Psychological boundaries- a very complex and broad concept that includes philosophical, biological, sociological and other components. A thorough theoretical analysis suggests that the following aspects of the phenomenon under consideration can be distinguished: dynamic (control, regulation, activity, “feeling” and understanding of the boundaries of the “I”) and instrumental (ways of protecting the boundaries of the “I” - physical, verbal, emotional, rational and etc.).
What needs to be assessed when diagnosing psychological boundaries in children? Among the main parameters we name the following.
- - the ability to maintain a static position of the boundaries of the Self, ensuring the preservation of the sense of “I”. This is the ability to keep psychological boundaries closed. For example, boundaries can be strictly controlled (no one is allowed through), weakly (someone is allowed to “be naughty” and disturb the peace) or not controlled at all (any influence throws people off balance).
- - the ability to change the spatial component of the phenomenon being studied, ensuring interaction with the environment. This parameter indicates how the child “coexists” with other people’s opinions, boundaries, physical space: with difficulty or quite simply and easily.
- - the ability to go beyond one's own boundaries. For example, boundaries can be independent, active, when the child himself initiates any adaptive actions, or stereotypical, passive, when the actions of an authority figure are repeated.
- Awareness and “feeling” of psychological boundaries- understanding the presence of boundaries.
- Ways to protect the boundaries of “I”(reactions to violation of rules, behavior in problematic situations, etc.).
(A full description of these criteria and how to See Appendix for manifestations.)
Let us dwell on the general trends in normative development during childhood, which serve as starting points for analyzing the data obtained. From 2 to 10 years, the following features of the boundaries of the “I” should be formed, indicating psychological health and well-being:
- “feeling”, and subsequently understanding the presence of psychological boundaries both in oneself and in another person;
- the ability to use dynamic characteristics, the absence of rigidity and static psychological boundaries;
- a wealth of manifestations (markers) of the boundaries of the “I”, that is, a wide range of ways to protect psychological boundaries.
The “weakness” of each selected criterion, its small representation in the structure of the boundaries of the “I” indicates that the development of the individual follows a certain distorted trajectory and it is necessary to make special efforts to help the child develop harmoniously.
These criteria for the development of psychological boundaries are quite general, but they allow us to set the direction for assessing the boundaries of the self in different groups of children. Let us note that at the moment there are no diagnostic tools aimed at studying the boundaries of the “I” in children 2–10 years old. Therefore, we develop non-standardized methods. These methods involve observing the child and assessing his “I” boundaries based on the above criteria (see the table in your Personal Account).
Methodology “Reading the fairy tale “The Three Bears”
Purpose: to describe the essence of the phenomenon of “I” boundaries in children 2–10 years old, to identify the current development of psychological boundaries and development zones. This fairy tale most clearly demonstrates the violation of psychological boundaries; it is rich in examples for discussion, which makes it possible to formulate children’s basic ideas about the phenomenon being studied. It contains the category “home”, which symbolizes safety, confidence for preschoolers, and, most importantly, the concept of violation of “my living space”, which allows us to provoke changes in the state of the boundaries of the “I”.
Stages
1. Reading the fairy tale “The Three Bears”
The psychologist reads the fairy tale, and observers briefly record the emotional state, comments, and characteristics of the children’s spontaneous behavior while listening. All data is entered into an observation table in the form of a brief description of the children’s reactions and answers. The purpose of this stage: to clarify the current state of psychological boundaries in children 2–10 years old, to describe the boundaries of the “I” “at rest and tension.”
2. Discussion of content
The psychologist offers the children the following questions for discussion: did the girl do good or bad when she went into the bears’ house, why? What made you sad/excited/angry/happy in the fairy tale, why? If you found a house, knocked, and they didn’t open it, what would you do, why? Is it possible to enter a house without asking, why? In what cases is it possible? If they come into your house without asking, what will you do, why? In what cases can people come to you without asking, why?
The purpose of this stage: to assess the understanding and current state of the boundaries of the “I”, that is, whether children show negative reactions when their boundaries are violated, whether they monitor the fact of violation, how they react, etc. Answers and behavioral characteristics, verbal reactions are also strictly recorded and recorded to the observation table.
3. Staging a problem situation
“The girl went into the bears’ house without asking, taking advantage of their absence. After some time, the owner of the house returned and saw the unexpected guest.” The psychologist invites children to become Masha (a symbol of intervention into other people’s psychological boundaries) and Bear (a symbol of broken boundaries and ways to protect the boundaries of the “I”) and show how they will behave in the story they read. The organization is carried out as follows: children split up in pairs and act out scenes, changing roles. The purpose of this stage is to describe the phenomenon at the level of action, that is, we assess the state of boundaries during our own and others’ intervention, as well as ways to protect them. It is important to use as many adjectives as possible to describe the observed reactions.
Methodology “My Home”
Purpose: description of the properties of psychological boundaries, their dynamic features and methods of protection. Materials: cubes, various constructors, building blocks, ribbons, threads, floor constructors, buttons, fabric, chairs, etc. Stages
1. “Building a house”
Goal: collection of empirical material at the action level. The psychologist suggests building a house from the proposed options on any free space in the room you like: “Friends, each of us has a house. In it we feel good and calm. I suggest you build your home here. Look around: there are various materials from which you can build your home. Think about what you might need. Look around: where would you like to build your home in this room, in what place? Take the necessary materials and build a house in the chosen place.”
The psychologist helps children organize the process, but does not interfere with free and spontaneous play, intervening in conflicts only as a last resort (physical or verbal aggression, actions that threaten the child’s safety). At this time, the spatial location of the house, its physical characteristics (size, building materials used, presence/absence of neighbors, internal structure of the house - number of rooms/floors, decorations), construction method (was it inside the house or outside, whether you asked for help or built it yourself) are noted , shared building materials, selected, took first or waited until everyone had collected, conflict situations, their causes, ways to overcome, etc.). It is necessary to record both the result of the game and the child’s behavior during the construction process.
This material allows you to characterize the child’s psychological boundaries at the level of ideas and symbols, and subsequently compare them with a verbal description. The resulting differences will allow us to make assumptions about the real development of the boundaries of the “I” and their ideal representation; this is a certain zone of development of the phenomenon being studied.
