.F. Lazursky (1910). His main tendency is to combine the experimental nature of the study with the naturalness of the conditions. Instead of translating the phenomena under study into laboratory conditions, researchers try to find natural conditions that suit their goals. A natural experiment that solves the problems of psychological and pedagogical research is called a psychological and pedagogical experiment. Its role is exceptionally great in the study of the cognitive abilities of students at various age stages.

Another variation of the experimental method is called formative experimentation. In this case, the experiment acts as a means of influencing, changing the psychology of people. Its originality lies in the fact that it simultaneously serves as a means of research and a means of forming the phenomenon under study. The formative experiment is characterized by the active intervention of the researcher in the mental processes he is studying. As an example of a formative experiment, one can consider the modeling of psychological and pedagogical situations. This method is based on the design of new education and training programs and ways to implement them.

Interview, questionnaire. Among the most common means of psychodiagnostics are all kinds of surveys, i.e. obtaining information from the words of the respondents. The scope of surveys in psychological research is quite extensive:
- the survey acts as the main means of collecting primary information in the early stages of the study;
- with the help of these interviews, working hypotheses are put forward;
- the survey serves to clarify and control the data obtained by other methods.

All the variety of survey methods used in psychological research can be reduced to two main types:
1) a face-to-face survey - an interview conducted by a researcher according to a specific plan;
2) correspondence survey - questionnaires intended for self-completion.

There are two types of interviews: standardized and non-standardized. In a standardized interview, the wording of the questions and their sequence are predetermined, they are the same for all respondents. The researcher is not allowed to change any questions or introduce new ones. The non-standardized interview methodology, on the contrary, is characterized by complete flexibility and varies widely. The researcher, who is guided only by the general plan of the interview, has the right, in accordance with the specific situation, to formulate questions and change the order of the points of the plan.

Questioning (correspondence survey) also has its own specifics. It is more expedient to resort to a correspondence survey in cases where it is necessary to find out the attitude of people to debatable or intimate issues, or to interview a large number of people in a relatively short time. The main advantage of the survey is the possibility of mass coverage of a large number of people. The questionnaire guarantees anonymity to a greater extent than the interview, and therefore the respondents can give more sincere answers.

However, surveys as methods of collecting primary information are characterized by certain limitations. Their data often testify not so much to the true opinions and moods of the respondents, but to how they portray them.

Conversation. is an auxiliary tool in the study and should be combined with other objective methods. The conversation should always be organized according to plan. Questions asked in a conversation can be, as it were, tasks aimed at revealing the uniqueness of mental processes. But at the same time, such tasks should be as natural as possible.

The study of products of activity. This method is widely used in historical psychology for the study of human psychology in long-gone historical times, inaccessible to direct observation or experimentation. The purpose of this method is to make it possible to understand the laws of a person's psychological development, based on the laws of his socio-historical development.

This method is also widely used in child psychology - the products of children's creativity are studied for the psychological study of the child.

biographical method. A variation of the method of studying the products of activity is the biographical method. The material here is letters, diaries, biographies, handwriting, etc. In many cases, this method is used not alone, but in combination with other methods that complement each other. At the same time, each of the methods used reveals new aspects of mental activity.

Correction methods
more often it is required in a situation of not only objectively existing, but also subjectively experienced distress. This experience can be acute and expressed in deep dissatisfaction with oneself, others, life in general, and sometimes in suffering. In such cases, it is required to provide not only advisory, but also psychotherapeutic assistance.

Psychotherapeutic assistance is individual and is based on a deep penetration into the patient's personality, his feelings, experiences, attitudes, picture of the world, the structure of relationships with others. Such penetration requires special psychodiagnostic methods, which we wrote about above. These psychodiagnostics are necessary in order to enable the psychologist to determine a program for further work with the client, including corrective methods. Currently, psycho-corrective methods are a rather extensive set of techniques, programs and methods for influencing people's behavior. Let us characterize the main directions of psycho-correctional work.

Autotraining. The method of autogenic training was proposed by the German psychotherapist I.G. Schultz. Autogenic training has become widespread primarily as a method of treatment and prevention of various types of neuroses and functional disorders in the body, as well as a means of managing a person's condition in extreme conditions of activity. At present, autogenic training has firmly entered the system of training athletes, and is increasingly being used in production teams in the form of psycho-hygienic emotional-unloading procedures.

In autogenic training, three main ways of influencing the state of the nervous system are used. The first way is associated with the peculiarities of the influence of skeletal muscle tone and respiration on the central nervous system. The waking state of a person is associated with maintaining a sufficiently high muscle tone. The more intense the activity, the higher this tone. This most important physiological pattern underlies the entire system of autogenic training. The relationship between the state of the central nervous system and the tone of the skeletal muscles allows, through a conscious change in muscle tone, to influence the level of mental activity. In order to master auto-training, you must first develop the ability to completely relax the muscles of the body. Similarly affects the level of mental tone of the nervous system and the rhythm of breathing. Frequent breathing ensures high activity of the body.

