It is important to separate two concepts: underdevelopment and speech impairment. Underdevelopment (lag) of a specialist’s speech is understood as a qualitatively lower level of formation of a particular speech function or the speech system as a whole.
Speech disorder refers to an attitude (disorder) caused by changes in the structure or functioning of the speech and auditory systems or a delay in the general and psychological development of the child. Underdevelopment or retardation of speech is primarily associated with the upbringing and living conditions of the child, while speech impairment is a serious but normal defect caused by pathological changes in the child’s body. Speech development delays may be due to:
1 – insufficient communication between the child and the adult;
2 – the second reason for delayed speech development of a child can be caused by insufficient development and functioning of the motor (motor) sphere. A close connection has been revealed between the formation of speech and the development of finger movements (fine motor skills). A structural speech defect is understood as the totality (composition) of speech and non-speech symptoms of a given speech disorder and the nature of their connections. In the structure of a speech defect, there is a primary, leading disorder (core) and secondary defects, which are in a cause-and-effect relationship with the first, as well as systemic consequences. The different structure of a speech defect is reflected in a certain ratio of primary and secondary symptoms and largely determines the specifics of targeted corrective action. The structure of the defect in speech disorders includes specific deviations in mental development. In speech disorders of various origins, the mechanisms of speech disorder are varied and ambiguous in terms of severity, time and location of brain damage. Thus, the picture of mental disorders against the background of early intrauterine damage is characterized by various developmental delays - intellectual, motor and psycho-emotional. With lesions caused by the disintegration of speech functions, first of all, gross disturbances of cognitive processes, thinking, as well as serious personal problems arise. At the same time, it is impossible to unambiguously link the chronological maturation of the psychological activity of children with speech disorders with the degree of developmental delay. Certain forms of mental disorders, including cognitive activity. There is no direct relationship between the severity of a speech defect and motor or mental disorders, such as anxiety, aggressiveness. Reduced self-esteem and others. At the same time, attention should be paid to the high plasticity of the child at an early age, which manifests itself in significant possibilities for compensating for the defect, which makes it possible to weaken primary disorders and achieve unique results in habilitation and correction of not only speech, but also behavior in general. ?One of the first principles to formulate for the analysis of speech disorders was Levin. She identified three principles: development, a systematic approach and consideration of speech disorders in the relationship of speech with other aspects of the child’s psychological development. The development principle involves an evolutionary-dynamic analysis of the occurrence of a defect. It is important not only to describe the speech defect, but also to dynamically analyze its occurrence. In children, neuropsychic functions are in the process of continuous development and maturation, it is necessary to evaluate not only the immediate results of the nervous defect, but also its delayed effect on the formation of speech and cognitive functions. Analysis of a speech defect in the dynamics of a child’s age-related development, assessment of the origins of its occurrence and prediction of its consequences require knowledge of the characteristics and patterns of speech development at each age stage, the prerequisites and conditions that ensure its development. Based on modern psychological data, the principle of analyzing speech disorders with a developmental position interacts with the principle of an active approach. The child’s activity is formed in the process of his interaction with adults, and each stage is characterized by one that is closely related to the development of speech. Therefore, when analyzing a speech disorder, assessing the child’s activity is important. For a child of the first year of life, the leading form of activity is emotionally positive communication with an adult, which is the basis for the formation of the prerequisites for verbal communication. Only on its basis does the child develop a need to communicate with an adult, its prerequisites develop in the form of vocal reactions, their coloration, sensory functions, i.e. the entire communication and cognitive complex, which is of decisive importance in the further psychological development of the child. In children in whom this type of activity develops poorly, for example, a long-term illness requiring hospitalization, or insufficient communication with others, the prerequisites for speech development are not sufficiently formed, and such a child may lag behind in speech development in the first years of life. In a child of the second year of life, the leading form of activity that stimulates his speech development is objective-based communication with an adult. Only in the process of performing the simplest objective actions with an adult does the child learn the basic purpose of objects, the experience of social behavior, develop the necessary stock of knowledge and ideas about the environment, passive and active vocabulary, and begin to use forms of verbal communication. If there is no change in the leading form of activity, and emotional-positive communication continues to predominate, then the child experiences a delay in speech development. This is observed in children with cerebral palsy. From the age of three, play becomes the leading form of activity, during which intensive development of speech occurs. Special studies have shown the connection between the development of speech and symbolic play in children of primary preschool age. In this regard, the game is proposed as a way to assess and predict speech development, as well as for the purpose of correcting speech disorders. And finally, at school age, leading educational activities form the basis for improving the child’s oral and written speech. Speech disorders are considered in speech therapy within the framework of clinical-pedagogical and psychological-pedagogical approaches.
Clinical and pedagogical classification of speech disorders: it can be divided into two groups depending on what type of speech is impaired: oral or written. Speech disorders, in turn, can be divided into two types:
I. Phonation (external) design of utterances, which are called violations of the pronunciation aspect of speech
II. Structural-semantic (internal) design of statements, which in speech therapy are called systemic or polymorphic disorders.
1. I dysphonia (aphonia) – absence or disorder of phonation as a result of pathological changes in the vocal apparatus. It manifests itself either in the absence of phonation (aphonia), or in a violation of the strength, pitch and timbre of the voice (dysphonia), can be caused by organic or functional disorders of the voice-forming mechanism of central or peripheral localization and occur at any stage of the child’s development.;
2. bradylagia - pathologically slow rate of speech. Manifests itself in the slow implementation of the articulatory speech program, is centrally conditioned, can be organic or functional;
3. Tahilalia - pathologically accelerated rate of speech. Manifests itself in the accelerated implementation of the articulatory speech program, is conditioned, organic or functional; acceleration of speech may be accompanied by agrammatisms. These phenomena are sometimes identified as independent disorders, expressed in terms of battarism, paraphasia. In cases where tachylalia is accompanied by unreasonable pauses, hesitations, and stumbling, it is designated by the term poltera;
4. stuttering is a violation of the tempo-rhythmic organization of speech, caused by a convulsive state of the muscles of the speech apparatus, is centrally conditioned, has an organic or functional nature, and occurs during the speech development of the child;
5. dyslapia – a violation of sound pronunciation with normal hearing and intact innervation of the speech apparatus. It manifests itself in incorrect sound design of speech: in distorted pronunciation of sounds, in replacement of sounds or in their mixing. In case of anatomical defects, the violation is organic in nature, and in their absence, it is functional;
7. dysarthria - a violation of the pronunciation side of speech, caused by insufficient innervation of the speech apparatus. Dysarthria is a consequence of an organic disorder of a central nature, leading to movement disorders. Depending on the location of the central nervous system lesion, various forms of dysarthria are distinguished:
II (1) alalia – absence or underdevelopment of speech due to organic damage to the speech areas of the cerebral cortex in the prenatal or early period of a child’s development;
(2) aphasia – complete or partial loss of speech caused by local brain lesions due to traumatic brain injury or brain tumors.
Impaired written speech:
1- dyslexia – partial specific disorder of the reading process. Manifests itself in difficulties in identifying and recognizing letters, in difficulties merging letters into syllables and syllables into words;
2- dysgraphia – a partial specific disorder of the writing process. It manifests itself in the instability of the optical-spatial image of the letter, in confusion or omission of letters, in distortions of the sound-voice composition of the word and the structure of sentences.
Psychological and pedagogical classification. Speech disorders in this classification are divided into two groups:
The first group is a violation of the means of communication (phonetic-phonemic underdevelopment and general underdevelopment of speech):
1- phonetic-phonemic underdevelopment of speech - a violation of the processes of formation of the pronunciation system of the native language in children with various speech disorders as a result of defects in the perception and pronunciation of phonemes;
2- general underdevelopment of speech - various complex speech disorders in which the formation of all components of the speech system related to the sound and semantic side is impaired. Common signs include: late onset of speech development, poor vocabulary, agrammatism, pronunciation defects, and phoneme formation defects. Underdevelopment can be expressed to varying degrees: absence of speech or its babbling state to expanded speech, but with elements of phonetic and lexico-grammatical underdevelopment.
The second group is a violation of the use of means of communication, which includes stuttering, which is considered as a violation of the communicative function of speech with correctly formed means of communication. A combined defect is also possible, in which stuttering is combined with general speech underdevelopment.
Since the 30s of the 20th century, the mechanism of stuttering began to be considered based on Pavlov’s teachings about the higher nervous activity of man and, in particular, about the mechanism of neurosis. At the same time, some researchers considered stuttering as a symptom of neurosis, others - as a special form of it. Stuttering, like other neuroses, occurs due to various reasons that cause overstrain and the formation of a pathological conditioned reflex. Stuttering is not a symptom or a syndrome, but a disease of the central nervous system as a whole.
Levina, considering stuttering as a speech underdevelopment, sees its essence in the primary violation of the communicative function of speech. A study of attention, memory, thinking, and psychomotor skills in people who stutter showed that the structure of their mental activity and its self-regulation were altered. They already perform activities that require a high level of automation (and therefore rapid inclusion in the activity), but the differences in productivity between people who stutter and those who do not stutter disappear as soon as the activity can be performed at a voluntary level. The exception is that psychomotor acts are performed largely automatically and do not require voluntary regulation; for people who stutter, regulation is a complex task that requires voluntary control. Some researchers believe that people who stutter are characterized by greater inertia of psychological processes than normal speakers; they are characterized by the phenomenon of perseveration associated with the mobility of the nervous system.
The mechanisms of stuttering from the position of psycholinguistics suggest at what stage of damage to speech utterances convulsions occur in the speech of a stutterer. The following phases of speech communication are distinguished:
(1) the presence of a need for speech, or communicative intention;
(2) the birth of the idea of a statement about inner speech;
(3) sound realization of the utterance.
Abeleva believes that stuttering occurs at the moment of readiness to speak when the speaker has a communicative intention, a speech program and the fundamental ability to speak normally. The author proposes to include a phase of readiness for speech during which the pronunciation mechanism of a stutterer “breaks down”, all its systems: generator, resonator and energy. Roads emerge that clearly manifest themselves in the final phase. The mechanisms of stuttering are heterogeneous.
As you know, the main task of individual psychology is the study of mental characteristics, properties or qualities that distinguish people from each other. Differences between people are found both in individual aspects of the psyche, for example, in the characteristics of volitional qualities, emotionality, perception, memory, etc., and in the characteristics of the psyche in general, in differences in characters. The question of differences in the psyche and character traits is closely related to general psychological positions. Atomistic psychology, including functional psychology, starts from the differences in mental elements and tries to derive personality differences from them. Holistic psychology recognizes the dependence of the part on the whole and considers the initial differences in characters.
The basic concept of psychology - personality and its mental activity - involves the development of problems, without illuminating which it is impossible to understand personality. These problems, which have not received sufficient attention in school psychology, but are theoretically and practically highly important, include: problems of interests, needs, values (ethical, aesthetic), character, inclinations.
Approaching the analysis of mental activity and encountering different properties of the human psyche, we are faced, first of all, with the question of their relative role, their connections with each other, as well as the unity that, hiding behind diversity, warns us against views of personality as mosaic of individual properties. In developing this question, we have long been putting forward the concept of mental relationships, the decisive importance of which is proven by everyday practice in all areas, but is not sufficiently reflected in the psychological literature. Life is full of such happy facts: as you know, the quality and success of work depend on the attitude towards it; a task that seems insoluble is solved thanks to a selfless attitude towards one’s responsibilities: pedagogical efforts turn an undisciplined and dissolute student into an exemplary one when one manages to change his attitude towards school and his responsibilities; The return of a depressed patient to life by means of psychotherapy is achieved if he begins to have a different attitude towards what painfully disrupted his neuropsychic activity.
In pre-revolutionary psychology, the importance of relationships was put forward by Lazursky in the doctrine of “exopsyche” and Bekhterev in the doctrine of “correlative activity”. Currently, the doctrine of relationships is gradually gaining more and more coverage in the materials of the works of Soviet authors. The mental attitude expresses the active, selective position of the individual, which determines the individual nature of activity and individual actions. WITH It is from this point of view that we highlight here the problems of individual psychology.
The diversity of individuality raises the question of where to begin to characterize it? A person manifests himself in active interaction with reality. The richer the individuality, the more actively it restructures reality, the wider its experience, the more mediated its reactions, the more they lose dependence on the immediate conditions of the moment and become, as it were, internally determined. As a result of this “internal” conditioning, actions in the same situation may have a contrasting character depending on the individual experience of the individual. Its activity is characterized primarily by a polar attitude of interest or indifference. In turn, selectively directed activity is determined by a positive attitude - desire, love, passion, respect, duty, etc. or a negative attitude - antipathy, antagonism, enmity, etc. The importance of these moments in the manifestation of character was noted by many authors who occupied a wide variety of methodological positions (Polan, Lossky, Stern, Adler, Künkel, Allport, Utitz). But their definitions of character are amorphous, eclectic, one-sided or descriptive, and therefore unsatisfactory.