2. “A story about your home”
Goal: collection of empirical material at the level of ideas and sensations. The psychologist invites the children to tell about their house: “Friends, each of you built your own house. Everyone has their own, special one. Let’s give a tour and everyone will tell us what kind of house they have, how it’s built, what’s in it.” The psychologist invites each child to tell about his home, and he himself records the answers and behavioral characteristics in an observation table. It is also important to note the reaction of the child telling the story to other people’s comments; this provides information about ways to regulate, control and protect the boundaries of the “I” at the verbal level.
3. “We invite you to visit”
Goal: description of control, regulation and ways to protect the boundaries of the “I” at the level of actions. The psychologist invites the children to play and visit: “Friends! We often invite guests to our home to make our lives more interesting and fun. Look around: which of the guys would you invite to visit? Or would you invite other people? Or fairy-tale heroes? What do you suggest guests do?”
Organizationally, it looks like this: the owner chooses those children whom he wants to invite to visit (or names the names of those whom he would like to see next to him - loved ones, other people, fairy-tale characters, etc.), and invites them to his home. After placement in the house, the psychologist invites the owner to tell how he will entertain his guests. Then (if conditions allow) you can stage these situations.
— What will you do if your sister/brother or an unfamiliar guest touches your things without permission?
— What will you do if your sister/brother or an unfamiliar guest makes noise at night and disturbs your sleep?
— What will you do if your sister/brother or a stranger laughs at your drawing?
All situations can be divided into two groups: reactions to a loved one and to a stranger, which affect various spheres of psychological sovereignty (the sphere of things, habits, values, territory). It is assumed that the reaction to “strangers” and “insiders” will be different. The discrepancy between these reactions will indicate the dynamic characteristics of psychological boundaries, differences in the methods of protecting the boundaries of the “I”. All data is strictly recorded.
“Pie” technique
Purpose: description of the state of psychological boundaries and ways to protect them. Materials: large carpet, room free of furniture.
Instructions. Friends! Each of us loves to eat delicious food. There is a pie in front of us, very appetizing. Tell me, which piece would you choose for yourself (from the middle or from the edge, large or small, with or without decoration, etc.)? (It is advisable not to use these tips, giving the children the opportunity to describe what they want.) Now take up as much space on the carpet as you would like to eat. Why did you choose this particular place? Did everyone get exactly the piece they dreamed of? Is everyone comfortable in your seats, why? What needs to be done to make it more convenient? Tell us why you deserve the biggest and most delicious piece?
The technique is based on the archetypal stimulus “food”, which actualizes the child’s oppositional position “I - others”, as it involves addressing a vital need and its limited resource. This opposition makes it possible to describe the state of psychological boundaries in children in the interpersonal space, that is, in the situation of the need to take into account the boundaries of the “I” of another person. During the technique, it is necessary to sketch a diagram of the children’s location on the carpet, noting the size of the space occupied, and record the children’s emotional and behavioral reactions to the task and questions.
Examples
Thanks to the described diagnostic tools, it is possible to characterize the specifics of psychological boundaries in children 2–10 years old. For convenience, you can use observation tables (see Appendix 1 in your Personal Account), noting the severity of one or another characteristic of psychological boundaries. The described techniques have great practical value, since they can be used in correctional and developmental work, remembering one of the main functions of psychological boundaries at the age of 2–10 years - maintaining the necessary level of adaptation to environmental conditions.
Let's consider how the described techniques can be used in practical work.
— Boy, 7 years old. Parents and teachers complain that he cannot refuse anyone, agrees to any action, even one that will obviously bring him trouble, never declares his desires, and is guided by the opinions of others. Intellectually, the boy is very developed, well-read, well-mannered. As a result of the study, it turned out that he did not feel his psychological boundaries, which was expressed in the inability to say “no” or refuse the proposed “pranks”. Psychological work was carried out, after which the boy began to listen to himself and express his desires.
— Girl, 9 years old. Teachers and parents noted some behavioral features, in particular, strong resistance to everything new (she refused to move to a new place in the class, put on new clothes, claiming that they were uncomfortable, etc.). The world is divided into “black and white” without shades, he is friends with only one girl, making no attempts to establish contact with the rest of his classmates, despite the fact that the atmosphere in the class is quite prosperous. She refuses to take part in general class events (excursions, tea parties), although she really wants this, etc. The girl is capable, studies successfully, understands “the absurdity of her position, but cannot help herself” (in her words). During her participation in the study, it turned out that her psychological boundaries are very strict, closed, and she does not know how to change their state in accordance with environmental conditions. Special work was carried out during which the girl learned to see different behavior options and choose the most optimal and comfortable one for her.
— Boy, 4 years old. Educators and parents note a high level of verbal aggression over the most insignificant occasion (someone looked, accidentally touched, touched his toy or clothes). The boy is smart, cheerful, friendly, and after his “breakdowns” he always asks for forgiveness from the offended person. As a result of the diagnostics, it turned out that this was the only way he knew of protecting the boundaries of the “I”; their narrowness was also noted. Based on the data obtained, psychological work was carried out, which allowed the boy to learn more adequate ways to protect the boundaries of the “I”, as well as strengthen the idea of his own boundaries.
Diagnosis of the state of psychological boundaries
Description of methods and observation criteria
Application
Approximate criteria for describing the boundaries of the self in children 2–10 years old
| Observation category | Description Criteria |
| Control of psychological boundaries- ability | — The ability to keep borders closed, suppress any attempts to change the sign, or disrupt psychological well-being. |
| Regulating psychological boundaries– the ability to change the spatial component of the phenomenon being studied, ensuring interaction | - Has difficulty “adjacent” to other people’s opinions, boundaries, physical space. |
| Activity of psychological boundaries– ability to go out | — The boundaries are independent, active, and initiate any adaptive actions. |
| Awareness and "feeling" psychological boundaries | — There is an understanding of boundaries. |
| Ways to protect borders I | — The owner’s reaction to violation of the rules: directively prohibits, gently persuades, allows and corrects (puts the house in order). |
| Description of the essence of the phenomenon of boundaries of the Self in children 2–10 years old | — A sign of emotion when listening to a task. |
| Boundaries of Self | — Taking care of your own boundaries: impact on others (physical, etc.) – impact on yourself (accept, ignore, calm down, shrink, etc.). |
Report
“Features of psychodiagnostics of preschool children”
Features of psychodiagnostics of preschool children
The word “psychodiagnostics” literally means “making a psychological diagnosis,” or making a qualified decision about the final psychological state of a person as a whole or about any individual psychological property. Practical psychodiagnostics is used in a variety of areas of activity of a psychologist: both when he acts as an author or participant in applied psychological and pedagogical experiments, and when he is engaged in psychological counseling or mental correction. But most often, psychodiagnostics acts as a separate, completely independent field of activity. Its goal is to make a psychological diagnosis, i.e. assessment of a person’s current mental state.