The second way of influencing the nervous system is associated with the use of sensory images (visual, auditory, tactile, etc.). A sensual image is an active tool for influencing a person's mental state and health. The constant holding in the mind's eye of gloomy, bleak pictures sooner or later undermines health, and vice versa. It should be borne in mind that in a state of muscular relaxation, the effectiveness of sensory images increases significantly.

Finally, the third way of influencing the nervous system is associated with the programming role of the word, pronounced not only aloud, but also mentally. This property of inner speech (in the form of self-orders) has long been used in sports to increase the effectiveness of training, to mobilize internal reserves during competitions.

Group (social-psychological) training. Group training is understood as peculiar forms of teaching knowledge and individual skills in the field of communication, as well as forms of correction of violations that have arisen on the basis of communication.

A number of features can be distinguished:
all methods of group training are focused on teaching group interaction;
these methods are based on the student's activity (through the inclusion of research elements in the training). If traditional methods are focused mainly on conveying ready-made knowledge, then here the research participants themselves must come to them.

All the many forms of socio-psychological training can be divided into two large classes:
- games focused on the development of social skills (for example, the ability to conduct a discussion, resolve interpersonal conflicts). Among game methods, the method of role-playing games is the most widely used;
- group discussions aimed at the skills of analyzing communication situations - analyzing oneself, a communication partner, a group situation as a whole. The group discussion method is most often used in the form of case studies.

Forms of group training are very diverse. Classes can be recorded on tape or videotaped. The last form of training is called "video training". This audio and video recording is used by the training leader for the group members to review and then conduct the appropriate group discussion.

Currently, the practice of group training is a booming branch of applied psychology. Socio-psychological training is used to train specialists of various profiles: managers, teachers, doctors, psychologists, etc. It is used to correct the dynamics of marital conflicts, improve relations between parents and children, correct socio-psychological maladjustment of adolescents, etc.

Each science has its own subject and uses certain methods that allow you to know the patterns of the phenomena it studies. "Method is the way of cognition, it is the way by which the subject of science is known" ( S.L. Rubinstein). To build a study so that it meets all the considered principles, its proper organization helps.

With There is the following classification of methods used in conducting psychological research:

Research organization methods ( longitudinal, comparative);

Methods for collecting factual material (self-observation, observation (external, included), questioning, conversation, questionnaires (open, closed), study of activity products, tests (success, achievements, projective), experiment (natural, laboratory (using equipment and without it);

Material processing methods (qualitative and quantitative analyses).

Methods of psychological research must meet the following requirements: the scientific method must first of all be objective. Its use involves the unification of external and internal manifestations of the psyche, based on the objective nature of the mental.

Meditation(from lat. meditation- a thought moving towards the center) is a state of concentration that allows a person to go beyond the limits of his own psyche, to look at himself from the outside. The Indian scientist Chowdhurry described meditation as follows: “... a radical approach begins with the decision not to think about anything, not to make any effort; one must completely relax and allow the mind and body to come out of the ever-changing stream of thoughts and sensations, to observe even the onslaught of this stream.

Metaphorically, one can say - watch the flight of your thoughts, feelings and desires across the sky, like a flock of birds. Let them fly freely, just watch. Don't let the birds take you to the sky." Meditation is widely used in many religions, such as Buddhism. In psychology and psychotherapy, it is used as a method that allows a person to relieve neuropsychic stress, distance himself from his problems, look at them as if from the outside.

The implementation of all methods of suggestive therapy requires special training. Thus, hypnosis for psychotherapeutic purposes can only be carried out by specialists with a medical education. Mastering the techniques of autogenic training and meditation is possible only under the guidance of an experienced specialist.

Of course, the methodological arsenal of pedagogical science and practice is not limited to the listed methods, it is much richer. We focused only on those that are the most common and references to which are more common in the literature.

Tests can be:

Individual and group; verbal and efficient.

Answers to test questions may be different. These are free answers, and the choice of one of several proposed, etc.

As an example of the tests used to determine the general level of ability, below is one test consisting of 40 tasks, from the book of the famous English psychologist, Professor G. Eysenka.

One of the most successful modern classifications of psychological research methods is given.

Science is, first of all, research, therefore the characterization of science is not limited to the definition of its subject, it also includes the definition of its method. Methods are the means by which the subject of science is known. Psychology, like every science, uses not one, but a whole system of particular methods or techniques.

