A fairly simple, but at the same time extremely effective system for assessing the psychological state of a person, used both in Russia and abroad, was proposed by our compatriot, scientist Sergei Leonidovich Rubinshtein. The method of "classification of objects", created at the end of the last century, retains the status of one of the most popular in modern psychology.
Creator identity
Sergey Leonidovich Rubinshtein is one of the most outstanding Russian scientists of the 20th century in the field of philosophy and psychology. Based on the system of philosophical views on the psychological nature of man, Rubinstein managed to create a philosophical and psychological concept of man. It summarized the activity, behavioral, conscious, spiritual and psychological life of the individual.
Research by Rubinstein and the works compiled on their basis created the foundation for the development of psychology both in Russia and in the world. For example, the method "Classification of objects" is used to assess the psychological state of a person at the present time.
Unfortunately, Sergei Leonidovich was forcedprematurely interrupt his scientific activity - the outbreak of war against the "cosmopolitans" became the reason for his dismissal.
One of the results of the meticulous work of S. L. Rubinshtein is a system for identifying psychological deviations, called "Classification of objects" - a technique that allows, through simple tests, to analyze the psychological state of a person. The system was proposed by K. Goldstein and developed by L. S. Vygotsky, B. V. Zeigarnik and S. L. Rubinshtein.
Development of pathopsychology
The events of the middle of the 20th century made it necessary to single out pathopsychology as a separate branch of science. Bloody wars and illnesses that occur in combatants, manifested in violation of the functions of thinking, have led to the need to search for new mechanisms to combat psychological disorders.
The most famous psychologists, including S. L. Rubinshtein, helped to rehabilitate patients in military hospitals. Their experimental research has made an invaluable contribution to domestic psychological science, as well as to the process of achieving victory.
It was during the Second World War that invaluable empirical data were accumulated, which formed the basis of pathopsychological science, formed as a separate institution of knowledge only by the 80s, and the "Classification of Objects" was developed - a technique that allows, through a simple analysis, to identify psychological diseases subject.
Principles of pathopsychology
Pathopsychology is a differentiated branch of clinical psychology.
- The subject of study is mental deviations and disorders.
- The task is to identify the causes of the disease, the degree of its progression and find ways to cure this disease.
- Methods - psychological analysis and tests that allow you to analyze the psychological state of a person, identify skills of differentiation, identification of objects, thinking.
One of the most common among them is the "Classification of Objects" - a technique compiled by S. L. Rubinshtein to identify psychological disorders in humans, in particular, problems with logic and reasoning.
The method of analysis is an experiment. Unlike the classical instruments of psychology - tests, the experiment has no time limits. On the contrary, such an indicator as the time to complete the task allows, depending on the degree of complexity of the task, to draw reliable conclusions about the psychological state of the subject.
Meaning of the method "Classification of objects"
"Classification of objects" - a technique designed to analyze the concentration of the subject's attention, as well as to assess his overall performance. Unlike another technique - "Exclusion of objects", where the emphasis is on the analysis of a person's logical thinking, the study of the validity of the generalizations proposed by him, that is, by induction, the classification method implies deductive analysis. The procedure for “classifying” items is more laborious than their “exclusions”. In this regard, the subject is required to have high performance.
Methodological support
Today, in every first he althcare institution, as well as in kindergartens and schools, the "Classification of Objects" method is used to study the psychological state of people. The stimulus material used for analysis is a deck of cards with images corresponding to the psychological state and mood of the patient. According to various sources, the deck should consist of 68-70 cards. Due to the fact that the methodology is regularly improved, it is quite possible that their number will gradually increase or decrease.
The main condition for the methodological material is the use of standardized cards. The image, the main strokes in the drawing, its color and appearance, as well as the paper must be made in accordance with the template developed by the laboratory of experimental pathopsychology of the Institute of Psychiatry of the Ministry of He alth of the RSFSR. Since all of these indicators are important for the experiment, the results of a study performed using cards that do not meet the standard are invalid.
Typical card images
It is worth noting that the method of "Classification of images of objects" was modernized - it was proposed to replace the images with cards with the corresponding words. As experience has shown, the "Classification of Words" technique is characterized by ease of generalization, but difficulties in the field of concentration andmemory.
Word list (examples):
apple tree;
- TV;
- lantern, etc.
Proceedings
One of the easiest ways to detect psychological abnormalities is the "Classification of Objects" technique. Research Instructions:
- Stage 1. "Blind instruction" - the subject is asked to arrange the cards provided for the experiment into groups. At the same time, the tester does not give clear instructions on the criteria by which the concepts indicated on the methodical cards should be combined. If the subject asks a question about how the groups should be formed, the experiment director should recommend that you refer only to your own opinion.
- Stage 2. Periodic Evaluation - The experimenter should ask the subject about the grouping criteria. All statements must be recorded in the control form. If the grouping was carried out on the basis of the correct criteria, the leader should praise or criticize the work of the subject. The reaction of the subject must also be recorded in the control form.
- Stage 3. The leader suggests combining the created groups of cards into larger ones. The generalization criterion also remains with the subject.
Followed by performance evaluation.
Features of child pathopsychology
To study the psychological state of children, the method "Classification of objects" is also used. The "children's" version of the research procedure is practically no different from the "adult" one. The only exception is the number of cards. To work with children, depending on their age, it is necessary to remove from the deck all cards with images unknown to the child. In case of successful completion of the test, as an experiment and to determine the level of its development, it can be proposed to add an "adult" card to each of the groups, be sure to find out the reason for choosing one or another aggregate grouping.
However, due to the high psychological, mental and time costs, this technique is rarely used to analyze the psychological state of children. The exception is research to identify schizophrenic processes. In such cases, it is possible to achieve reliable indicators only by using these methods in combination - classification and subsequent exclusion of items.
Analysis of experimental data
Problems of psychological development with a high degree of probability are shown to doctors by the method "Classification of objects". The interpretation of the results indicates the presence of a particular disease and depends on the following factors:
1. The correctness of the allocation of a classification feature.
2. Logicgroup formation.
In this case, you should pay special attention to the rationale for the choice of assigning a picture to one or another grouping. For example, some subjects attributed a spoon to tools, as it is used by women to darn tights, and a cleaner - to the medical staff, referring to sterility.
You should also pay attention to the tenacity with which the subject proves his point.
Correlation of the results of psychological methods
The data obtained as a result of the “Classification of objects” methodology is usually analyzed through the prism of the data of the “Exclusion of objects” methodology, since the two indicated systems for analyzing the psychological state of a person are aimed at studying the rationality of thinking. The information obtained as a result of their conduct demonstrates the complete pathopsychological picture of the individual.
It is also possible to use this technique with other test and experimental systems. However, do not forget that if a person has psychological illnesses, each of the tests performed will require a large amount of labor costs, and therefore the effectiveness of each subsequent experiment will decrease.
Of course, conducting an experiment and analyzing its results requires appropriate knowledge and skills. However, if you decide to conduct a general analysis of the psychological development of the child, you can also use the "Classification of objects" technique. Of course, it will not be possible to obtain accurate data, but it will be extremely useful to fill the game time with entertaining tasks.