Preschool children have a number of psychological and behavioral characteristics, knowledge of which is necessary in order to obtain reliable results in the process of their psychodiagnostic examination. These features, first of all, include a relatively low level of consciousness and self-awareness. For most preschoolers, cognitive processes such as attention, memory, perception, imagination and thinking are at a relatively low level of development.
In order to correctly judge the level of development achieved by a child, it is necessary to select psychodiagnostic test tasks in such a way that they are simultaneously designed for both voluntary and involuntary levels of regulation of the cognitive sphere. This allows us to adequately assess, on the one hand, the degree of arbitrariness of cognitive processes, and on the other hand, the real level of their development in the event that they are not yet arbitrary. Children 3-6 years old already have elements of voluntariness in managing their cognitive processes. But the majority of children of this age are characterized by a predominance of involuntary cognitive processes, and the child relies on them when learning about the world around him. Psychodiagnostics of children of this age, therefore, should be two-directional:
A detailed study of the development of involuntary cognitive processes.
Timely detection and accurate description of voluntary cognitive actions and reactions.
Preschool children are very poorly aware of their own personal qualities and cannot correctly assess their behavior. Starting from 4 to 6 years old, children can already evaluate themselves as an individual, but within limited limits. Therefore, it is recommended to use the method of external expert assessment, using adults who know the child well as experts.
Also, personality questionnaires containing direct judgments of a self-evaluative type are not entirely suitable for preschool children. If we are talking about indirect judgments, then they should also not include features of the psychology of behavior that the child is not yet well aware of. In general, the use of such questionnaires for psychodiagnostic purposes in preschool age should be minimized, and if resorting to them is inevitable, then each question must be explained in detail and clearly to the child.
Only then will preschoolers demonstrate their abilities in the process of psychodiagnostics, i.e. show results that correctly reflect the level of their mental development, when the methods themselves and the tasks they contain arouse and maintain the child’s interest throughout the entire time. As soon as the child’s immediate interest in the completed task is lost, he ceases to show the abilities and inclinations that he actually possesses. Therefore, if we want to identify the actual level of psychological development of a child and his capabilities, for example, the zone of potential development, it is necessary in advance, by drawing up instructions and methods, to make sure that all this arouses involuntary attention on the part of the child and is interesting enough for him.
Finally, one should take into account the characteristics of the involuntary cognitive processes themselves, for example, the inconstancy of involuntary attention and increased fatigue of children of this age. Therefore, a series of test tasks should not be made too long or require a lot of time. The optimal time for completing test tasks for preschool children is considered to be in the range from one to ten minutes, and the younger the child’s age, the shorter it should be. The best psychodiagnostic results can be obtained by observing children in the process of engaging in the leading activity for a given age - play.
When taking a child for diagnostics, you must keep in mind that he should not be torn away from an activity that is interesting to him and brought against his will. In this case, the research results may be unreliable.
To carry out diagnostics, a separate room is required, in which no one will interfere with the work with the child. The appearance of the room is of great importance. The less it looks like an official office, the freer the child will feel. An important condition for psychodiagnostics is adaptation to the individual characteristics of the child: his pace, level of fatigue, fluctuations in motivation, etc.
Methods of psychodiagnostic examination of preschool children
Let us consider the features of using such various methods of studying children as observation, survey, experiment and testing.
Observation method
The observation method is one of the main ones in working with children. Many methods commonly used in the study of adults - tests, experiments, surveys - have a limited scope of application in studies conducted on children due to their complexity. They are, as a rule, inaccessible to children, especially in infancy.
One of the first researchers to monitor child development was Charles Darwin. In 1881, it was he who first described the appearance of a child’s smile on the 45th-46th day of life, attachment to an adult at the end of the fifth month of life, and many other important facts. The prominent Swiss psychologist J. Piaget, highlighting the stages of mental development of a child, often referred to observations of his own grandchildren. The famous Soviet child psychologist D.B. Elkonin used observations of his grandson to describe the process of formation of the child’s objective actions.
Before you begin observing what and how children do, it is necessary to establish the purpose of the observation, answer questions about why it is being carried out, and what results it will ultimately produce. Then it is necessary to draw up an observation program, develop a plan designed to lead the researcher to the desired goal.
The observation method can provide very important results. But it all depends on what and how to observe. In this regard, several observation options are distinguished.
Firstly, it can be continuous or selective.
Secondly, observation can be hidden and included.
Third , observation can be one-time or long-term.
The observation method has a number of undeniable advantages. It allows us to unfold before us the concrete life of a child, gives many living, interesting facts, but allows us to study the child in the natural conditions of his life. It is indispensable for initial orientation in the problem and obtaining preliminary facts. But this method has a number ofshortcomings , the main one being its extreme labor intensity. It requires high psychological education of the researcher and a huge investment of time, which does not at all guarantee obtaining facts. The researcher is forced to wait until the phenomena of interest arise by themselves. In addition, observational results often do not allow us to understand the reasons for certain forms of behavior. Many researchers have noticed that when observing, a psychologist sees only what he already knows, and what is still unknown to him passes by his attention.
Experimental method
In research work with children, experimentation is often one of the most reliable methods of obtaining reliable information about the psychology and behavior of a child, especially when observation is difficult and survey results may be questionable. Including a child in an experimental play situation makes it possible to obtain the child’s immediate reactions to the influencing stimuli and, on the basis of these reactions, to judge what the child is hiding from observation or is unable to verbalize during questioning. The spontaneity of children's behavior in play, the inability of children to consciously play a certain social role for a long time, their emotional responsiveness and fascination enable the researcher to see what he is not able to obtain using other methods.
An experiment in working with children allows you to get the best results when it is organized and carried out in the form of a game or activities familiar to the child - drawing, designing, guessing riddles, etc. Children should not suspect that the games they are offered are specifically designed for their learning.
The experimental procedure has a greater impact on children than on adults. An explanation for this is found inpeculiarities of the child's psyche :
Children are more emotional when communicating with adults . An adult is always a psychologically significant figure for a child. He is either kind, or dangerous, or likable and trustworthy, or unpleasant and should be stayed away from.
Consequently, children strive to please an unfamiliar adult or “hide” from contact with him.