Obviously, personality characteristics cannot be limited only to aspirations or positive tendencies; but must be complemented by highlighting her indifferent and negative attitudes. Relationships connect a person with all aspects of reality, but with all their diversity, three main categories can be established: 1) natural phenomena or the world of things, 2) people and social phenomena, 3) the subject-person himself. It cannot be emphasized enough that the perception of nature is mediated by social experience, and A person’s attitude towards himself is connected with his relations with other people and their attitude towards him. Therefore, for the typology of characters, the characteristics of relationships with people are of paramount importance, one-sidedly understood as the antagonism of the personal and the social by such authors as Adler, Jung, Künkel and others.
Personality actively manifests itself not so much in a one-sided impact on nature and things, but in the two-way interaction of people, which forms, develops or distorts character. Along with direction, we distinguish between structure, level and dynamics of character. When talking about character structure, we usually mean such traits as balance, integrity, duality, inconsistency, harmony, internal consistency, etc. It is structurally united by coordination, mutual consistency of relationships, unity of personal and social, subjective and objective tendencies. Imbalance, duality, internal contradiction depend on the inconsistency of tendencies and their conflict. The level of personality is expressed by its creative capabilities, but is also found in the relationships of the individual. According to Lazursky, the highest level of personality is characterized most of all by the exopsyche (relationships, ideals), the lowest by the endopsyche (neuropsychic mechanisms), and the middle level by the correspondence of the exo- and endopsyche.
There is no need to say that for modern psychology these formulations must be changed, and reference to A.F. Lazursky is given only as a subtle and deep empiricist observer, pointing out the importance of relationships here too. We will note two points. The growth of experience and the generalization of the entire wealth of human culture are accompanied by the replacement of tendencies - interests, more elementary, organically conditioned, “animal”, with higher, ideological, cultural ones. This rather banal opposition of lower drives to higher drives usually mistakenly takes into account the determining role of only one or another drive, but loses sight of the holistic nature of the relationship, which is different at different levels of development.
The second concerns the orientation of trends over time. The development and growth of activity makes behavior more and more internally determined, and a person’s actions are no longer determined by the situation of the moment - the framework of the current situation endlessly expands retrospectively and prospectively. A deep perspective is a task and goals projected far into the future; this is the structure of personality, its behavior and Activity, in which specific and labile relations of the acute current moment are subordinated to a stable relationship that integrates many moments of the present, past and future.
The character types described by psychologists acquire a significantly new meaning in the light of the psychology of relationships.
Kretschmer’s “sensitivity” and “expansiveness” are a passive or offensive sharpening of egocentric tendencies. Jung's "introverted" type is one isolated from communication with an accentuation of personal tendencies; The “extroverted” type is objectively sociocentric with a lack of individually defined human experience.
As is known, Ewald, focusing on Kretschmer, puts forward the significance of individual moments of reaction as the basis for determining character traits; These include: impressionability, ability to retain - retention, intrapsychic processing, ability to respond. It is extremely easy to show the formalism and lifelessness of this scheme, although it would seem to be illustrated by rich empirical material.
Isn't egoism an expression of increased sensitivity in matters of a personal nature and complete insensitivity to other people's interests? Doesn't the regent capacity also vary contrastively depending on the attitude towards the content of the experience? How can we explain that a person remembers well how he was offended, but does not remember how he was offended? Less often, but still the opposite occurs. What, if not attitude, explains the ability of one and the same person to respond, manifested by amazing incontinence towards subordinates and great restraint in relation to superiors.
The entire “reaction structure” of Kretschmer-Ewald turns out to be a dead abstract mechanism until it is revived by the content of concrete relations.
Restraint and self-control represent the strong-willed qualities of a person. It is generally accepted, and not without reason, to believe that will is closely related to character. However, how should volitional qualities be defined? For example, is it possible to say about a person in general that he is firm, persistent, stubborn, etc.?
It is well known that, while displaying unyielding persistence in some circumstances, a person can be very compliant in others. He is persistent in what is important to him and compliant in what is not essential. Perseverance in matters of principle rather coincides with compliance in personal matters. Volitional qualities of character are thus measured at the level of significant relationships.
Consequently, the assessment of a person’s functional capabilities should be based on taking into account the active relationship of the individual to a given situation. The condition for a meaningful characteristic therefore lies not only in the subject objective content, but in the subjective content, i.e. the significance of the objective for the subject, in the subject’s relation to this content.
Stubbornness as a characterological quality represents a form of self-affirmation. Moreover, it can manifest itself both in the essential and in relatively small details, regardless of the mental level of the individual insofar as its significance in all cases is determined by the egocentric tendency of the individual - prestige. On the other hand, stubbornness contrastively expresses the attitude towards the influencer. Don’t we know brilliant examples of pedagogical art that magically transform the insurmountably stubborn into soft, like wax?
On the question of functions and individual characteristics, it is also worth dwelling on the problem of memory. Here we can note the contradiction that exists between the generally accepted importance of interest for memorization and between how little interest is taken into account in the nature of memory. Ribot's paradoxically witty, although not entirely correct, formula states: in order to remember, one must forget. But what is subjectively unimportant is forgotten, but what is important is remembered.
Cuvier is cited as an example of enormous memory, usually indicating that the main thing for him was not mechanical memory, but, first of all, an amazing systematization of material. However, it is completely overlooked that both memorization and systematization occur in the field of materials of vital significance and interest.
In the characterization of memory and in its experimental study, this aspect is surprisingly little taken into account, while it has a huge influence on reproduction.
The problem of character, as is known, is closely related to the problem of temperament, and temperament manifests itself most of all in the dynamics of reactions, i.e. in excitability, pace, strength of reactions, in general psychological tone, which affects mood.
However, even here, manifestations of strength, excitability, and rate of reactions do not affect the same in different directions and are determined by the attitude to the object or circumstance that was the reason for the reaction.
Considering that the dynamic characteristics are different at the poles of active and indifferent relationships, we must, of course, not forget that human reactions already early lose their directly affective-dynamic character and are intellectually mediated.
A compelling example is the exercise of patience. Usually this quality is attributed to strong-willed character traits. It is also known that excitable, expansive people of sanguine temperament are impatient. However, how oppositely temperament manifests itself in interaction with a loved or unloved object! The endless patience of a mother with a child, a doctor with a patient, is a measure of their love or sense of duty, and not of their temperament.
On the contrary, we constantly observe how people, revealing impatience (and sometimes incomprehension), thereby express an unwillingness to restrain themselves or understand, which, in turn, stems from a negative or hostile attitude towards the person with whom they are dealing. Impatience is a measure of antipathy, excessive interest or lack thereof. A hot, quick-tempered, proud person may turn out to be indifferent to offensive criticism if he treats the critic with disdain.
Individuals who are emotionally excitable and expansive, experiencing deep grief, react differently or completely lose the ability to react to everything that previously worried them; they are “petrified,” in their words. A heightened, painful-emotional attitude in the area of basic interests makes a person completely unresponsive in other respects.
The dynamic individual psychological properties of temperament are, at the level of developed character, a “sublated” form, the driving forces of which are determined by a conscious attitude.
Therefore, the correct understanding the structure of character, its level, dynamics and functional features is possible only from the standpoint of the psychology of relationships.
One of the most important tasks in the study of character is to establish its material basis. In the question of the physiological-materialistic interpretation of mental processes, raised long ago, and in the question of Given the material-cerebral nature of mental relations, the danger of an idealistic interpretation is obvious. Attempts to understand the bodily foundations of temperament and character, based on relatively little material about the role of metabolic biochemistry, endocrine glands, autonomic nervous system and brain, are not only not justified in fact, but suffer from a naively biological mechano-materialistic approach. They do not take into account the fact that a truly materialistic understanding of character, including the individual psychology of his relationships, can only be historical-materialistic. It must combine an understanding of the material nature of character and the socio-historical conditionality of its development. Only a historical-materialistic understanding reveals the unity of ethical character and temperament. The dualist in this matter ultimately turns out to be a mystic, since, despite the physiological interpretation of temperament, he idealistically, mystically interprets the ethical character.
The study of the metabolism of the endocrine glands and the autonomic nervous system showed us how somatic and mental characteristics express the psychophysiological nature of character. Research by Pavlov and a number of his students has brought us closer to understanding the brain conditions underlying differences in temperament. These studies show us already at the level of dog development the unity of attitude and dynamics. A dog greedily seeking food is characterized as an excitable type, determined by the dynamics of the nervous system and, in particular, a breakdown towards excitation.
The opposite can be said about a weak type dog. There is no need to say that here we have learned something essential, although not everything, about the nervous type of reaction. Less illuminated reactions of other systems (for example, sexual, self-defense) in their mutual connection with food show us that the integral characteristic of the nervous type requires addition.
The achievements of modern science and technology allow us to believe that there are great possibilities for indicating and recording the somatic side of individual psychological characteristics. The study of brain biocurrents indicates that this indicator, which directly characterizes the functioning of the brain and its parts, is individually expressive and at the same time tends to preserve individual characteristics.
Great achievements in the field of “psychophysiology of sensory organs” and movement have not yet been sufficiently illuminated in terms of characterological features, mainly based on the material of psychopathology.
These clinics provide guidance, albeit indirectly, to some extent on the question of what changes in the psyche and how they are associated with general and local disorders of the structure and function of the brain. The empirical material is so insufficient compared to the complexity of the task that only the first timid steps are taken here, especially in the problem of relationships.
Regardless of this difficulty, a mere correlative study of the characteristics of the psyche and the characteristics of the brain at one stage is in principle insufficient.
An important method for resolving the problem of psychophysiology of character is ontogenetic psychophysiology, based on the study of experience and the development of mental relationships.
The legality of starting the study from a developed form is known, but one must be clear that it represents the result of a long historical: onto- and phylogenetic development of humanity and the human individual. We have different structures, and therefore we are faced with the task of studying the development of the character and relationships of the individual, the stages and driving force of this development. Development seems to be, first of all, not a fatal revelation of predispositions, but a creative process of new formation of relationships, which at the initial stage of infant development is carried out, as shown by the theoretical considerations of old psychologists and new experience (Watson, Bekhterev, Shchelovanov, Figurin, etc.), through the new formation of conditioned reflexes.
Initial positive or negative reactions to direct internal and external contact stimuli with the emergence of concentration and the increasing role of distant receptors can be characterized as conditioned reflex stage of relationships. Here variations and types, according to these authors, act as the dominant signs of temperaments.
Subsequently, perception becomes an experienced source of relationships in which the emotional component is decisive. Repeated emotional positive and negative reactions are caused conditionally. Integrated by the speech apparatus, they result primarily in relation to love, affection, fear, inhibition, and enmity. This - level of specific emotional relationships.
Activity as a source of satisfaction is increasingly mediated by selective attitudes toward individuals in the social environment. Relationships become concretely personal.
The development process is associated with the fact that new levels of relationships are characterized by different functional and mental structures. Concrete ideas about objects of relation are replaced by abstract and fundamental ones. Direct external, situational, specific emotional motives are replaced by internal, intellectual and volitional ones. But not only relationships activate the function, but also, on the contrary, the developing the functional structure is a condition for the implementation of the relationship: need, interest, love mobilize functional capabilities mental activity to satisfy needs and interests, but this already creates a new need, the satisfaction of which raises the functional characteristics to a new level on the basis of mastering new experience, new means of activity. Striving not only mobilizes, but also develops, moving towards new achievements, which create new aspirations, and so on.
Our internal activity is manifested by a tendency to activity directed towards the greatest interest and rising from an internal dark attraction to a purposeful, conscious need. The course of development takes place in conditions of continuous interaction with people and in such close connection with them that the attitude towards people becomes the defining moment in the struggle of motives. Directing one's activities in accordance with the interests of others early becomes the driving force of behavior and experience. This superstructure is at the same time an internal restructuring of a person.
For the formation of character, the struggle between immediate attraction and the demands of others is extremely important. Even more important in this struggle is the voluntary refusal to satisfy a desire based on a positive attitude - love, respect, or the compulsion of this refusal due to fear of punishment.
As pedagogical and psychotherapeutic experience shows, in the first case we have the consequence of strengthening character, in the second - its suppression, the negative significance of which has been rightly pointed out by many authors.
No less important in development is the struggle between direct drive and the objective and internal demands of duties, duty, conscience, etc.
In the process of development, depending on its history, relationships begin to be determined by the action of a non-transient moment, not by external conditions, but become multilateral, promising, internally and fundamentally oriented, internally consistent or contradictory.
Character traits become stable in the process of development, but not due to the inertia of habits or constitutional mechanisms, but due to the generality and internal stability of fundamental positions. At the same time, the dynamism of relationships, the possibility of their constant restructuring based on a new awareness of reality, make the character as dynamic, changeable, and educable as possible.
From this follow completely clear, consistent positions on the issue of variability and character development. Pedagogy and psychotherapy show us examples of the amazing transformation of people with contrasting changes in character. It is enough to point out the brilliant, truly miraculous experience of Makarenko, who turned seemingly inveterate bandits into enthusiasts of collective construction. This amazing result and the less vivid experience of many good teachers and psychotherapists, starting with establishing personal contact, changing the relationship with a pupil or patient, rebuilding and adjusting his relationship to himself and to everything around him in a new way, show us how and in what way an individual person changes of a person, how dynamic the character is, how much a change in the higher, socio-ethical aspects of relationships rebuilds the entire character of a person, both in the content of its orientation and in the external form of its manifestations.