In domestic psychology, the following four groups of methods are distinguished: organizational, empirical, data processing methods and correction methods.

Organizational methods include the comparative method, the longitudinal method, the cross-sectional method. Studies of this kind make it possible to establish connections and dependencies between phenomena of various types, for example, between the physiological, psychological and social development of the individual.

The knowledge of the features and patterns of mental development can be approached through two main types of research: transverse sections and longitudinal (longitudinal).

Longitudinal method These are multiple examinations of the same persons over a long period of time. The purpose of longitudinal studies is to record the somatic and mental development of the individual.

The longitudinal method has a number of advantages over the cross-sectional method:

A longitudinal study allows data to be processed crosswise for individual age periods;

Longitudinal studies determine the individual structure and developmental dynamics of each person;

Only a longitudinal study makes it possible to analyze the interrelationships and interconnections between the individual components of a developing personality, and makes it possible to resolve the issue of critical periods in development.

The main disadvantage of longitudinal studies is the significant time required to organize and conduct them.

The essence of cross-sectional or cross-sectional studies of mental development is that conclusions about developmental features are made on the basis of studies of the same characteristics in compared groups of people of different ages, different levels of development, with different personality traits. The main advantage of this method is the speed of the study - the possibility of obtaining results within a short time. However, studies in purely transverse sections are static and do not make it possible to draw a conclusion about the dynamics of the development process, about its continuity.

Comparative method consists in considering individual mechanisms of behavior and psychological acts in the process of development and in comparison with similar phenomena in other organisms. This method, called "comparative genetic", is most widely used in zoopsychology and child psychology.

empirical methods- observation of individual facts, their classification, the establishment of regular relationships between them; include observation and self-observation, experimental methods (laboratory, natural, formative); psychodiagnostic (tests, questionnaires, questionnaires, interviews, conversations); analysis of products of activity; biographical method.

The group of empirical methods in psychology has traditionally been considered the main one since psychology emerged as an independent science.

Observation appears in psychology in two main forms - as self-observation, or introspection, and as external, or so-called objective observation.

Cognition of one's own psyche through self-observation is always carried out indirectly to one degree or another through the observation of external activity.

Objective observation must proceed from the unity of internal and external, subjective and objective. This is the simplest and most common of all objective methods in psychology. Scientific observation is in direct contact with everyday observation. It is therefore necessary first of all to establish the general basic conditions which observation can generally satisfy in order to be a scientific method.

The first basic requirement is the presence of a clear target setting.

In accordance with the purpose, an observation plan must be defined, fixed in the scheme. The planned and systematic nature of observation is its most essential feature as a scientific method. And if the observation proceeds from a clearly conscious goal, then it must acquire a selective character. It is absolutely impossible to observe everything in general due to the diversity of the existing. Any observation therefore has a selective, partial character.

The main advantage of the method of objective observation is that it allows the study of mental processes in natural conditions. However, objective observation, while retaining its value, for the most part should be supplemented by other research methods. The following requirements apply to the monitoring procedure:

a) definition of the task and purpose;

b) choice of object, subject and situation;

c) the choice of the method of observation that has the least effect on the object under study and most ensures the collection of the necessary information;

d) the choice of a method for recording the observed (how to keep records);

e) processing and interpretation of the received information.

The main disadvantage of the observation method is that the psychological state, personal characteristics of the observer can affect the results of observation. A certain difficulty is the interpretation of the data.

Observation is used, first of all, when minimal interference is required in the natural behavior, relationships of people, when they strive to get a complete picture of what is happening.

experimental method- is a research activity in order to study cause-and-effect relationships, which involves the following:

The researcher himself causes the phenomenon he is studying and actively influences it;

The experimenter can vary, change the conditions under which the phenomenon occurs;

In the experiment, it is possible to repeatedly reproduce the results;

As a result, the experiment establishes quantitative patterns that allow mathematical formulation.

The main task of a psychological experiment is to make the essential features of the internal psychological process acceptable for objective external observation.

Experiment as a method arose in the field of psychophysics and psychophysiology and became widespread in psychology. But the very nature of the experiment changed: from studying the relationship between a separate physical stimulus and the mental process corresponding to it, he moved on to studying the regularities in the course of the mental processes themselves under certain objective conditions. Three considerations were put forward against the laboratory experiment. The artificiality of the experiment, analyticity and abstractness were pointed out.

A peculiar version of the experiment, representing, as it were, an intermediate form between observation and experiment, is the method of the so-called natural experiment. His main tendency is to combine the experimental nature of research with the naturalness of conditions. The logic of this method is as follows: the conditions under which the activity under study takes place are subjected to experimental influence, while the activity itself is observed in its natural course. Instead of studying phenomena in the laboratory, researchers try to take into account the influence and choose natural conditions that suit their goals. The role of a natural experiment is great in studying the cognitive capabilities of a person at various age stages and in elucidating specific ways of personality formation.