The manifestation of personality traits in a child depends on the situation to a greater extent than in an adult. The situation is constructed during communication: the child must successfully communicate with the experimenter, understand his questions and requirements. A system of concepts and methods of communication that are unusual for a child will be a powerful barrier to his inclusion in the experiment.
The child has a more vivid imagination than the experimenter, and therefore can interpret the experimental situation differently than an adult. Experimenters are advised to pay attention to whether the child correctly understands the questions and requests addressed to him when giving one or another answer.
The specificity of an experiment in child psychology is that the experimental conditions should be close to the natural living conditions of the child and should not disrupt the usual forms of his activity. Unusual laboratory conditions may confuse the child and cause him to refuse to perform activities. Therefore, an experiment with the participation of children should be close to the natural conditions of a child’s life.
One type of psychological experiment is tests.
Test is a system of specially selected tasks that are offered to children under strictly defined conditions. For completing each task, the child receives a score.
Helper Methods
In addition to the main methods of studying children - observation and experiment - auxiliary methods are used. These include analysis of the results of children's activities (drawings, crafts, fairy tales composed by children, etc.) and the method of conversation (or interview). Analysis of children's drawings is especially widely used. Children's drawings reflect the child's emotional state, the peculiarities of perception of surrounding people and objects, and the nature of relationships with others. When interpreting drawings, it is imperative to take into account the visual experience of the “artist,” since children’s graphic activity may be poorly formed. The presence or absence of visual skills, the use of stereotypes, templates, age characteristics - all this significantly influences the diagnostic portrait of a person. Interpretation of children's drawings requires high qualifications and extensive experience working with this material. In addition, it can never be definite and unambiguous and always presupposes some subjectivity of the researcher. Therefore, in serious research this method can only be used as an auxiliary one.
The conversation method (question method) can be used in working with children starting from the age of 4, when they already have a fairly good command of speech, but within very limited limits. The fact is that children of preschool age cannot yet express their thoughts and experiences in words, so their answers are usually short, formal and reproducing the words of an adult. Selecting questions to talk to children is a great art. Difficulties may be caused by the fact that the child does not always correctly understand the questions addressed to him.
Conclusion:
Psychodiagnostics of preschool children has its own characteristics. Preschool children have a number of psychological and behavioral characteristics, knowledge of which is necessary in order to obtain reliable results in the process of their psychodiagnostic examination. These features, first of all, include a relatively low level of consciousness and self-awareness. In addition, it should be taken into account that processes such as memory, attention, thinking, and imagination are not sufficiently developed. The most commonly used research methods are observation and experiment, as well as auxiliary methods: analysis of the results of children's activities and conversation. The best psychodiagnostic results can be obtained by observing children in the process of engaging in the leading activity for a given age - play.
Literature:
Vallon A. Mental development of the child. - M., 1967
Wenger L.A. Pedagogy of abilities. - M., 1973
Vygotsky L.S. Pedagogical psychology. - M., 1991
Gurevich K.M. Psychological diagnostics. Tutorial. M., 1997.
Druzhinin V. N. Experimental psychology. - 2nd ed., add. - St. Petersburg, 2002.
Piaget J. Selected psychological works. - M., 1969
Elkonin D.B. Child psychology. - M., 1960
Elkonin D.B. Mental development in childhood.-M., 1995
Studying a child’s attitude towards himself during a crisis period of 3 years.
The technique was developed by Guskova T.V. and Elagina M.G. and is intended to diagnose the characteristics of a child’s attitude towards himself during the crisis of the age of three.
To conduct the research, you need to select several pictures depicting animals, plants, objects and draw up questions for a conversation with the child based on their content.
The study is carried out individually with children 2-3 years old. It consists of alternately looking at pictures depicting animals, plants, objects and the child’s answers to the adult’s questions about their content. The child meets with the experimenter several times in two different situations, depending on which the adult demonstrates his attitude towards the child and his answers:
I situation- only successful answers are noted and assessed accordingly;
II situation- only unsuccessful answers are noted and evaluated, for which the child receives a negative mark.
In each situation, the research goes through a number of stages:
Stage I- a general friendly and interested attitude towards the child before looking at the picture;
Stage II- during a conversation based on pictures, the experimenter evaluates the correct answer: " Okay, you know it", incorrect answer: " Too bad you don't know it";
Stage III- a general friendly and interested attitude towards the child after looking at the pictures.
The child’s behavioral reactions are recorded in the table. Each type of reaction is assigned the following symbol:
O - indicative, D - motor, E - emotional, R - working.
Data processing.
To determine the child’s emotional attitude towards himself, the baby’s basic behavioral reactions in situations 1 and 2 are compared. On this basis, conclusions are drawn about the extent to which the child’s general attitude toward himself has differentiated from the specific one, based on his actual achievement in solving the problem. They determine how this differentiation depends on the type of assessment and the context of relationships with adults.
Studying the manifestation of a sense of pride in one’s own achievements in 3-year-old children.
The technique was developed by Guskova T.V. and Elagina M.G. and is aimed at studying the main personality developments in children during the crisis of three years of age.
To conduct the research, it is necessary to prepare a pyramid, its image (sample) and a constructor.
The study is carried out individually with children 2 years 6 months old. - 3 years 6 months. The experiment consists of 5 series, each of which includes 3 tasks.
For example, the first series includes tasks:
1) assemble a pyramid using a sample picture;
2) build a house from construction kit parts (without a sample);
3) build a truck from construction kit parts (without a sample).
The four other series are constructed similarly to identify stable characteristics of the child’s behavior in relation to the objective world and adults.
For the 1st task, regardless of the quality of execution, the child receives praise, for the 2nd - the assessment “did” or “did not do”, according to his result, the solution to the 3rd task is not assessed. If there are difficulties, the experimenter offers the child help.
When processing data, children’s activity during tasks is analyzed according to two parameters:
1) the child’s connection with the objective world reflects the value of achievements in the activity being carried out (acceptance of the task, indicating the interest and motivational support of the activity, determination in completing the task), involvement in solving the problem (the depth of involvement in the process of the activity itself), the child’s assessment of the productivity of his activity;
2) the child’s connection with an adult reflects independence in completing tasks (the child’s attitude towards the adult’s help, his emotional manifestations); seeking an adult’s assessment and attitude towards it.
Activity indicators are assessed on the following scale:
With the maximum severity of the indicator, the child is given 3 points,
with average - 2 points,
if low - 1 point.