From this we can conclude that the principle of relationships allows the doctrine of character to overcome formalism and take the path of a meaningful study of personality.
This principle helps not only in words to reject the analytical-mechanical, splitting, functional approach, but in the unity of a person’s relationship to every moment and element of multifaceted reality, see the true unity of character, manifested in the diversity of individual individual characteristics. It allows overcome metaphysical positions in the view of character and form a correct dynamic understanding of it, eliminating the theoretical prerequisites for pedagogical fatalism.
This principle, finally, most of all corresponds to the dialectical-materialistic understanding of human individuality, the awareness of the principle of historicity, which unites both the materialistic and historical understanding of mental individuality in a truly dialectical study. This construction of the psychology of individual differences is closely connected with the reconstruction of general psychological positions and makes it possible to more correctly consider individual psychology in unity with general psychology, both as its method and as an area of independent problems.
Individuality of a person can be considered:
o as a set of certain mental properties and qualities that together make up a certain class.
o as a type, i.e. a holistic structure within which these specific properties and qualities of a person receive a natural explanation.
From Greek, “type” is “pattern, form, imprint.” In scientific psychology, one or another version of the internal structure is taken as the corresponding type.
Typology – This is a set of types identified according to some principle. As a result of constructing typologies, qualitatively unique types of individuality are identified, correlated with each other and fundamentally different from each other.
Typology – type selection process; This is a grouping based on similarity, where type is a single, ideal example.
Typological approach.
His goal– identification of groups of individuals with sufficient similarity in a variety of selected properties.
In psychology, there are a huge number of typologies that involve different levels of individuality: organism, social species and personality. The personality description indirectly reflects the characteristics of previous levels.
Humoral approach.
1. Hippocrates.
He argued that people differ in the ratio of the 4 main body fluids: blood, bile, black bile and mucus. “Krasis” is the name of the ratio, which was later replaced by “temperament” - “the correct measure”. Hippocrates was the first to try to connect the constitutional characteristics of people’s physiques with their predisposition to certain diseases. He showed that people of short stature and heavy build are prone to loss of consciousness, and people of tall stature and thin build are prone to tuberculosis.
3. He developed a typology of temperaments. The type of temperament depends on the predominance of one of the juices (liquids) in the body. Blood is sanguine, bile is choleric, black bile is melancholic, mucus is phlegmatic.
36. Problems of the development of thinking in ontogenesis. Correlation of thinking and speech.
Thinking goes through 2 stages (according to L.S. Vygotsky):
1. Pre-conceptual(the initial stage of development of thinking in a child). Single judgments about a given subject. A feature of pre-conceptual thinking is egocentrism, so a child under 5 years old cannot look at himself from the outside or perceive someone else’s position.
Egocentrism is:
insensitivity to contradictions;
syncretism (the desire to connect everything with everything);
transition from particular to particular, bypassing the general;
lack of ideas about the conservation of matter.
2. Conceptual thinking.
Vygotsky identifies the following phases of concept formation :
1. formation of an unordered set of features. The child puts similar objects together (syncretism). Children use elements of objective similarity, but cannot identify common groups of features.
2. pre-operational thinking in complexes– pseudoconcepts (7-8 years). They can combine groups of objects based on similarity, but cannot recognize and name common features.
3. formation of real concepts– the child’s ability to isolate, abstract elements, and then integrate them into a holistic concept, regardless of the objects. Conceptual thinking appears. The first concepts are formed on the basis of everyday experience, not supported scientifically. Then, in adolescence, the use of theoretical principles allows you to go beyond your own experience.
Vygotsky and Sakharov developed a methodology for studying the formation of concepts. It was a modified Ach technique. This technique is also called the double stimulation technique. From the article by L.S. Vygotsky “Experimental study of the development of concepts”:
In front of the subject, on a special board divided into separate fields, rows of figures of various colors, shapes, heights and sizes were displayed in a motley pattern. One of these figures is opened in front of the subject, on the reverse side of which the subject reads a meaningless word. Thus, two series of stimuli are obtained: objects and signs (words on the back of the figures), which are not related to each other.
The subject is asked to place on the next field of the board all the pieces on which, according to his assumption, the same word is written. After each attempt by the subject to solve the problem, the experimenter, checking him, reveals a new figure, which either bears the same name as the one already discovered before, being different from it in a number of characteristics and similar in a number of others, or is designated by a different sign, again resembling the previously discovered figure in in some respects and different from her in others.
Thus, after each new attempt, the number of revealed figures increases, and at the same time the number of signs signifying them, and the experimenter gains the opportunity to monitor how, depending on this main factor, the nature of the solution of the problem, which remains the same at all stages of the experiment, changes. The words are placed on the figures in such a way that each word is placed on the figures related to the same general experimental concept denoted by the word. That is, in order to correctly find a word on a figure, the subject must take into account a complex of features of the figure, such as size, color, shape.
Methods for studying thinking. Methods of developing thinking in the learning process (P.Ya. Galperin, V.V. Davydov, etc.).
Methods for studying thinking:
To find out this, the technique has been successfully used completing phrases, which was once proposed by the psychologist G. Ebbinghaus. This technique consists in the fact that the subject is offered separate phrases or texts, and in each phrase one word is omitted, which the subject must insert.
In some cases, the missing word appears with a high probability, sometimes unambiguously. For example, the following phrases: “Winter has come, and deep... (snow) has fallen on the streets.” In other cases, the word that fills the gap does not appear with such unambiguity and the subject must choose one of several alternatives, sometimes comparing the given phrase with the previous context. An example would be text such as “A man returned home late and discovered that he had lost his cap. The next morning he left the house, and it turned out that it was raining and he had nothing to cover... (his head)” or “One man ordered a spinner to thin... (threads). The spinner spun thin threads, but the man said that the threads... (thick), and he needs the thinnest threads,” etc. Naturally, in this case, the process of choosing alternatives is more complex and can only be ensured by preliminary orientation in the context. It is easy to see that a lack of this preliminary orientation can lead to the fact that the gap will be filled only on the basis of a guess that arose when reading the last word, and the problem will be solved incorrectly. Finally, in third cases, the gap may fall not on missing real words (nouns, verbs), but on missing function words, and to correctly solve the problem you need to realize logical relation, in which individual parts of the phrase stand. An example would be the phrase: “I went to the cinema... (even though) it was pouring rain outside” or “I managed to get to work on time... (even though) the journey was very long,” etc. Easy see that in the latter case, the subject of the study is to establish whether the subject can consciously operate not with the connection of events, but with the nature of logical relations, and any defect in these capabilities will be reflected in the task at hand.
A variant of the same technique is the well-known extrapolation method, in which the subject is given a series of numbers with a missing group of numbers, which he must insert, realizing the logical basis of the series. Insufficient orientation in the conditions of compiling a series, as well as the inability to master the logic of its construction, will significantly affect the solution of this problem.
A widely used research method is analysis of the test subject's performance of a number of logical operations, for example, finding relationships species - genus or genus - species, finding similar relationships. For this purpose, the subject is given a sample of such an attitude, which he must transfer to another couple. An example would be:
dishes - plate; weapon...?; vegetables...?
street - square; river - ...?
Close to this technique is the technique assessments of the meaning of proverbs, which allows you to check how much the subject is able to abstract from the immediate situational meaning of the proverb and highlight its internal meaning. For this purpose, the subject is presented with a proverb, which is accompanied by three phrases, two of which reproduce individual words of the proverb, and the third operates with a completely different external content, but retains the internal meaning common to the proverb. The subject is asked to say which of the phrases has the same meaning as the given proverb.
From the world by thread - to the naked shirt:
The plan was drawn up after everyone made their suggestions
The shirt can be embroidered with beautiful colored threads
At a meeting of peasants they discussed how to get the best harvest.
The techniques described make it possible to establish some of the prerequisites necessary for productive thinking and can serve as a good preliminary method for its study.
The most convenient form of studying the thinking process itself is thorough psychological analysis of solving arithmetic problems, which can serve as a convenient model of reasoning (discursive) thinking.
The subject is given a series of problems in ascending degrees of complexity, starting with those that have an unambiguous solution algorithm, and ending with solving problems that require a thorough analysis of the condition, the formulation of intermediate questions, the formation of a general scheme (strategy) for the solution and the necessary operations (means) for the solution. The condition for the productive use of this method is a detailed psychological analysis of the process of solving the problem, describing the nature of the mistakes made and highlighting the factors that interfere with the correct solution.
The theory of the gradual formation of mental actions (P.Ya. Galperin, V.V. Davydov).
1. familiarization with the composition of the future action in practical terms, as well as with the requirements or samples to which it will ultimately comply. This is the indicative basis for action.
2. performing a given action in external form in practical terms with real objects.
3. performing an action without direct support on external objects or their substitutes. Egocentric speech appears: actions are transferred from the external plane to the plane of loud speech.
4. transfer of loud speech action to the internal plane.
5. performing an action in terms of inner speech. Concepts are transformed and reduced with the departure of the action, its process and details of execution from the sphere of conscious control and the transition to the level of intellectual abilities and skills.
37. Memory processes. Comparative characteristics of voluntary and involuntary memorization.
From the notebook memory processes:
Basic characteristics of memory processes.
* speed of memorization
* strength and duration of memorization
*memorization volume
* memorization accuracy
Comparative features of voluntary and involuntary memorization.
Voluntary memorization, unlike involuntary memorization, requires volitional efforts. Voluntary (mediated) memorization is not genetically determined, but develops in the process of ontogenesis.
38. Manifestation of temperament in activity and communication. Individual style of activity.
An individual style of activity is a unique system of psychological means that a person uses in order to best balance his individuality in the objective conditions of activity.
This concept was first proposed by Adler (style is the individual uniqueness of a person’s life path). Merlin and Klimov dealt with this problem.
Specific manifestations of the type of temperament are diverse. The peculiarities of a person’s temperament not only manifest themselves in his behavior, but also determine the unique dynamics of cognitive activity and the sphere of feelings, are reflected in the motives and actions of a person, as well as in the nature of intellectual activity, speech characteristics, etc.
To compile the psychological characteristics of the traditional four types, the basic properties of temperament are usually used. Taking into account the basic properties of temperament, J. Strelyau gives the following psychological characteristics of the main classical types of temperament.
Sanguine. A person with increased reactivity, but at the same time his activity and reactivity are balanced. He responds vividly, excitedly to everything that attracts his attention, has lively facial expressions and expressive movements. He laughs loudly for a minor reason, but an insignificant fact can make him very angry. From his face it is easy to guess his mood, attitude towards an object or person. He has a high sensitivity threshold, so he does not notice very weak sounds and light stimuli. Possessing increased activity and being very energetic and efficient, he actively takes on new work and can work for a long time without getting tired. He is able to concentrate quickly, is disciplined, and, if desired, can restrain the manifestation of his feelings and involuntary reactions. He is characterized by quick movements, mental flexibility, resourcefulness, a fast pace of speech, and quick integration into new work. High plasticity is manifested in the variability of feelings, moods, interests and aspirations. A sanguine person easily gets along with new people, quickly gets used to new requirements and surroundings, effortlessly not only switches from one job to another, but also retrains, mastering new skills. As a rule, he responds to a greater extent to external impressions than to subjective images and ideas about the past and future, that is, he is an extrovert.
Choleric. Like the sanguine person, it is characterized by low sensitivity, high reactivity and activity. But in a choleric person, reactivity clearly prevails over activity, so he is unbridled, unrestrained, impatient, and quick-tempered. He is less plastic and more inert than a sanguine person. Hence - greater stability of aspirations and interests, greater persistence, and possible difficulties in switching attention; he's more of an extrovert.
Phlegmatic person has high activity, significantly prevailing over low reactivity, low sensitivity and emotionality. It is difficult to make him laugh or sadden. When there is loud laughter around him, he can remain calm; When faced with big troubles, he remains calm. Usually he has poor facial expressions, his movements are inexpressive and slow, as is his speech. Om is not resourceful, has difficulty switching attention and adapting to a new environment, and slowly rebuilds skills and habits. At the same time, he is energetic and efficient. Characterized by patience, endurance, self-control. As a rule, he finds it difficult to get along with new people and responds poorly to external impressions. By his psychological essence he is an introvert.
Melancholic. A person with high sensitivity and low reactivity. Increased sensitivity with great inertia leads to the fact that an insignificant reason can cause him to cry, he is overly touchy, painfully sensitive. His facial expressions and movements are inexpressive, his voice is quiet, his movements are poor. Usually he is unsure of himself, timid, the slightest difficulty makes him give up. A melancholic person is not energetic, not persistent, gets tired easily and is ineffective. It is characterized by easily distracted and unstable attention, a slow pace of all mental processes. Most melancholic people are introverts.
In modern psychological science, there is a firm belief that a person’s type of temperament is innate and generally characterizes the characteristics of the dynamics of nervous processes. Since the characteristics of temperament determine the dynamics of mental processes, one could assume that temperament determines the success of a person’s activities. However, it was found that if the activity takes place under conditions that can be defined as normal, then there is no relationship between the level of achievement, that is, the final result of the actions, and the characteristics of temperament. Regardless of the degree of mobility or reactivity of an individual in a normal, non-stressful situation, the results of the activity as a whole will be the same, since the level of achievement will depend mainly on other factors, and not on the characteristics of temperament.