And finally, the experimental method includes the experiment as a means of influencing, changing the psychology of people. This kind of experimental method is called a formative experiment. Its originality lies in the fact that it simultaneously serves as a means of research and a means of forming the phenomenon under study. The formative experiment is characterized by the active intervention of the researcher in the mental processes he is studying.

Psychodiagnostic methods. The purpose of modern psychological diagnostics is to record and describe psychological differences both between people and between groups of people united according to some characteristics.

The number of diagnosed signs, depending on the objectives of the study, may include psychological differences in age, gender, education and culture, mental states, psychophysical characteristics, etc.

One of the types of psychodiagnostic method are psychological tests. The English word "test" means "trial" or "trial". Test- this is a short, standardized test, which, as a rule, does not require complex technical devices, amenable to standardization and mathematical data processing. With the help of tests, they seek to identify certain abilities, skills, abilities (or their absence), to most accurately characterize some personality traits.

Among the most common means of cognition of the phenomena of psychology are various polls. The purpose of the survey is to obtain information about objective and subjective facts from the words of the respondents.

The whole variety of survey methods can be reduced to two main types: 1) a face-to-face survey - an interview conducted by a researcher according to a specific plan; 2) correspondence survey - questionnaires intended for self-completion.

AT standardized interview the wording of questions and their sequence are predetermined, they are the same for all respondents. Methodology non-standardized interview, on the contrary, is characterized by complete flexibility and varies widely. The researcher, who is guided only by the general plan of the interview, has the right to formulate questions and change the order of the points of the plan in accordance with the specific situation.

Questionnaire(correspondence survey) also has its own specifics. It is believed that it is more expedient to resort to a correspondence survey in cases where it is necessary to find out people's attitudes to acute debatable or intimate issues, or to interview a large number of people in a relatively short period of time.

Conversation method is an auxiliary tool for additional coverage of the problem under study. The conversation should always be planned in accordance with the objectives of the study, but should not be of a template-standard nature.

The method of studying the products of activity widely used in historical psychology, in child psychology.

A variety of methods for studying the products of activity is biographical method. The material here is letters, diaries, biographies, products of children's creativity, handwriting, etc.

In many cases, psychological research uses not one, but several methods, each of which complements the others, revealing new aspects of mental activity.

The methods of psychological correction include: auto-training, group training, methods of therapeutic influence.

Modern psychology influences the practical activity of people in various ways. Psychological assistance is most often and most effectively provided in a situation of not only objectively existing, but also subjectively experienced distress. This experience can be acute and expressed in deep dissatisfaction with oneself, others, life in general, and sometimes in suffering. In such cases, the provision of not only advisory, but also psychotherapeutic assistance is required. And here it is necessary to talk about the corrective methods of work of a psychologist. Currently psycho-corrective methods- this is a rather extensive set of techniques, programs and methods of influencing people's behavior; include auto-training, group training.

The origin and implementation of the method of autogenic training is associated with the name of the German psychotherapist I.G. Schultz. Thanks to his work in all countries autogenic training has become widespread primarily as a method of treatment and prevention of various kinds of neuroses and functional disorders in the body. Subsequently, practical experience has shown that autogenic training is an effective means of psychohygiene and psychoprophylaxis, as well as managing a person's condition in extreme conditions. In autogenic training, three main ways of influencing the state of the nervous system are used:

1) developing the ability to completely relax the muscles of the body;

2) the use of the active role of representations, sensory images;

3) the regulatory and programming role of the word, spoken not only aloud, but also mentally.

The complex of exercises, which is the essence of autogenic training, is the means that not only contributes to the growth of a person’s reserve abilities, but also constantly improves the activity of the programming mechanisms of the brain.

Under group training usually understand the peculiar forms of teaching knowledge and individual skills in the field of communication, as well as the forms of their corresponding correction. As for methods socio-psychological training, there are many classifications here, but, in fact, they all distinguish two large, partially overlapping areas - group discussions and games. Group discussion method it is used mainly in the form of case studies and in the form of group introspection. Among the gaming methods of socio-psychological training, the method of role-playing games has received the widest significance.

Currently, the practice of group training is a booming branch of applied psychology. Socio-psychological training in our country is used to train specialists in various fields: managers, teachers, doctors, psychologists, etc. It is used to correct the dynamics of marital conflicts, improve relations between parents and children, etc.

Data processing methods is the analysis of the material; include quantitative (application of mathematical statistics, data processing on a computer) and qualitative (differentiation of material into groups, analysis) methods.