Thus, level I of activity is 0-7 points, level II is 7-14 points, level III is 14-21 points.
The results of the calculations in total for the entire sample of indicators are presented in a table:
They analyze how the child’s activity increases in seeking an adult’s assessment. They track emotional reactions when receiving or not receiving an assessment. They find out whether affective forms of behavior (exaggeration of one’s achievements, attempts to devalue failure) appear in the event of failure or lack of adult assessment of the child’s success.
Summarizing the results obtained, they detail the conclusion about the emergence of such a personal new formation as “pride in one’s own achievements” (it integrates an objective attitude to reality, an attitude towards an adult as a model, an attitude towards oneself mediated by achievement).
If the study is carried out in a group of children, it seems advisable to introduce an age gradation:
Compare the results on activity indicators depending on the age group 2 years 6 months. - 2 years 10 months, 2 years 10 months. - 3 years 2 months , 3 years 2 months - 3 years 6 months
Methodology for studying children's self-awareness and gender and age identification.
The technique was developed by N. L. Belopolskaya and is intended to study the level of formation of those aspects of self-awareness that are associated with the identification of gender and age. Designed for children from 3 to 11 years old. It can be used for research purposes, for diagnostic examination of children, for counseling a child and for correctional work.
Stimulus material.
Two sets of cards are used, on which a male or female character is depicted in different periods of life from infancy to old age (drawing cards).
Each set (male and female) consists of 6 cards. The appearance of the character depicted on them demonstrates typical features corresponding to a certain phase of life and the corresponding gender and age role: infancy, preschool age, school age, youth, maturity and old age.
The research is carried out in two stages.
The task first stage is an assessment of the child’s ability to identify his present, past and future gender and age status on the visual material presented to him. In other words, the child’s ability to adequately identify his life path is tested.
Procedure.
The research is carried out as follows. All 12 pictures (both sets) are laid out in random order in front of the child on the table. The instructions ask the child to show which image corresponds to his idea of himself at the present moment. That is, the child is asked: " Look at all these pictures. What kind of person do you think you are now?"You can sequentially point to 2-3 pictures and ask: " Such? (Like this?)"However, in the case of such a “hint,” one should not point to those pictures whose image corresponds to the real image of the child at the time of the study.
If the child has made an adequate choice of picture, we can assume that he correctly identifies himself with the appropriate gender and age, which is noted in the protocol. If the choice is made inadequately, this is also recorded in the protocol. In both cases, you can continue the study.
In cases where the child cannot identify himself with any character in the pictures at all, for example, declaring: " I'm not here“, it is not advisable to continue the experiment, since even identification with the image of the present has not been formed in the child.
After the child has chosen the first picture, he is given additional instructions to show what he was like before. You can say: " Okay, this is who you are now, but what were you like before?". The choice is recorded in the protocol. The selected card is placed in front of the one that was chosen first, so that the beginning of the age sequence is obtained.
Then the child is asked to show what he will be like later. Moreover, if the child copes with the choice of the first picture of the image of the future (for example, a preschooler chooses a picture with the image of a schoolchild), he is asked to determine subsequent age-related images. All pictures are laid out by the child himself in the form of a sequence. An adult can help him with this, but the child must find the right age image strictly on his own. The entire sequence obtained in this way is reflected in the protocol.
If the child has correctly (or almost correctly) compiled the sequence for his gender, he is asked to arrange cards with a character of the opposite gender in age order.
On second stage The study compares the child’s ideas about the real self, the attractive self and the unattractive self.
Procedure.
Both sequences of pictures lie on the table in front of the child. The one that the child made (or the sequence corresponding to the child’s gender) lies directly in front of him, and the second one is a little further away. In the case when the sequence compiled by the child is significantly incomplete (for example, it consists of only two cards) or contains errors (for example, rearrangements), it is this one that is located in front of him, and the rest of the cards, in a disordered form, are located slightly further away. They should all be within his or her field of vision.
The child is asked to show which image of the sequence seems most attractive to him.
Example instructions: " Look carefully at these pictures again and show me what you would like to be"After the child has pointed to a picture, you can ask him 2-3 questions about why this image seemed attractive to him.
Then the child is asked to show a picture with the most unattractive age image for him.
Example instructions: " Now show me in pictures what you would never want to be". The child chooses a picture, and if the child’s choice is not very clear to the experimenter, then you can ask him questions clarifying the motives for his choice.
The results of both elections are recorded in the protocol.
To record the progress of the procedure, it is recommended to use protocol forms (sample protocol). They mark the positions of the correct gender and age sequence, against which the child’s choice is indicated, and positions are also reserved for marking positive and negative preferences.
The choice of an “identical” character is marked with a cross in a circle, the rest - with a simple cross. Missed positions are marked with a minus sign, and if the sequence is violated, the numbers of the selected cards are indicated in the corresponding position.
For example, if a preschooler correctly identified himself and his previous status, but placed the young man behind the man and put the card with the old man aside, then his result is recorded in the table:
The selected attractive and unattractive images are indicated by the serial number of the picture in the sequence:
It is also useful to record the child’s immediate statements and reactions in the process of carrying out the instructions given to him and his answers to the experimenter’s questions about the motives for this or that choice.
Interpretation of results.
Children with normal mental development are characterized by the following gender and age identification.
Children 3 years old most often (in 84% of cases) they identify themselves with the baby and do not accept further instructions. However, already by 4 years Almost all children are able to identify themselves with a picture depicting a preschooler of the corresponding gender.
Approximately 80% of children of this age can identify their past image with the image of a baby in a picture. Children choose different pictures as an “image of the future”: from a picture of a schoolboy (72%) to a picture of a man (woman), commenting on it like this: “ then I will be big, then I will be mom (dad), then I will be like Tanya (older sister)". Typical for children of this age is the gender and age sequence reflected in the table:
Beginning from 5 years old children no longer make mistakes when identifying their real age and gender status. Children of this age can correctly construct the identification sequence: infant - preschooler - schoolchild. About half of them continue to build the sequence and identify themselves with the future roles of a boy (girl), man (woman), however, calling the latter “dad” and “mom”.
Thus, 80% of 5-year-old children build the sequence shown in the table:
And 20% of children of this age - a shorter sequence:
Almost all children aged 6 - 7 years correctly establish the sequence of identification from infant to adult (pictures 1 to 5), but have difficulty identifying themselves with the image of “old age”.