At the same time, studies establishing this pattern show that depending on the characteristics of temperament the method of implementation is changing the activity itself. B. M. Teplov also drew attention to the fact that, depending on the characteristics of their temperament, people differ not in the final result of their actions, but in the way they achieve results. Developing this idea, domestic psychologists conducted a number of studies to establish the relationship between the method of performing actions and the characteristics of temperament. These studies examined individual performance style as a path to achieving results or a way of solving a certain task, determined mainly by the type of nervous system.
For example, individuals with a predominance of arousal at the first stage show increased activity, but at the same time make many mistakes. Then they develop their own style of activity, and the number of errors decreases. On the other hand, people with a predominance of inhibition at first are, as a rule, inactive, their activities are unproductive, but then they form their own way of performing activities, and the productivity of their work increases sharply.
The special mobility (reactivity) of a sanguine person can bring an additional effect if the work requires a change in objects of communication, type of occupation, or frequent transition from one rhythm of life to another. People with a weak nervous system - melancholic people - are more motivated to perform simpler actions than others. Therefore, they are less tired and irritated from their repetition. Moreover, since people with a weak nervous system are more sensitive to external influences, i.e. react to them faster, then, as studies by E.P. Ilyin show, the majority of high-class sprinters have precisely this type of nervous system. At the same time, athletes whose activities take place against the background of excessive emotional stress, for example weightlifters, will for the most part have a strong nervous system.
Therefore, it is not only impossible, but also pointless to strive to change temperament. It seems more appropriate to take into account the temperament properties of a particular individual when organizing activities.
39. Psychoevolutionary theory of emotions by R. Plutchik.
Plutchik identifies the general properties of primary emotions:
1. they relate to basic biological adaptive processes
2. can be found in one form or another at all evolutionary levels
3. do not depend in their definition on specific neuro-physiological structures or parts of the body.
4. do not depend on introspection
5. can be defined in behavioral terms
Plutchik identified 8 main prototypes of emotional behavior and 8 primary emotions corresponding to them:
1. Integration with the environment, absorption of food, water - acceptance, approval
2. Rejection, rejection reactions - vomiting, excretion - disgust
3. Destruction, removing obstacles along the way - anger
4. Protection, response to pain or threat of pain - fear
5. Playback, sexual behavior – joy
6. Deprivation, deprivation of something - grief, despondency
7. Orientation, reaction to contact with something new – astonishment
8. Study, environmental studies – pleasure
Accordingly, these behavioral pairs are matched with pairs of basic emotions:
1) destruction (anger) – protection (fear)
2) absorption (approval) – rejection (disgust)
3) reproduction (joy) – deprivation (sorrow)
4) research (anticipation) – orientation (surprise)
All these dimensions are polar pairs. Each of the basic emotions can be developed into a whole spectrum of similar emotions, for example, rejection includes boredom, reluctance, antipathy, disgust, hatred, etc. Such representations allow Plutchik to construct a three-dimensional structural model of the emotional sphere in the shape of an inverted cone. In it, each slice represents a basic emotion, and the vertical axis is an intensity parameter.
Secondary emotions are formed as a result of combinations of primary emotions. For Plutchik, unlike other researchers, emotions are not so much a motivating factor in behavior, but are themselves a consequence and element of corresponding adaptive behavior.
40.Studies of individual typological characteristics of a person and their physiological basis in the works of B. M. Teplov, V. D. Nebylitsin, V. S. Merlin and others.
Teplov and Nebylitsyn.
1. We created a new direction - differential neurophysiology.
2. Established the properties of the nervous system:
· Lability – the rate of occurrence and progression of the excitable/inhibitory process. It is not directly related to mobility. Therefore, there are 2 options: 1) actual mobility; 2) lability in increasing and inhibiting.
· Dynamism – speed and ease in developing a conditioned reflex. Dynamic in excitation and inhibition.
· Concentration – indicator of the measure of differentiation of irritation.
3. We identified 2 groups of properties:
Ø Primary – strength, lability, dynamism, mobility; both in excitation and inhibition -> 8 properties.
Ø Secondary – balance. They appear against the background of all primary properties.
Temperament has its own characteristics and components.
Components of temperament in the Teplov-Nebylitsyn school:
1. General activity.
It is characterized by the degree of energy of a person, which does not mean the content of the activity, but its dynamic features. The differences between people are great: from lethargy/inertia to the manifestation of violent energy.
These differences appear:
· In the expression of the need itself
· In the desire to be active, i.e. in an effort to continue activities; pressure force, etc.
· In the variety of actions performed
· In the tendency to vary
· In the speed characteristics of reactions and movements
It has been established that the dynamic manifestation of activity is due to the properties of the nervous system. The intensity and sustainability of activity is determined by the strength of the nervous system. Speed characteristics depend on mobility. Weakness of the nervous system type gives rise to increased sensitivity, reactivity, i.e. the ability to respond to the most insignificant stimuli. On the basis of reactivity, inventive forms of activity develop powerfully. Traits of general activity are manifested in a person’s speech and motor characteristics and in his handwriting.
2. Motor, motor activity.
Included in general activity. This is energy, sharpness and dynamism of movements.
3. Emotionality.
The differences appear:
Ø in the degree of impressionability (emotional reactions to any minor reason)
Ø in impulsiveness (the speed with which an emotion becomes the motivating force of an action without prior deliberation)
Ø in emotional lability (the speed with which one experience changes to another)
V.S.Merlin gives another classification and other designations to the components of temperament.
Temperament– a special psychodynamic level in the structure of integral individuality. This structure includes the following levels:
· biochemical
· somatic
neurodynamic
· psychodynamic (this is the level of temperament)
· level of personality traits
· level of social role
Temperament cannot be studied solely as a genotypic phenomenon. Temperament – a means that can be controlled and compensated to a certain extent. In general, this corresponds to psychological typologies.
The structure of temperament has the following psychological properties:
1) Sensitivity (sensitivity) – the occurrence of a mental reaction to an external stimulus of the least strength.
2) Extraversion – the dependence of mental activity on the existing objective situation.
3) Introversion – a person's self-direction.
4) Reactivity – response to stimulus.
5) Emotional stability – as a means of controlling emotions.
6) Emotional excitability – as the intensity of emotional experiences.
7) Activity – purposeful activity; how active a person is in overcoming obstacles to a particular activity.
8) Rate of reactions – the speed of mental processes.
9) Rigidity – a person’s ability to change a behavior program.
10) Plasticity.
All these properties of temperament/nervous system/personality are connected in many ways (Merlin's table).
41. Development of strong-willed personality traits
Personality is, first of all, a structure formed under the influence of society. Personality is formed in the process of socialization - the appropriation of social norms and values. Thus, becoming an individual, a person learns to control his behavior in accordance with generally accepted norms. Gradual mastery of one’s behavior, one’s emotions and feelings forms the volitional qualities of the individual. Here are some of them:
1. Initiative, ability to make decisions. These qualities are necessary for any person; they are needed to exist in a complex and changing world, where every day we are faced with many problems that require solutions, which are not always straightforward. A person who is unable to make decisions cannot adapt to the world; he becomes helpless and dependent. It should also be noted that making any decision requires a certain amount of courage and fortitude. Therefore, the ability to make decisions should be instilled in a person from childhood.
2. Decisiveness and balance. These qualities develop as a result of the fact that in his activities a person faces internal contradictions, misunderstandings and criticism from the people around him. Our decisions are influenced by many factors, so a person is always faced with the task of choosing the optimal solution. Decisiveness is expressed in the speed and, most importantly, the confidence with which a decision is made and the firmness with which it is maintained, as opposed to those fluctuations like the swing of a pendulum in one direction and the other, which an indecisive person exhibits.
3. Independence, independence. These are essential features of the will, its integral components. The direct opposite of them is susceptibility to other people's influences, easy suggestibility. Without independence of thinking and will, the core of a personality cannot be formed - its worldview, hierarchy of motives, principles.
4. Responsibility. This personality quality is also one of the most important for a person’s adaptation to society. The course of life of many people can depend on the decisions of one person, therefore a person must always be responsible for his actions.
5. Self-control, self-control, self-control. A person is constantly in society, therefore he is forced to correlate his decisions and actions with the opinions of the people around him and the possible consequences. That is why a person often has to act contrary to his own desires, preferences, his own comfort for the sake of some goal or the benefit of others. In the decision-making process, the qualities of self-control and endurance ensure the dominance of higher motives over lower ones, and general principles over instantaneous impulses. These qualities make possible self-restraint, disregard for fatigue, victory over laziness, etc.
6. Energy, willpower, perseverance. The moment of decision-making does not complete the act of will. This is followed by the executive part of the action. Persistence and willpower ensure that the act of will is brought to completion and the fight against obstacles that arise during the implementation of the decision. Some people immediately put a lot of pressure into their actions, but soon “fuse out of steam”; they are only capable of a short attack and give up very quickly. Determination becomes a truly valuable quality only when combined with perseverance. Persistence is the persistence of energy over a long period of time, despite difficulties and obstacles.
42. The role of temperament in the development of character traits and personality.
The teachings of I.P. Pavlov assume that the type of nervous system is a strictly physiological concept. S.L. Rubinstein defines temperament as a psychophysiological concept and expressed not only in motor skills and reaction characteristics, but also in emotional excitability. The mental properties of temperament are closely related to the bodily properties of the body (especially the nervous system), but cannot be reduced to them.
Temperament – a set of corresponding dynamic properties of behavior, uniquely combined in each individual.
Temperament – dynamic characteristics of the personality, its mental activity.
Differential psychology. Individual and group differences in behavior. Anastasi A.
Translation from English D. Guryev, M. Budynina, G. Pimochkina, S. Likhatskaya
Scientific editor candidate of psychological sciences Krasheninnikov E.E.
This fundamental work by Anna Anastasi has established itself as one of the best classic textbooks on world-class differential psychology, with which any student studying this discipline should begin. The textbook examines in an accessible and engaging manner the problems of individual differences in a person as an individual and as a representative of a particular group, and explores the causes and mechanisms of his behavior.
Chapter 1. ORIGIN OF DIFFERENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Man has always understood that living beings are different. His theories, beliefs and superstitions, in which he tried to understand the reasons for these differences, were numerous and were a reflection of his worldview. But at all times he took the existence of these differences as a given. Among the earliest traces of human activity there is evidence that people were aware of individual differences and took them into account. At a time when there was no writing yet, people already existed - primitive artists, healers and leaders - who could not but have special abilities and personal properties. Whatever the level of development a culture is at, it cannot exist without division of labor, and therefore presupposes the recognition of differences between people.
The stranger saw that individual differences are characteristic not only of people, but also of animals! Both in scientific and fiction literature one can find recognition that elephants, buffaloes and similar herd animals have individuals who perform the functions of leaders, “leaders” in the herd. The often-mentioned “hierarchy of eaters,” common among chickens, for example, also suggests this. Typically, chickens exhibit social dominance relationships when distributing feed. In this case, individual A attacks individual B, but not vice versa. A fight arises when someone begins to challenge the authority of the “main eater.” This and many other examples illustrate the presence of different reactions of an individual to other representatives of his group.
The objective quantitative study of individual differences in behavior is the subject of differential psychology. What is the nature of these differences, to what extent
6 Differential psychology
are they big? What can be said about their reasons? How are they affected by the preparation, development, and physical condition of individuals? How do different characteristics relate to each other and coexist? These are some of the fundamental questions that differential psychology deals with and which we will consider in the first part of this book.
In addition, differential psychology is interested in analyzing the nature and properties of most traditional groups - marginal and brilliant people, differing in gender, race, nationality and culture. This is the subject of the last seven chapters. The purpose of studying such group differences is threefold. Firstly, to characterize modern society through specific groups, therefore their detailed study has practical benefits: information about them can influence society’s perception of these groups and ultimately help improve intergroup relations.
Second, comparative research between different groups will help clarify fundamental issues about individual differences in general. In such groups you can see how individual differences manifest themselves and trace what they lead to. Group differences in behavior, considered in conjunction with other associated differences between groups, provide an effective way to analyze the causes of differences between individuals.
Third, comparing how a psychological phenomenon manifests itself in different groups can lead to a clearer understanding of the phenomenon itself. The conclusions of general psychology, tested on a wide variety of groups, sometimes turn out to be not so “general”. Studying the phenomenon in all its various manifestations allows us to better understand its essence.
In contrast to previously widespread ideas about individual differences formed in the process of adaptation to everyday life, the systematic study of such differences has appeared in psychology relatively recently. We will therefore begin by considering the conditions that contributed to the emergence of modern differential psychology.
Origins of Differential Psychology 7
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN EARLY PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES 1
One of the earliest examples of explicit study of individual differences is Plato's Republic. The main purpose of his ideal state was, in fact, the distribution of people in accordance with the tasks assigned to them. In the second book of “The Republic” you can find the following statement: “... two people cannot be exactly the same, each differs from the other in his abilities, one should do one thing, the other another” (11, p. 60). Moreover, Plato proposed “demonstrative exercises” that could be used in an ideal state to select soldiers. These "exercises," designed to select men possessing qualities essential to military valor, constitute the first systematically constructed and recorded aptitude test.