All children 8 years capable of establishing a complete identification sequence of 6 pictures. They already identify themselves with the future image of old age, although they consider it the most unattractive. The image of a “baby” also turns out to be unattractive for many.
Children 9 years and older form a complete identification sequence and adequately identify themselves with gender and age.
"Draw yourself" technique.
The test is intended for children 4-6 years old and is aimed at identifying the child’s level of self-esteem.
Average time completing the task - 30-40 minutes.
Necessary materials: a standard sheet of white unlined paper, folded in half, four colored pencils - black, brown, red and blue.
The first page remains blank; after the work is completed, the necessary information about the child is recorded. On the second, third and fourth pages, in a vertical position at the top, the name of each picture is printed in large letters - respectively: “Bad boy/girl” (depending on the gender of the child), “Good boy/girl”, “Myself”.
Instructions: " Now we will draw. First we will draw a bad boy or a bad girl. We will draw it with two pencils - brown and black. The worse the boy or girl you draw, the smaller the drawing should be. A very bad one will take up very little space, but it should still be clear that this is a drawing of a person".
After the children have finished drawing, the following instructions are given: " Now we will draw a good boy or a good girl. We will draw them with a red and blue pencil. And the better the girl or boy, the larger the drawing should be. A very good one will take up the entire sheet of paper.".
Before the third picture the following instructions are given: " Let each of you draw a picture of yourself on this piece of paper. You can draw yourself with all four pencils".
Results processing scheme.
1. Analysis of the “self-portrait”: the presence of all the main details, the completeness of the image, the number of additional details, the thoroughness of their drawing, the “ornamentation”, the static nature of the drawing or the representation of the figure in motion, the inclusion of “oneself in some kind of plot-game”, etc. .
The initial number of points is 10. For the absence of any detail from the main ones, 1 point is deducted. For each additional detail, “decoration”, representation in the plot or movement, 1 point is awarded. The more points, the more positive the attitude towards the drawing, i.e. towards oneself (norm 11-15 points). On the contrary, the absence of necessary details indicates a negative or conflictual attitude.
2. Comparison of the “self-portrait” with the drawing of “good” and “bad” peers according to the parameters:
- Size“self-portrait” (approximately coincides with “good” - 1 point is awarded, much more -
2 points, coincides with “bad” - minus 1 point, much less - minus 2 points, less than “good”, but more than “bad” - 0.5 points).
- Colors, used in the “self-portrait” (more blue and red colors - 1 point, more black and brown colors - minus 1 point, colors approximately equal - 0 points).
Repetition in "self-portrait" details drawings of “good” or “bad” (clothing, headdress, toys, flowers, slingshot, etc.). The total number generally coincides more with the “good” child - 1 point is awarded, a complete match - 2 points. The total number coincides more with the “bad” child - minus 1 point, complete match - minus 2 points. There are approximately equal numbers of both - 0 points.
- General impression about the similarity of a “self-portrait” to a “good” drawing - 1 point, to a “bad” drawing -
minus 1 point.
Number of points scored: 3-5 points - adequate positive attitude towards oneself, more - inflated self-esteem, less - low self-esteem, negative result (0 or less) - negative attitude towards oneself, possibly complete rejection of oneself.
3. The location of the “self-portrait” on the sheet. The image of the picture at the bottom of the page - minus 1 point, if in addition the figure is depicted as small - minus 2 points This situation indicates the child’s depressed state, the presence of a feeling of inferiority. The most unfavorable is the location of the figure in the lower corners of the sheet and depicted in profile (as if striving "run away" from the sheet) - minus 3 points.
The drawing is located in the center of the sheet or slightly above - 1 point, the drawing is very large, occupies almost the entire sheet - 2 points, in addition to the last one it is also located frontal (facing us) - 3 points.
Diagnostics of interpersonal relationships.
Family Relations Test (for children from 3 to 11 years old).
This diagnostic technique is intended to study the characteristics of the relationship between a child and his family members as the main core of possible tension in family interpersonal relationships.
The researcher's task is to help the child include, for emotional or logical reasons, or exclude important persons from the family circle. Moreover, the family group he created in the test situation does not necessarily correspond to his sociological family. The resulting distinction between the idea of family expressed by the child and his family provides information about the child's emotional life at home.
The emotional background that plays a major role in the child’s interpersonal relationships includes: strong experiences of love or hate, “sexual or aggressive” in the broad sense of these words, weaker experiences such as “like - don’t like”, “pleasant - not pleasant” and the reaction of jealousy and rivalry. It also includes the child's self-directed, "autoerotic" or "auto-aggressive" experiences, and defenses against awareness of feelings directed toward him. Experiences of older children
differ more subtly than the feelings of the younger ones. In young children, experiences of something or love for someone, trouble or strong hatred easily flow from one to another.
In this sense, the test examines less formalized relationships in working with young children. The option for older children is aimed at exploring the following relationships:
1) two types of positive attitude: weak and strong. Weak feelings are associated with friendly approval and acceptance, strong feelings are associated with “sexualized” experiences related to intimate psychic contact and manipulation,
2) two types of negative attitude: weak and strong. The weak are associated with unfriendliness and disapproval, the strong express hatred and hostility,
3) parental indulgence, expressed by questions like " Mom spoils this family member too much",
4) parental overprotection, presented in questions like " mom is worried that this person might catch a cold".
All of these items, except for the items regarding overprotection and indulgence, represent two directions of feelings: do the feelings come from the child and are directed to other people, or does the child feel like an object of the feelings of others. An example of the first category would be: " I love snuggling with this family member.". And the second example is " this man loves to hug me tightly".
The version for young children contains the following relationships:
1) positive feelings. Both types come from the child and are experienced by the child as coming from others,
2) negative feelings. Both types come from the child and are experienced by him as coming from others,
3) dependence on others.
Test material.
The Family Relations Test is designed to provide specific insights into the child's family. It consists of 20 figures representing people of various ages, shapes and sizes, stereotypical enough to represent the various members of a child's family, and ambiguous enough to represent a specific family. There are figures from grandparents to newborn children. This gives the child the opportunity to create his own family circle from them. In addition to family representatives, other important figures are included in the test. For those questions that do not correspond to any family member, the figure “nobody” is adapted.
Each figure is equipped with a mailbox-like box with a slot. Each question is written on a separate small card. The child is told that the cards contain messages and that his task is to put the card in the box of the figure to which it corresponds most. The test situation thus becomes a game situation, and the test material should prepare the subject for the upcoming emotional response.