Aristotle's versatile genius also could not ignore individual differences. In his works, a significant place is devoted to the analysis of group differences, including differences in species, race, social and gender, manifested in the psyche and morality. Many of his works also contain an implicit assumption of individual differences, although Aristotle did not explore them extensively. It seems that he considered the existence of such differences too obvious and therefore did not require special consideration. That he attributed these differences partly to innate factors appears from his statements, which are similar to the following:
“Perhaps someone can say: “Since it is in my power to be just and kind, then if I want, I will become the best of people.” This, of course, is impossible... A person cannot
1 In addition to the brief historical overview of the field of individual differences research presented in this and subsequent sections, we recommend that the reader consult the classic works in the history of psychology by Boring (7), Murphy (23), and Rand (28).
8 Differential psychology
to become the best if he does not have the natural inclinations for this” (29, “Great Ethics”, 1187b).
Aristotle's Ethics repeatedly contains statements that indirectly refer to individual differences. For example, the following statement leaves no doubt about what Aristotle thought about this matter:
“Having made these divisions, we must note that in every extended and divisible thing there is excess, deficiency and value - all this exists in relation to each other or in relation to others to us, for example, in the gymnastic or medical arts, in construction and navigation , in any action, scientific or unscientific, skillful or unskillful (29, Eudemian Ethics, 1220b).
After this, Aristotle describes the qualities of people who have an excess or deficiency of temper, courage, modesty, etc.
In medieval scholasticism, individual differences received relatively little attention. Philosophical generalizations about the nature of the mind were formulated primarily on a theoretical rather than an empirical basis. Therefore, research on individuals, if at all, played a very small role in the development of such doctrines. About the special interest in differential psychology of St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas attests to their “psychology of faculties.” Abilities such as “memory”, “imagination” and “will” are now considered by some scientists as preceding the qualities and factors currently determined by means of statistical analysis of test values. Be that as it may, these newly identified factors differ in a number of significant respects from the abilities that were speculatively deduced by scholastic philosophy.
Representatives of the many varieties of associationism that flourished from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries also had little to say about individual differences. Associationists were primarily interested in the mechanism by which ideas are combined and which allows complex thought processes to arise. They formulated general principles that left no room for individual differences. However, Bane, the last of the so-called pure associates
Origins of Differential Psychology 9
pianists, in his works he paid attention to individual differences. The following excerpt is taken from his book "Senses and Intelligence" (“The Senses and the Intellect”, 1855): “There is a natural faculty of association, peculiar to each type of people, and distinguishing individuals from each other. This property, like all other characteristic properties of human nature, is not distributed among people in equal proportions” (3, p. 237).
The parallel development of educational theory is directly related to the subject we are considering. The writings and practices of the late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century group of "naturalist" educators, including Rousseau, Pestalozzi, Herbart, and Froebel, reflect a clear increase in interest in the individuality of the child. Educational strategy and methods were determined not by external criteria, but by the study of the child himself and his abilities. However, the emphasis continued to be on treating each child as a representative of humanity rather than on what made them different from other children. Despite the fact that in the works of the Enlightenment one can find many statements about individuals who differ from each other and about education, which should take these differences into account, they emphasized the importance of free, “natural” education rather as a counterweight to pedagogical influences imposed from the outside than as a result of actual awareness the significance of individual differences. The concept "individual" has often been used as a synonym for "human".
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS IN CALCULATIONS IN ASTRONOMY
It is rather curious that the first systematic measurement of individual differences did not come from psychology, but from the much older science of astronomy. In 1796, Maskelyn, an astronomer at the Greenwich Astronomical Observatory, fired his assistant, Kinnebroek, for timing the passage of a star a second later than he did. At that time, such observations were carried out using the method
10 Differential psychology
"eye and ear" This method involved not only the coordination of visual and auditory impressions, but also the formulation of rather complex judgments about space. The observer noted the time on the clock to the nearest second, then began to count the seconds by striking the clock, while simultaneously observing how the star crossed the telescope field. He noted the star's position at the last stroke of the clock before it reached the "critical" field line; immediately after the star crossed this line, he similarly marked its position at the first blow. Based on these observations, from the moment the star passed through the critical line, an estimate was made every tenths of a second. This procedure was standard and allowed measurements to be made with an accuracy of one or two tenths of a second.
In 1816, the Konigsberg astronomer Bessel read in the history of the Greenwich Astronomical Observatory about the Kinnebroek incident and became interested in the personal characteristics of the calculations made by various observers. Personal equalization originally referred to the recording of the difference in seconds between two observers' estimates. Bessel collected and published data from several trained observers and noted not only the presence of such personal differences and differences in assessments, but also the variability of calculations in each new case. This was the first publication of quantitative measurements of individual differences.
Many astronomers took Bessel's data into account. In the second half of the nineteenth century, with the advent of chronographs and chronoscopes, it became possible to measure the personal characteristics of a particular observer without comparing him with other observers. It was an attempt to reduce all observations to objectively correct values without recourse to a time system tied to any observer whose observations were taken as the standard. The astronomers also analyzed the various conditions that affect the characteristics of the calculations of different observers. But all this related more to the problem of astronomical observations than to the measurement of individual differences, which was later undertaken by representatives of early experimental psychology in their studies of “reaction time”.
Origins of Differential Psychology 11
ORIGINS OF EXPERIMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
During the second half of the nineteenth century, psychologists began to venture out of their office chairs and into the laboratory. Most of the representatives of early experimental psychology were physiologists, whose experiments gradually began to acquire psychological overtones. As a result, the ideas and methods of physiology were often transferred directly to psychology, which as a science was still in its early stages of development. In 1879, Wilhelm Wundt opened the first experimental psychology laboratory in Leipzig. Experiments of a psychological nature had already been carried out by Weber, Fechner, Helmholtz and others, but Wundt's laboratory was the first created exclusively for psychological research and at the same time providing opportunities for teaching students the methods of the new science. Naturally, it had a significant influence on the development of early experimental psychology. Wundt's laboratory attracted students from different countries, who, upon returning home, founded similar laboratories in their own countries.
The problems that were studied in the first laboratories showed the similarity of experimental psychology with physiology. The study of visual and auditory impressions, reaction speed, psychophysics and associations - that's almost all that experiments were carried out on. Initially, experimental psychologists tended to ignore individual differences or view them simply as random “deviations,” because the more individual characteristics expressed in a phenomenon, the less accurate the generalizations made about it would be. Thus, the degree of individual differences determined the “probability of deviations” that could be expected in the manifestation of general psychological laws.
It is obvious that the emergence of experimental psychology did not contribute to the development of interest in the study of individual differences. Her contribution to differential psychology was to demonstrate that psycho-
12 Differential psychology
logical phenomena are open to objective and even quantitative study, that psychological theories can be tested against objective data, and that psychology can become an empirical science. This was necessary so that instead of theorizing about the individual, a concrete study of individual differences could emerge.
INFLUENCE OF BIOLOGY
At the end of the nineteenth century, biology, under the influence of Darwin's theory of evolution, developed very quickly. This theory, in particular, contributed to the growing interest in comparative analysis, which involves observing how the same qualities are manifested in representatives of different species. In search of evidence to support the truth of evolutionary theory, Darwin and his contemporaries collected a huge primary database of animal behavior. Beginning with the description of some unusual cases and the analysis of observations, these researchers ultimately contributed to making it possible to conduct true, highly controlled experiments with animals in the twentieth century. Such studies of animal behavior have proven to be very useful in all respects for the development of differential psychology. We will consider examples of relevant research in detail in Chapter 4, in particular, we will talk about the study of evolutionary series in the context of the discovery of the principles of the development of behavior; about the study of anatomical and other organic changes corresponding to certain behavioral changes, and about numerous experiments showing the dependence of behavior on changing external conditions.
Particularly important for differential psychology are the studies of the English biologist Francis Galton, one of Darwin's most famous followers. Galton was the first to try to apply the evolutionary principles of variation, selection and adaptability to the study of human individuals. Galton's scientific interests were many-sided and varied, but they were all related to the study of heredity. In 1869 he published a book entitled
Origins of Differential Psychology 13
eat "Hereditary Genius" ("Hereditary Genius") in which, using the now well-known generic historical method, he tried to demonstrate how abilities for certain types of activities are inherited (cf. Chapter 9 to get a more complete picture). After that, he wrote two more books on this topic: “English Scientists” (“English Men of Science”, 1874), and "Heredity" ("Natural Inheritance" 1889).
For Galton, who studied human heredity, it soon became obvious that in order to determine the degrees of similarity between individuals, they could be measured - each individually, in comparison with each other, purposefully and in large groups. For this purpose, he developed numerous tests and measurement procedures, establishing his famous anthropometric laboratory in 1882 at the South Kensington Museum in London.
In it, people for a small fee could measure the level of receptivity of their senses, motor abilities and other simple qualities.By measuring sensory processes, Galton hoped to be able to assess a person's intellectual level. In the collection "A Study of Human Abilities" (“Inquiries into Human Faculty”), published in 1883, he wrote: “All the information we perceive about external events comes to us through the channels of our senses; the more subtle differences a person’s senses are capable of perceiving, the more opportunities he has for forming judgments and carrying out intellectual activity” (13, p. 27). In addition, based on the reduced level of sensitivity he discovered in idiots, he concluded that sensory discrimination capabilities “in general should be highest in the intellectually gifted” (13, p. 29). For this reason, the measurement of sensory abilities, such as vision and hearing, occupy a relatively large place in the tests that Galton designed and created. For example, he created a scale for visually determining length, a whistle for demonstrating auditory sensitivity to extremely high sounds, kinesthetic tests based on a series of weighings, as well as tests for straightness of movement, the speed of simple reactions, and many others. Galton also pioneered the use of free association tests, a technique that he later used and developed
14 Differential psychology
Wundt. Equally innovative was Galton's exploration of individual and group differences in imaginative thinking. This was the first extensive application of the questionnaire method in psychology.
The development of modern genetics also had a significant influence on the formation of differential psychology. Mendel's laws of heredity, rediscovered in 1900, led to renewed experimental work in the field of inheritance mechanisms. Differential psychology was influenced in many ways by the highly productive study of the inheritance of physical traits in animals, the most prominent of which was the study of the fruit fly fruit flies. It, firstly, made it possible to clarify and more clearly formulate the concept of heredity. Secondly, it made it possible to obtain numerous genetic models in a short time, allowing one to collect data on the behavior of their carriers. Thirdly, it led directly to experimentation with animals to develop new psychological characteristics in them (cf. Chapter 4). Finally, the development of human genetics has made it possible to use methods of statistical analysis to find similarities and differences, which has become widely used in psychology (cf. Chapter 9).
DEVELOPMENT OF THE STATISTICAL METHOD
Statistical analysis is one of the main tools used by differential psychology. Galton was very aware of the need to adapt statistical methods to the procedures for processing the data he collected on individual differences. For this purpose he attempted to adapt numerous mathematical procedures. Among the fundamental statistical problems that Galton dealt with were the problem of the normal distribution of deviations (cf. Chapter 2) and the problem of correlation. As for the latter, he did a lot of work and eventually derived a coefficient that became known as the correlation coefficient. Karl Pearson, who was his student, subsequently developed the mathematical apparatus of the theory of cor-
Origins of Differential Psychology 15
relations. Thus, Pearson contributed to the development and systematization of what previously belonged only to the field of statistics.
Another British scientist whose contributions significantly influenced the development of statistics was R. A. Fisher. Working primarily in agricultural research, Fisher developed many new statistical methods that proved highly useful in many other fields, including psychology, and opened up vast possibilities for data analysis. His name is most associated with variability analysis, a method that allows simultaneous analysis of the results of several variants of the same experiment.
Proficient interpretation of virtually any research in differential psychology requires an understanding of certain fundamental statistical concepts. It is not the scope of this book to discuss them in depth or describe their computational procedures. There are many good textbooks on psychological statistics, and students should consult them to gain a better understanding of the details 1 . Nevertheless, it will be useful to reveal the essence of two statistical concepts that play a crucial role in differential psychology, namely, statistical significance and correlation.
Statistical significance levels. The concept of statistical significance refers primarily to the degree to which similar results are reproducible in repeated studies. How likely is it that a re-examination of the same problem might reverse the original conclusion? Obviously, this question is fundamental to any research. One reason for the expected discrepancy between the new results and the previous ones is due to sampling bias. Such “random deviations,” which cause uncontrollable fluctuations in the data, arise because the researcher is in a state of
"A short introduction to psychological statistics was recently published by Garrett (14). For more detailed information, we recommend the textbooks by Garrett (15), Guilford (18), and McNemar (21), which contain information on more recent research in this area.
16 Differential psychology
only sample from the total populations, which this study may concern.
For example, if a researcher wanted to know the height of 8-year-old American children, he could measure 500 8-year-old boys living throughout the country. In theory, the sample for this purpose should be completely random. Thus, if he has the name of every 8-year-old boy, he must write down these names separately and draw them by lot until he has 500 names. Or he could alphabetize all the names and select every tenth one. A random sample is one in which all individuals have an equal chance of being included in it. This condition implies that each choice is independent of the others. For example, if the selection procedure involved the exclusion of all relatives, then the resulting sample cannot be considered completely random.