The child sits in a comfortable position close to the figures representing his family. He chose them from the entire set. He and the researcher see them as the child's family. They are treated like family members, and this illusion continues throughout the test situation.
The child's task is to obey the maneuvers of the test. He is not asked to analyze the complex set of feelings he has for his family. The child is expected to express himself in a choice of emotional positions, which will be collected from a variety of sources sufficient to understand the basis of the child's relationships. The question is thus fixed. But his place is not strictly defined and the question is allowed to be given to the “Nobody” figure.
Feelings “thrown” at the figure immediately disappear from view, leaving no trace of blame. In this way, the child has no visible reminder of the distribution of his love or hate, and therefore the feeling of guilt does not interfere with freedom of expression.
Research procedure.
The room in which testing takes place must contain a table for recording test results and a table on which the 21 test pieces are placed. All figures should be placed in front of the child entering the room and distributed in the following order into groups - 4 women, 4 men, 5 girls, 5 boys, an old man and an infant, “nobody”.
On first stage research needs to find out who makes up the child’s family. When the child has entered the room and contact has been established, the tester asks the child the following questions:
1) tell me about the people who live in the house with you;
2) tell me who is in your family.
The task is to clarify from the child his concept of family, and both of these questions can be repeated and clarified if this seems necessary. The people mentioned by the child are listed on a piece of paper. This sheet does not have a special place to write down that the child has a father and mother. But if a child comes from a single-parent family, then this fact must be noted in the form column.
To interpret test results, it is important to know whether one or both parents have died, whether they are divorced or separated, whether one parent is temporarily absent, and who the child is currently living with. The same thing needs to be learned about the child’s brothers and sisters, if any. It may happen that the child's mother died, the father remarried, and the child says that he has two mothers. For a more accurate understanding of the child’s feelings, it is advisable to include both mothers in the test. There is a space on the form to describe other family members, where such mom and dad can be noted.
The same space on the form allows you to note an aunt or uncle, a grandparent, a child's wet nurse, or an older sister. This marked worksheet also includes space for the siblings' names and ages. If the child does not know how old they are, the tester may ask the following questions: " He's bigger than you?", "Who is older: Sasha or Olya?", "Sasha goes to school or he goes to work?".
On second stage research is necessary to establish the child’s family circle. After the tester has established who makes up the child’s family and has written down the family members on the form, he tells the child: “ We are going to play this game now. Do you see all the figures standing there? We'll pretend some of them are your family".
Then the tester brings the child closer to the figures, pointing to four female figures and asks: " Which one do you think is better to make a mother?"He allows the child to make a choice and point to the chosen figure, then asks to put it on the table or desk. Then he points to the male figures and asks: " Now tell me, which of them is best to make a dad?"The selected figure is placed by the child on the same table.
Then the experimenter points to the figures of boys and girls (depending on the gender of the subject) and asks: " Which one would you like to be yourself?", - and the figure is transferred to the table. This continues until the child places figures on the table for each family member. If the child wants to make several choices, he is allowed to do so. He can also include forgotten brothers, sisters, grandmother.
When the family circle is complete, the test taker can say: " Now we have all the family members assembled, but there will be one more figure in our game". He takes out the "nobody" figure, places it next to the family members and says: " This person's name is "nobody". He will also play. Now I'll tell you what he will do".
Third stage- study of emotional relationships in the family. The child is seated at a table with figures at a comfortable distance. If he wants to place the pieces in a certain order, he is allowed to do so. The tester places the test questions in a pile in front of him and says: " You see, there are a lot of little cards with messages written on them. I will read to you what they say, and you will put each card to the figure that it fits best. If the message on the card doesn't suit anyone, you give it to "nobody." See what I mean? Sometimes you feel like the message applies to more than one person. Then say so and give me these cards. Now attention! I repeat: if a card suits one person the most, you give that card to that figure, if the card suits no one, you give it to the "nobody" figure, if the card suits several people, you give it to me".
The test situation tends to create a "defense" system against feelings that make the child feel guilty. These defenses are conventional defenses modified by the limitations imposed by the test material. The test results may reveal the following defense mechanisms:
1) refusal, i.e. the child gives most of the positive and negative points to “nobody”;
2) idealization, i.e. the child gives the majority of questions of a positive nature to family members, while the majority of negative ones are given to “no one”;
3) mixing, i.e. the child gives most of the points to peripheral family members;
4) fulfillment of desires, regression. These defenses can be revealed if the child directs most of the questions to himself, expressing over-patronizing, over-indulging feelings.
The results obtained during the test in the clinic helped to detect the following types of protection:
Projection, i.e. the child exaggeratedly and unrealistically attributes positive and negative feelings and at the same time denies them to himself;
Formation reaction, i.e. the child replaces his answers with the opposite ones in order to hide too bright positive or negative feelings.
If research shows an excessive expression of strong positive or negative feelings, we can talk about a lack of security.
Presentation of results.
When the child completes the task, the researcher takes the cards from the figures and marks on the form to whom each item was addressed. Processing consists of recording the question numbers in the appropriate boxes and summing the number of questions that were assigned to each person within each group of questions. This will show how much of “each kind of feeling” the child sends to each family member.
The next step is to format the data into a table.
Finally, the conclusions drawn from the quantitative and qualitative results are recorded.
The test usually takes 20-25 minutes. Processing of the received data will take about 15 minutes.
The family structure is entered into the table, i.e., all those who were selected at the stage of establishing the child’s family circle, the characteristic features of this case, the child’s family status, parenting style, as well as the numbers of cards received by each family member are indicated.
In addition to the general table, the technique makes it possible to analyze how feelings are distributed among its members in a family. For this purpose, the various types of relationships determined by the questionnaire are presented in the form of a table:
Psychological assistance to children with intellectual disabilities
Psychological diagnostics of the development of children with intellectual disabilities
Basic examination methods
The psychological study of children plays a leading role in obtaining information about the level of their mental development, personal and individual psychological characteristics. The effectiveness of a psychological examination of children and the degree of validity of the conclusions are closely dependent on how adequate the complex of experimental techniques used is to the object and objectives of psychological study.
The concept of “psychological diagnosis” is one of the least developed in modern psychology and, in essence, does not have a clear justification. Recognizing the obvious lack of knowledge about the nature and mechanisms of mental development, it should be emphasized that this question must be methodologically correctly posed. This means relying on a clear age periodization. The requirements for age-related diagnosis are complemented by the need to study the “zone of proximal development.”