Most likely, in practice, the researcher will create a representative sample, claiming that the composition of his group corresponds to the composition of the entire population of 8-year-old boys, taking into account such factors as the ratio of those living in the city and rural areas, the ratio of those living in different regions of the country, socioeconomic level, type of school, etc. In any case, the height value of sample members can only be strictly approximate in relation to the value characterizing the entire population; they cannot be identical. If we repeat the experiment and recruit a new group of 500 8-year-old American boys, then the resulting value for their height will also differ from the value obtained in the first group. It is these random variations that constitute what is known as “sampling error.”
There is another reason why random variations may influence our results. If we measured the running speed of a group of children and then repeated these measurements on the same group the next day, we would probably get slightly different results. It may be that some children who were tired during the race on the first day became fit during the race on the second day. In the case of repeated runs and measurements of running speed, random deviations will represent a certain average.
Origins of Differential Psychology 17
unspecified meaning. But the measurement results on any given day can be very high or very low. In this case, we can view them on any given day as what together constitutes the "population" of measurements that can be made on the same group.
Both types of random deviations can be assessed by applying a measurement level of statistical significance. There are formulas available to calculate the reliability of values, differences between values, measurement variability, correlations, and many other measures. By using these procedures we can predict the possible limits within which our results may vary due to random variations. An important element in all of these formulas is the number of cases in the sample. All other things being equal, the larger the sample, the more stable the results will be, so in large groups there is almost no random variation.
One of the most common problems with measurement reliability in differential psychology concerns how significant the difference is between two values obtained. Is it large enough to be considered beyond the probabilistic limits of random deviations? If the answer is yes, then we can conclude that the difference is statistically significant.
Suppose that, on a verbal intelligence test, women score on average 8 points higher than men. To assess how significant this difference is, we calculate the level of statistical significance. By analyzing a special table, we can see whether it is possible by chance that the resulting values of one group exceed the resulting values of another group by 8 points or more. Suppose we discovered that this probability, denoted by the letter R, is 1 in 100 (p = 0.01). This means that if verbal intelligence were independent of gender, and if we were to draw 100 random men and women from the population, there would only be one discrepancy between the results. Therefore, we can say that the difference in gender is significant
18 Differential psychology
at the 0.01 level. This statement expresses the level of statistical significance of the finding. Thus, if a researcher concludes that his results indicate a difference by sex, the probability that he is wrong is 1 in 100. Conversely, the probability that he is right is, of course, 99 in 100. Also One level of statistical significance often reported is p = 0.05. This means that an error is possible in 5 cases out of 100, and the message will be statistically significant in 95 cases out of 100.
Another problem for which we need a relationship with the value R, is an analysis of the effectiveness of a certain experimental condition, for example, the effectiveness of prescribing vitamin preparations. Did the group given the vitamins actually do significantly better than the group given the placebo or control pills? Does the difference between the indicators of the two groups reach a significance level of 0.01? Could this difference be the result of random variation more often than one in a hundred?
This also applies to testing the same people twice - before and after an experiment, such as a special training program. In this case, we also need to know how much the achieved results exceed the expected random deviations.
It should be added that the magnitude of the statistical significance level does not have to strictly correspond - and in fact rarely does - exact values such as 0.05; 0.01, or 0.001. If, for example, a researcher wants to designate a level of statistical significance of 0.01, then this means that, according to his conclusion, the probability of random deviation is one case in a hundred or less than that. Therefore, when they report the value R, then they do it in the following form: R less than 0.05 or R less than 0.01. This means that the probability of a certain conclusion being wrong is less than 5 cases out of 100, or correspondingly less than 1 case out of 100.
Correlation. Another statistical concept that a differential psychology student should know is called correlation. It expresses the degree of dependence, or
Origins of differential psychology 19
correspondence between two series of measurements. For example, we might want to know how correlated are the results obtained on two different tests, such as a numeracy test and a mechanical agility test, administered to the same people. Or the problem may be to find the degree of agreement between the results of relatives, for example, fathers and sons, on the same test. And the task of another study may be to find out the correlation of the results of the same people on the same tests, but conducted at different times, for example, before and after some tests. Obviously, there are many problems in differential psychology that require this type of analysis.
An example of the most common measurement of correlation is the Pearson correlation coefficient, which is usually denoted by the symbol r. This coefficient is a single index of the final correlation and its sign for the group as a whole. It can range from +1.00 (absolutely positive correlation) to -1.00 (absolutely negative, or inverse, correlation).
A correlation of +1.00 means that the individual obtains the highest results in one series of measurements and in the other series of measurements, as well as in the remaining series, or that the individual consistently ranks second in two series of measurements, that is, in any case, when an individual’s indicators coincide at least twice. On the other hand, a correlation of -1.00 means that the highest results obtained as a result of a measurement in one case are replaced by the lowest indicators obtained in another case, that is, they are inversely correlated with the group as a whole. A zero correlation means that there is no relationship between the two sets of data, or that something in the design of the experiment led to a chaotic mixture of indicators. The correlation between the results of different individuals, for example, fathers and sons, is interpreted in the same way. Thus, a correlation of +1.00 would mean that the highest-ranking fathers in the group also have the highest-ranking sons, or the second-highest-ranking fathers have second-ranking sons, and so on. Sign of the correlation coefficient, half
2 0 Differential psychology
resident or negative, shows the quality of dependence. A negative correlation means an inverse relationship between variables. The numerical value of the coefficient expresses the degree of closeness, or correspondence. Correlations derived from psychological research rarely reach 1.00. In other words, these correlations are not absolute (neither positive nor negative), but reflect some individual variability within the group. We exhibit a tendency to maintain high resulting values, which exists alongside exceptions that occur within the group. The resulting correlation coefficient in numerical terms will be between 0 and 1.00.
An example of a relatively high positive correlation is given in Figure 1. This figure shows a “two-way distribution,” or a distribution with two options. The first option (the data for it is located at the bottom of the figure) is a set of indicators obtained during the first test of the “hidden words” test, in which the subjects had to underline all four-letter English words printed on a colorful sheet of paper.
The second option (the data for it are located on the vertical axis) is a set of indicators obtained from the same subjects as a result of passing the same test for the 15th time, but in a different form. Each tally stick in the figure shows the result of one of the 114 subjects on both the initial test and the fifteenth test. Let's take, for example, a subject whose initial performanceRice. 1. Bivariate distribution of the 114 subjects' scores on the initial and final hidden word tests: correlation = 0.82. (Unpublished data from Anastasi, 1.)
Origins of Differential Psychology 21
were in the range from 15 to 19, and the final ones were in the range between 50 and 54. Having done the necessary calculations, we find that the Pearson correlation coefficient between these two sets of values is 0.82.
Without going into mathematical details, we note that this correlation method is based on taking into account each case of deviation of the resulting value of an individual from the group value in both options. Thus, if all individuals score much higher or much lower than the group value, the correlation will be +1.00 on both the first and last tests. It is easy to notice that Figure 1 does not show such a one-to-one correspondence. At the same time, many more counting sticks are located on the diagonal connecting the lower left and upper right corners. This bivariate distribution shows a high positive correlation; there are no individual values that are very low on the first test and very high on the last test, or very high on the first test and very low on the last test. The coefficient of 0.82 essentially shows that there is a clear tendency for subjects to maintain their relative position in the group both at the beginning and at the end of the trials.
By analyzing many cases in which the correlation was calculated, we can estimate the statistical significance of the obtained coefficient r using the methods discussed at the beginning of this section. Thus, in an analysis of 114 cases, r = 0.82 would be significant at the 0.001 level. This means that the error could arise from a case that would have a probability of less than one in a thousand. This is the basis for our belief that the results are indeed correlated with each other.
In addition to the method for calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient, there are other methods for measuring correlation that are applicable in special situations. For example, when the results list subjects or place them into several categories based on relevant attributes, the correlation between the attributes can be calculated using other formulas. The resulting coefficients will also be expressed as a number from 0 to
22 Differential psychology
1.00 and can be interpreted in much the same way as Pearson's r.
The rapidly developing statistics has enriched differential psychology not only with such concepts as statistical significance and correlation, but also with many other concepts and techniques. We highlighted the concepts of statistical significance and correlation because, having addressed them from the very beginning, we will use these concepts in almost every topic. Thus, in Chapter 2 we will look at the distribution of variances and the measurement of variability. And methods of factor analysis, which make it possible to further analyze correlation coefficients, will be considered by us in connection with the study of the configuration of characteristics (Chapter 10).
TESTING IN PSYCHOLOGY
Along with statistics, psychological testing is an important tool in differential psychology 1 . We have already said that the original tests contained in Galton's pioneering works were simple sensorimotor experiments. The next stage in the development of psychological testing is associated with the name of the American James McKean Cattell. In his work, Cattell combined two parallel trends: experimental psychology and psychology based on the measurement of individual differences. During Wundt's doctoral studies in Leipzig, Cattell wrote a dissertation on the manifestation of individual differences in the time of onset of a reaction. He then lectured in England, where his interest in individual differences was further developed by his contact with Galton. Returning to America, Cattell organized laboratories for experimental psychology and actively disseminated psychological testing methods.
“For a more detailed study of issues related to both the origin of testing and psychological testing itself, we recommend that the student familiarize himself with the latest work in this area, such as, for example, the research of Anastasi (2).
The origins of differential psychology 2 3
The first intelligence tests. The concept of an “intelligence test” first appeared in an article Cattell wrote in 1890 (9). This article described a series of tests administered annually to college students to determine their intellectual level. The tests that were offered on an individual basis included the measurement of muscle strength, weight, speed of movement, sensitivity to pain, visual and hearing acuity, reaction time, memory, etc. By his choice of tests, Cattell supported Galton's point of view that the measurement intellectual functions should be carried out through testing of sensory selectivity and reaction time. Cattell preferred these tests also because he considered simple functions accessible to precise measurements, unlike more complex functions, and he considered measuring complex functions almost hopeless.
Cagtell tests were common in the last decade of the nineteenth century. Attempts to measure more complex psychological functions, however, could be found in tests of reading, verbal association, memory, and basic arithmetic (22, 30). Such tests were offered to schoolchildren, college students and adults. At the Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago in 1893, Jastrow invited everyone to test their senses, motor skills, and simple perceptual processes and compare the resulting values with normative ones (cf. 26, 27). Several attempts to evaluate these initial tests have produced discouraging results. Individual scores were inconsistent (30, 37) and correlated poorly or not at all with independent measures of intellectual achievement, such as school grades (6, 16) or academic degrees (37).
Many similar tests were collected by European psychologists of this period, including Orn (25), Kreipelin (20) and Ebbinghaus (12) in Germany, Gucciardi and Ferrari (17) in Italy. Binet and Henry (4), in an article published in France in 1895, criticized most well-known test series for being too sensory and placing too much emphasis on specific performance abilities. In addition, they argued that one should not strive for high accuracy when measuring more complex
2 4 Differential psychology
functions, since individual differences are more pronounced in these functions. To confirm their point of view, Binet and Henry proposed a new series of tests covering such functions as memory, imagination, attention, intelligence, suggestibility and aesthetic feelings. In these tests it is already possible to recognize what in the future led to the development of Binet’s famous “intellectual tests”.
Intelligence tests. IN 1 In 904, the French Minister of Public Education created a commission to study the problem of educational retardation among schoolchildren. Especially for this commission, Binet and Simon developed the first intellectual scale for calculating the general coefficient of the individual level of intellectual development (5). In 1908, Binet refined this scale, using which tests were grouped by age and subjected to careful empirical testing. For example, for the age of three, tests were selected that a three-year-old child could pass, for the age of four, tests that were available for a four-year-old child were selected, and so on, until the age of thirteen. The results obtained from children tested on this scale were then declared to be the norms inherent in the corresponding “intellectual age,” that is, the capabilities of normal children of a certain age, defined by Binet.
The Binet-Simon tests attracted the attention of psychologists around the world even before the scale was improved in 1908. They have been translated into many languages. In America, these tests have undergone various changes and modifications, the most famous of which was the modification developed under the leadership of Theremin at Stanford University and known as the Stanford-Binet test (34). This was precisely the scale within which the concept of intellectual quotient (IQ), or the relationship between intellectual and actual age, was first introduced. The modern version of this scale is more commonly referred to as the Theremin-Merrill scale (35), and is still the most widely used system for testing human intelligence.
Group testing. Another important direction in the development of psychological testing was the development of group
The origins of differential psychology 2 5
scales Binet scales and their later models are called “individual tests,” that is, designed to test only one subject at a time. These tests are such that only a very well trained specialist can perform them. These conditions are not suitable for group testing. The advent of group testing scales was probably a major factor in the rise in popularity of psychological testing. Group tests not only allow large groups of people to be tested at the same time, but are also much easier to administer.
The impetus for the development of group testing was the urgent need to study the one and a half million US Army, which arose during the First World War by 1917. Military tasks required a fairly simple procedure for quickly distributing recruits according to their intellectual abilities. Army psychologists responded to the request by creating two group scales, known as Army Alpha and Army Beta. The first was intended for general use, the second was a nonverbal scale designed to test illiterate recruits and foreign conscripts who were not fluent in English.
Subsequent development. Since the end of the First World War, there has been a rapid development of the variety of tests available for use, the development of ever new methods and their application to a wide variety of aspects of behavior. Group intelligence scales were created for all ages and types of subjects, from those in kindergarten to senior students. Soon additional tests were added to identify special abilities, for example, to music or mechanics. They appeared even later multifactorial research systems. These tests arose as a result of extensive research on human qualities (they will be discussed in Chapters 10 and 11). The important thing is that instead of single, common outcome values such as IQ, multifactorial systems provide data on a whole range of basic abilities.
In parallel with this, there was a proliferation of psychological testing non-intellectual qualities,- through
2 6 Differential psychology
the use of personal experience, projective techniques (methods) and other means. This type of testing began with the creation of Woodworth's Personality Data Sheet during World War I and quickly evolved to include measures of interests, beliefs, emotions, and social traits. But although enormous effort has been expended in creating appropriate tests, the success has been less than in developing aptitude tests.
Test concepts. As in statistics, in psychological tests there are certain basic concepts that should be known to the student of differential psychology. One of them is the concept norms. No resultant scores from psychological tests are meaningful until they are compared with test norms. These norms arise in the process of standardizing a new test, when a large number of subjects are tested, representing the population for which the test was developed. The resulting data is then used as a standard to evaluate individuals' performance. Norms can be expressed in different ways, for example: as intellectual age, as percentages or as standard values - but they all allow the researcher, by comparing the results of the subject with the results of a standardized sample, to determine his “position”. Are his results in line with the group average? Are they higher or lower than the average, and if so, by how much?
Another important concept is test reliability. It implies how stable results it is capable of producing. If an individual is retested on a different day, or takes the same test in a different form, how much might the result change? Reliability is usually determined by the correlation of results obtained on two occasions by the same individual. It should be noted that the reliability of the test depends on one of the types of random deviations we described earlier. The reliability of the test, of course, cannot but be affected by random deviations in the relative test results of a particular individual. The impact of such deviations on group results is not related to the reliability of the test.
Origins of differential psychology 2 7
One of the most important questions that arises during psychological testing is the question of test validity, that is, about the extent to which it actually measures what it is supposed to measure. Validity can be established by comparing the results of a given test with numerous data obtained in other ways - with school grades, the labor success index, or leadership ratings.
Data on the norms, reliability, and validity of a test must be collected while the test is being tested, that is, before it can be released for general use. Available tests lack the desired specificity and completeness of the data obtained. To systematize the problems and improve the situation, the American Psychological Association published in 1954 a collection of Technical Guidelines for the Development of Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Procedures (“Technical Recommendations for Psychological Tests and Diagnostic Techniques”)(39). It discussed different types of norms, ways to measure reliability and validity, and other issues related to test scoring. The reader who wishes to study in more detail modern research on psychological tests should refer to this publication.
THE APPEARANCE OF DIFFERENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY
By the beginning of the century, differential psychology began to take on concrete forms. In 1895, Binet and Henry published an article entitled "The Psychology of Individuality" ("La psychologie individuelle")(4), which represented the first systematic analysis of the goals, subject matter, and methods of differential psychology. This did not seem pretentious, since it reflected the real status of this branch of psychology at that time. They wrote: “We are beginning a discussion of a new subject, complex and practically unexplored” (4, p. 411). Binet and Henry put forward two as the main problems of differential psychology: firstly, the study of the nature and extent of individual differences in psychological processes and, secondly, the discovery of the relationships between mental processes
2 8 Differential psychology
individual which can make it possible to classify qualities and the ability to determine which functions are the most fundamental.
In 1900, the first edition of Stern’s book on Differential Psychology “The Psychology of Individual Differences” appeared. ("Uber Psychologie der individuellen Differenzen")(32). Part 1 of the book examines the essence, problems and methods of differential psychology. To the subject of this section of psychology, Stern included differences between individuals, racial and cultural differences, professional and social groups, as well as gender. He characterized the fundamental problem of differential psychology as triune. First, what is the nature of the psychological life of individuals and groups, what is the extent of their differences? Second, what factors determine or influence these differences? In this connection he mentioned heredity, climate, social or cultural level, education, adaptation, etc.
Third, what are the differences? Is it possible to record them in the writing of words, facial expressions, etc.? Stern also considered such concepts as psychological type, individuality, norm and pathology. Using the methods of differential psychology, he assessed introspection, objective observation, the use of historical and poetic materials, cultural studies, quantitative testing and experimentation. Part 2 of the book contains a general analysis and some data concerning individual differences in the manifestation of a number of psychological qualities - from simple sensory abilities to more complex mental processes and emotional characteristics. Stern's book, in a substantially revised and expanded form, was republished in 1911, and again in 1921 under the title “Methodological Foundations of Differential Psychology” (“Die Differentielle Psychologie in ihren methodishen Grundlagen”)(33).In America, special committees were created to study testing methods and collect data on individual differences. At its convention in 1895, the American Psychological Association formed a committee “to consider the possibility of cooperation between the various psychological laboratories in the collection of mental and physical
Origins of differential psychology 2 9
ical statistical data" (10, p. 619). The following year, the American Association for Scientific Advancement formed a standing committee to organize an ethnographic study of the white population of the United States. Cattell, who was one of the members of this committee, noted the importance of including psychological tests in this study and the need to coordinate it with the research work of the American Psychological Association (10, ee. 619-620).
The main stream of research also included the application of newly created tests to various groups. Kelly (19) in 1903 and Northworth (24) in 1906 compared normal and mentally retarded children on tests of sensorimotor and simple mental functions. Their discoveries shed light on the continuing division of children according to their abilities and made it possible to assert that the mentally retarded do not constitute a separate category. Thomson's book "Intellectual Differences of the Sexes" was published in 1903. (“The Mental Traits of Sex”)(36), which contained the results of a variety of tests on men and women over several years. This was the first comprehensive study of psychological sex differences.
It was also the first time that sensory acuity, motor abilities, and some simple mental processes were tested in different racial groups. Some studies appeared before 1900. In 1904, Woodworth (38) and Bruner (8) tested several primitive groups at the St. Louis. In the same year, an original paper by Spearman appeared, who put forward his two-factor theory of mental organization and proposed a statistical technique to study the problem (31). This publication by Spearman opened the field of study of the relationship of qualities and paved the way for modern factor analysis.
It is clear that within a short period of time after 1900 the foundations of virtually all branches of differential psychology were laid. The prerequisites that influenced
% 3 0 Differential psychology
The formation of a new field of research included philosophical treatises by representatives of pre-experimental psychology, attempts by astronomers to make accurate measurements using individual differences in reaction time, the development of the experimental method in psychology, important discoveries in the field of biology and statistics, and the development of psychological testing tools.
The directions in which modern differential psychology is developing were partly predetermined by discoveries in such related fields as biology and statistics, as well as the consistent development of psychological testing. In addition, the development of areas of modern differential psychology was influenced by anthropology and social psychology - areas that have many points of contact with it. The relationship of differential psychology to the latter two disciplines will become more apparent after reading the chapters that discuss group differences and cultural influences.
Pioneers in the field of statistical methods such as Galton, Pearson, and Fisher equipped differential psychologists with effective techniques for analyzing data. The most important statistical concepts used in differential psychology are the concepts of statistical significance and correlation. Psychological testing, with its roots in the work of Galton, was developed by the work of Cattell, Binet, Theremin, and the Army psychologists of the First World War, who created the original scales for group testing of the level of intellectual development. In later stages, special ability testing, multifactorial systems, and measures of non-intellectual qualities began to develop. The main test concepts that a student should know are the concepts of norm, reliability and validity.
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I.E. CHURCHES
BASICS
DIFFERENTIAL PSYCHOLOGY
Educational and methodological manual
as a teaching aid
Department of Psychology (protocol No. 9 dated 05.2012)
and the scientific and methodological council of BIP
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, BIP
T.E. Cherches
Reviewers:
Associate Professor, Department of Psychology and Pedagogy, Belarusian State University
culture and arts
Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor
G.L. Speranskaya
Professor of the Department of Psychology of the Private Educational Institution "BIP - Institute of Law"
Candidate of Psychological Sciences, Associate Professor
A.A.Amelkov
Cherches, T.E. Fundamentals of differential psychology : textbook – method. allowance / T.E. Cherches. − Minsk: BIP-S Plus, 2012. − p.
The proposed publication is an educational and methodological manual on the discipline “Differential Psychology” for students of all forms of education. It was written in accordance with the new educational standard for the training of psychologists.
The manual provides the most important information students need to successfully complete the course. Along with theoretical material, it contains questions for independent work and recommended literature, with the help of which students will be able to deepen and systematize their knowledge on the problems of the formation and development of differential psychology, and form the professional position of future psychologists.
BBK ISBN © Cherches T.E., 2012
© Registration of BIP-S Plus LLC, 2012
INTRODUCTION
The educational and methodological manual “Fundamentals of Differential Psychology” was developed for the preparation of students studying in the specialty “Psychology” in higher educational institutions.
Currently, the problem of studying human individuality is one of the central topics of theoretical and applied research in psychology. The purpose of this manual is to provide direction for future psychologists who are beginning to get acquainted with the course “Differential Psychology”, to help them navigate the available bibliographic sources.
The basis for writing the manual was the work of S.K. Nartova-Bochaver “Differential psychology”. Certain sections are based on materials from M.S.’s textbooks. Egorova, E.P. Ilyin, V.N. Mashkov, as well as the classic textbook by A. Anastasi.
This textbook outlines the methodological foundations of differential psychology, its subject and methods. It presents in an accessible form classical and the latest theoretical ideas about individual variations of the psyche, which are manifested in the specific organization of the nervous system, mental processes, personality traits and behavior, a person’s life style, and various typologies of individuality.
Considerable attention is paid to the individual specifics of temperament, character, abilities and intelligence, and gender differences. The manual includes such topics as “Sources of individual differences”, “Psychophysiological bases of individual differences”, “Gender characteristics as factors of individual differences”, “Individual characteristics of professional activity”, etc.
Topic 1. Differential psychology as a field of psychological knowledge
1. 1 Subject, purpose and tasks of differential psychology.
Differential psychology– (from Latin differentia - difference) a branch of psychology that studies psychological differences both between individuals and between groups of people, the causes and consequences of these differences.
Itemdifferential psychology in modern interpretation it is formulated as follows: study of the structure of individuality based on identifying individual, typological and group differences between people using the method of comparative analysis.
Based on the subject of study, differential psychology includes three sections that are devoted to three types of differences: 1) individual, 2) group and 3) typological.
Individual differences - These are manifestations of general psychological patterns at the level of the individual. Individual differences can be divided into two groups: a) intra-individual and b) inter-individual.
Intra-individual differences imply: differences between a person and himself at different periods of life; the difference between a person and himself in different situations and different social groups; the relationship between various manifestations of personality, character, and intelligence in an individual.
Under inter-individual differences are understood as: differences between an individual person and most other people (correlation with the general psychological norm); differences between a person and a specific group of people.
Group differences- these are differences between people taking into account their belonging to a particular community or group, first of all, belonging to large groups that are distinguished according to the following criteria: gender, age, nationality (race), cultural tradition, social class, etc. Belonging to each of these groups is a natural manifestation of the nature of any person (as a biological and social being) and allows us to gain a more complete understanding of the characteristics of his individuality.
3. Typological differences– this O differences between people who are distinguished by psychological (in some cases, psychophysiological) criterion or criteria, such as, for example, characteristics of temperament, character, personality. At the same time, people are united into certain groups - types. The identification of such groups is the result of attempts to classify information about the differences between people in order to explain and predict their behavior, as well as to determine the most adequate areas of application of their abilities.
Goal and tasks differential psychology are determined based on several theoretical positions.
1. Universality of differences . Differences (intra- and interindividual) are an essential feature of human behavior, as well as the behavior of all living organisms, including humans.
2. The need for measurement when studying differences. The study of individual differences is concerned with measurement and quantification.
3. Stability of the studied characteristics. Differential psychology studies traits that are most stable over time and in different situations.
4. Determination of behavior. By comparing differences in behavior with other known associated phenomena, the relative contribution of various factors to the development of behavior can be revealed.
5. Interrelation and mutual complementation of the general and the particular when studying differences. On the one hand, the differences reveal the effect of the most general laws of human behavior. On the other hand, “the specific manifestation of any general law of psychology always includes the factor of individuality.”
Based on the above principles target differential psychology in modern interpretation is defined as “ study of the mechanisms of development and functioning of human individuality as an integral phenomenon existing in the field of interaction of subjective and objective realities».
The goal is achieved by solving the following tasks: exploring the range of individual differences in psychological characteristics; study of the structure of psychological characteristics of individuality; research into the nature of individual differences; study of various differences between groups of people; analysis of group distribution of characteristics; studying the sources of differences among measured characteristics; developing theoretical foundations for psychodiagnostic research and correctional programs.
Differential psychology has areas of intersection with other branches of psychological knowledge. It's different from general psychology in that the latter focuses on the study of general laws of the psyche (including the psyche of animals). Age-related psychology studies the characteristics of a person through the prism of patterns inherent in the age stage of his development. Social Psychology examines the characteristics acquired by a person due to his membership in a certain social group. Differential psychophysiology analyzes the individual characteristics of the human psyche, determined by the properties of the nervous system.
1.2 The origin and development of differential psychology as an independent science
Stages development of differential psychology: 1. Pre-psychological stage(development of psychological typologies within the framework of philosophy); 2. Differential psychology as an independent science(II half of the 19th century – beginning of the 20th century); 3. Development of differential psychology based on precise statistical measurements(early 20th century – present).
Differential psychology began to take shape as an independent field of psychological science in the last quarter of the 19th century. A major contribution to the study of individual differences was made by F. Galton by creating tests to measure sensorimotor and other simple functions, collecting extensive data under a variety of testing conditions, and developing statistical methods for analyzing this type of data. American psychologist D. M. Cattell, continued the development of tests begun by F. Galton and applied the differential approach in experimental psychology.
In 1895 A. Binet and V. Henry published an article entitled “The Psychology of Individuality,” which was the first systematic analysis of the goals, subject matter, and methods of differential psychology. The authors of the article put forward two main problems of differential psychology: 1) the study of the nature and degree of individual differences in psychological processes; 2) the discovery of the relationships between the mental processes of the individual, which can make it possible to classify qualities and the possibility of determining which functions are the most fundamental.
The term “differential psychology” was introduced by a German psychologist V.Stern in his work "The Psychology of Individual Differences", published in 1900. He was one of the first scientists to collect contemporary ideas about differences between people and, on the basis of this, developed an entire concept of individual differences, and then added questions related to group differences to individual differences and designated this area as “differential psychology.”
The main research methods at first were individual and group tests, tests of differences in mental abilities, and later projective techniques for measuring attitudes and emotional reactions.
By the end of the 19th century, due to the introduction into psychology experimental method, the study of differences moves to a qualitatively new level, involving measurement and subsequent analysis of individual and group characteristics. The following prerequisites are identified for the formation of differential psychology into a separate independent science:
1. Discovery by W. Wundt in 1879 psychological laboratory, where he began to study mental processes under experimental conditions.
2. Discovery of the reaction time phenomenon . In 1796, thanks to an alleged oversight by an assistant at the Greenwich Observatory, Kinnibrook, reaction time was discovered as a psychological phenomenon (individual differences were discovered between astronomer observers in determining the location of a star). Publication in 1822 F. Bessel the results of their long-term observations of motor reaction time by German astronomers can be considered the first scientific report on the study of differential psychological aspects of human behavior. Later Dutch explorer F. Donders developed a special scheme for calculating reaction time, and an increase in reaction time began to be perceived as an indicator of the complication of mental processes.
3. Use of statistical analysis methods. In 1869 in F. Galton at work"Hereditary Genius", written under the influence of evolutionary theory Ch. Darwin, interpreted the results of his statistical analysis of biographical facts of outstanding people, and also substantiated the hereditary determination of human abilities
4. Use of psychogenetic data– a field of psychology bordering on genetics, the subject of which is the origin of individual psychological characteristics of a person, the role of the environment and genotype in their formation. The most informative was the twin method, which was first used by F. Galton. This method allows you to maximally equalize the impact of the environment and differentiate differences depending on their source of origin: genetic(passed on from generation to generation), congenital(meaning only for relatives of one generation), acquired(related to differences in environment).
1.3 Methods of differential psychology
The methods used by differential psychology can be divided into several groups: general scientific, historical, actually psychological, psychogenetic, methods of statistical analysis.
− general scientific methods(observation, experiment) – modification of methods that are used in many other sciences in relation to psychological reality;
−historical methods are devoted to the study of outstanding personalities, the characteristics of their environment and heredity, which served as impulses for their spiritual formation. Among the hysterical methods there are:
1.Biographical method– using the personal biography of an outstanding person over a long period of time to compile his psychological portrait; 2. Diary method– a variant of the biographical method, usually devoted to the study of the life of an ordinary person and contains a description of his development and behavior, carried out over a long period of time by an expert; 3. Autobiography– this is a biography based on direct impressions and retrospective experience;
- actual psychological methods(introspective - introspection, self-esteem; psychophysiological; socio-psychological - questioning, conversation, sociometry; age-psychological methods of “transverse” (comparison of individual groups of children of different ages and “longitudinal” (longitudinal) were used in studying the daily behavior of children) sections;
-psychogenetic methods − This group of methods is aimed at identifying environmental and hereditary factors in individual variations in psychological qualities, as well as analyzing the relative influence of each of these two factors on the individual characteristics of a person. Genetic analysis of factors of individual differences involves the use of three methods: 1) genealogical, 2) method of adopted children and 3) twin method. 1. Genealogical method– method of studying families, pedigrees. One of the variants of this method is genogram. In this method, along with kinship relationships, the following are recorded: 1) relationships of psychological closeness (close - distant); 2) conflict relations; 3) family scenario settings. 2. Adopted children method is to include in the study: 1) children who were given up to be raised by biologically alien parents-educators as early as possible, 2) adopted children and 3) biological parents. 3.When using twin method among twins there are a) monozygotic (developed from one egg and therefore possessing identical gene sets) and b) dizygotic (in their gene set similar to ordinary brothers and sisters, with the only difference being that they were born at the same time);
-methods of statistical analysis− techniques of applied mathematics, which are used to increase the objectivity and reliability of the data obtained, for processing experimental results. In differential psychology, three such methods are most often used - dispersive(allows you to determine the measure of individual variation in indicators), correlational(certifies the presence of a connection, dependence between the variables being studied) and factorial(intended to determine properties that cannot be observed and measured directly) analysis.
Sometimes methods for studying personality are divided into three groups - based on the channel through which the information was received.
L – data, based on recording human behavior in everyday life. Since even for scientific purposes it is impossible for one psychologist to comprehensively study human behavior in different conditions, experts are usually brought in - people who have experience interacting with the subject in a significant area. Assessments must be formalized and expressed in quantitative form.
T – data objective tests (trials) with a controlled experimental situation. Objectivity is achieved due to the fact that restrictions are placed on the possibility of distortion of test scores and there is an objective way of obtaining assessments based on the test subject’s reaction.
Q – data obtained using questionnaires, questionnaires and other standardized methods. This channel occupies a central place in personality research due to its high efficiency (can be used in a group, automatically processing the results). However, it is not considered highly reliable.
Thus, there is no absolutely perfect way of knowing individuality, but by being aware of the disadvantages and advantages of each of the listed methods, you can learn to obtain completely reliable information with their help.
1.4 Features of psychological norms
When studying differences, concepts emerge, for the measurement of which specific methods are then created or selected. In this regard, the concept of psychological norm, very heterogeneous in its content, which is influenced by four factors:
1. Norm is a statistical concept. What is considered normal is what is in the middle of the distribution. To assess quality, you need to correlate a person’s indicator with others and thus determine his place on the normal distribution curve. The statistical determination of norms is carried out empirically for certain groups of people (age, social and others), in a specific territory and in a specific period of time.
2. Norms are determined by social stereotypes. If a person’s behavior does not correspond to the ideas accepted in a given society, it is perceived as deviant.
3. Norms are associated with mental health. Something that requires referral to a clinician may be considered abnormal. It should be noted, however, that in psychiatry the evaluative approach is discussed, and the most significant indications of deviation from the norm are a violation of productivity and the ability to self-regulate.
4. The idea of norms is determined by expectations, one’s own non-generalized experience and other subjective variables.
V. Stern, calling for caution in assessing a person, noted that psychologists do not have the right to make a conclusion about the abnormality of the individual himself, based on the abnormality of his individual property. In modern psychological diagnostics, the concept of “norm” is used when studying non-personal characteristics, and when it comes to personality, the term “features” is used, thereby emphasizing the deliberate rejection of the normative approach.
Topic 2. Sources of individual differences
2.1 Interaction of heredity and environment in the formation of individual differences
Determining the sources of individual variations in the psyche is the central problem of differential psychology. Individual differences are generated by numerous and complex interactions between heredity and environment. Heredity ensures the sustainability of the existence of a biological species, Wednesday– its variability and ability to adapt to changing living conditions. Different theories and approaches assess differently the contribution of two factors to the formation of individuality. Historically, the following groups of theories have emerged from the point of view of their preference for biological or environmental, socio-cultural determination. 1. B biogenetic theories the formation of individuality is understood as predetermined by congenital and genetic inclinations. Development is the gradual unfolding of these properties over time, and the contribution of environmental influences is very limited. A supporter of this approach was F. Galton, as well as the author of the theory of recapitulation, St. Hall. 2. Sociogenetic theories claim that initially a person is a blank slate (tabula rasa), and all his achievements and characteristics are determined by external conditions (environment). A similar position was shared by J. Locke. 3. Two-factor theories(convergence of two factors) understood development as the result of the interaction of innate structures and external influences. K. Bühler, V. Stern, A. Binet believed that the environment is superimposed on the factors of heredity. 4. The doctrine of higher mental functions(cultural-historical approach) L.S. Vygotsky argues that the development of individuality is possible thanks to the presence of culture - the generalized experience of humanity. Higher mental functions, which are characteristic only of man, are mediated by signs and objective activities, which represent the content of culture. And in order for a child to appropriate it, it is necessary that he enter into a special relationship with the world around him: he does not adapt, but actively appropriates the experience of previous generations in the process of joint activity and communication with adults who are carriers of culture.
The current state of affairs in the field of studying the interaction of environment and heredity is illustrated by two models of environmental influences on intellectual abilities. According to exhibition model(Zajoncz, Markus): The more time parents and children spend together, the higher the correlation of IQ with the older relative (model). IN identification model(Makaski and Clark), it was stated that the highest correlation is observed between the child and the relative who is the subject of his identification (model).
To date, the theory of differential psychology is moving along the path of clarifying concepts heredity And Wednesday. Heredity is understood not only as individual characteristics that influence behavior, but also as innate behavioral programs. Programs differ from signs that replace each other under the influence of the environment in that in this case the development trajectory is anticipated; the program contains both the time of its “launch” and the sequence of critical points.
Concept environment is considered as a changing series of stimuli to which an individual reacts throughout life - from air and food to educational conditions and the attitude of comrades, as a system of interactions between man and the world. M. Chernoushek offers the following characteristics of the environment: 1. The environment does not have a firmly fixed framework in time and space; 2. It affects all senses at once; 3. The environment provides not only main, but also secondary information; 4. It always contains more information than we are able to digest; 5. The environment is perceived in connection with the activity; 6. The environment, along with material features, has psychological and symbolic meanings.; 7. The environment acts as a whole.
W. Bronfenbrenner presented the ecological environment as a system of four concentric structures. Microsystem– the structure of activities, roles and interpersonal interactions in a given specific environment. Mesosystem– the structure of the relationship between two or more environments (family and work, home and peer group). Exosystem– the environment in which significant events occur (social circle). Macrosystem– subculture (values, laws and traditions that a person follows). W. Bronfenbrenner believed that the macrosystem plays a decisive role in a person’s lifestyle, subordinating all “internal” systems to itself. According to W. Bronfenbrenner, the environment contains two main dimensions: this activities in which a person is involved, and characteristics of mentors(teachers) whom he chooses for himself throughout his life. At different stages of development, a person naturally chooses and changes his environment, and throughout life, the role of his own activity in shaping the environment constantly increases.
Another environment structure has been proposed B.S. Mukhina. In the concept of environment it includes the objective world, figuratively-sign systems, social space and natural reality. They also talk about language environment, educational environment(V.V. Rubtsov), which represent the source of certain human achievements. Environmental influence, therefore, includes the determination of mental characteristics by geographical conditions - landscape, climate, etc. (geographical determinism), the content of culture and subculture, things necessary and valuable for the subject, and finally, the quality and form of human communication. Appropriation (personalization) of the contents of the environment is an important factor in a person’s personality and self-awareness.
One of the attempts to reconcile supporters of biogenetic and sociogenetic concepts is orthogenetic concept of X. Werner(orthogenesis is a theory of the development of living nature). According to his views, all organisms are born with functions (including mental ones) fixed at the lowest point of their development. By interacting with the environment, they acquire new experience, which, in turn, is consolidated in new functional structures, again defining a minimum of interaction, but of a new quality. Thus, the organization of previous stages implies, but does not contain, the organization of subsequent ones.
2.2 Individual, personality, individuality as the basic concepts of differential psychology
Noting the general, special and individual in individual development, the terms individual, personality, individuality are usually used.
Individual is a physical carrier of a person’s psychological characteristics. The individual creates the prerequisites for personality characteristics, but cannot fundamentally determine those qualities that are sociocultural in origin. Personality(according to A.N. Leontiev) is a systemic quality of an individual, acquired by him in the course of cultural and historical development and possessing the properties of activity, subjectivity, partiality, and awareness. According to the logic of this definition, not every individual develops into a personality, and personality, in turn, is not always clearly determined by its anatomical and physiological prerequisites.
In Russian psychology, there are several approaches to identifying the structure of individuality, the authors of which are B.G. Ananyev, B.S. Merlin, E.A. Golubeva.