Within the framework of advisory practice, it seems appropriate to talk about a conditional-variant prognosis of the child’s development, which is understood as possible directions for the further course of the child’s development under various conditions. Such extrapolation concerns the immediate age stages of development and should be built taking into account the entire set of age-related and individual psychological development factors.
Thus, the range of the most important issues to be clarified by means of psychological diagnostics may be limited to clarifying the current level of development of potential capabilities and causal interdependencies of processes related to the cognitive sphere.
Exhaustively complete information about the mental development of a child can only be obtained as a result of a comprehensive examination of his cognitive activity.
In this regard, when conducting a psychological examination of a child, the following main methods are used:
1. Study of documentation in order to collect anamnestic data and obtain an idea of the causes of developmental disorders. The main documents required for conducting a psychological study of a child are medical data from a pediatrician about the general condition of the child, a psychoneurologist with a substantiated medical diagnosis, an otolaryngologist, an ophthalmologist, etc.
The method of studying documentation allows a psychologist to determine in which directions the further examination of the child should be carried out.
2. Conversation. With the help of a conversation, the peculiarities of the child’s mental manifestations are clarified in the process of personal communication with his parents, with persons from his microsocial environment, with the child himself. The conversation should be conducted according to a specially designed program. With its help, you can find out how the child developed in early and preschool childhood, what his interests, abilities, character traits, and behavior are.
Valuable materials can be provided by a conversation with the child himself, based not on direct, but on indirect questions. With their help, the characteristics and motives of the child’s behavior, his attitude towards family and school, the degree of orientation in the surrounding space, inclinations, interests, and attitude towards his own health are determined. The content of the conversation varies depending on the age of the child and his individual characteristics. Conversation is of great importance in establishing contact with the child.
3.Studying the results of children's activities. The final result of the child’s activity is analyzed - children’s drawings, various crafts, written and educational work, etc.
The purpose of this method is to collect factual material to study the characteristics of the mental development of children. Analysis of the results of children's creativity also allows us to judge such qualities of the child as imagination, features of visual representation, and the development of fine motor skills. These results reflect children’s attitude to reality, the level of development of their sensory and motor skills, and pathological manifestations.
4. Observation. Psychological observation allows us to judge various manifestations of a child’s psyche in the conditions of his natural activity with minimal intervention from the observer. Observation must be targeted, i.e. determined by the research objective.
The most valuable results can be obtained using the observation method when working in diagnostic, psychotherapeutic and correctional groups. This type of observation combines the study of a child with his education and upbringing, i.e., it is active in nature.
The value of the method lies in the fact that the researcher, within a relatively short period of time, by creating special conditions in diagnostic and correctional groups for observing the child, determining his “zone of proximal development,” can study the characteristics and possibilities of the child’s development.
The results of observing a child in various types of his activities should be recorded in a protocol (diary) and then briefly entered into a psychological research card. Accuracy, thoroughness and impartiality in recording observation results are important for assessing results. Registration of observations can be carried out using tape recording, photography and filming, or recording on a video recorder. The most important types of observation are observations of the child's play, behavior, communication and performance status. Observation also plays an important role in studying the child’s personality.
5. The experimental method involves collecting factual material under specially simulated conditions that ensure the active manifestation of the phenomena being studied. The method can be used to study various manifestations of a child’s activity and identify the characteristics of his personality development.
The general requirements for conducting a psychological experiment are: accessibility of tasks for a child of a given age, ensuring adequate understanding of what he must do, the simulated situation must be presented in the form of a game or educational task with a motivation understandable to the child.
The experiment is carried out after the anamnestic and medical data have been studied, a conversation has been carried out and observation of the child has been carried out. This allows the researcher to set specific tasks and, in accordance with this, choose certain research methods.
The experiment is carried out in stages. First, you should establish contact with the child and obtain his consent to complete the task. If the child reacts negatively, the experiment is not carried out. A child’s refusal to complete a task may be associated with the experimental situation, but it may also be an indicator of disturbances in the child’s emotional-volitional sphere. If the child agrees to complete the task, he is offered instructions according to which he must act. Instructions can be given in various forms - verbal and non-verbal. It should be quite simple, since the correct understanding of the task determines the course of the experiment. If necessary, you can give instructions in a visually effective form or using gestures.
The process of completing the task is recorded in the protocols that are attached to each of the methods. The task is performed under the supervision of a psychologist, and if necessary, the child is provided with assistance, which is also recorded in the protocol. The results are assessed quantitatively and qualitatively.
Quantitative assessment is carried out by calculating the points assigned for completing each task and the time spent on completion. Qualitative analysis makes it possible to evaluate the subject’s tactics, methods of action, degree of independence in completing a task, learning ability, factors influencing the nature of the work, completeness and depth of understanding of the meaning of the task, taking into account the influence of side stimuli on the result of work, fatigue, etc.
The research protocol with the date of its conduct and the name of the technique is stored in the child’s personal file. Its main results are entered into the psychological study chart of the child.
6. Testing. For a comparative assessment of the levels of development of any mental manifestations, capabilities, and abilities of a person’s mental development, various tests are used. There are questionnaire tests used to study positions, opinions, attitudes, and motivation of an individual. Another type is task tests, which include a number of special tasks. The results and features of the process of completing the proposed tasks provide the basis for a conclusion about any psychological qualities of a particular person.
Conditions for psychological examination
The conditions for conducting psychological observation, experiment, conversation, testing, analysis of the results of the child being examined can, to varying degrees, contribute to the adequacy of the results obtained, which, in turn, can affect the interpretation of the data obtained.
Among the specific conditions that the psychologist should take into account may be the personality characteristics of the subject and the external conditions of the experience. Conditions characterizing personality traits are the age and gender of the subject, his motives, attitudes, positions, habits, character, temperament. In this case, you need to be extremely careful about your health status, various psychosomatic and physiological disorders, and developmental disorders.
Among the conditions characterizing the personality of the subject himself, not all are equally adjacent. Some of them are stable. These are such psychological qualities of a person as character, motives, attitudes, knowledge, habits, and skills. Other personality traits (and special attention should be paid to this) are extremely mobile, situational, and changeable. These are the emotional, intellectual and volitional mental states of a person. The psychologist’s ability to grasp and understand the child’s condition, to tune in to the “wave” of goodwill and interest in communication contributes to the adequacy of obtaining information about the psychological characteristics of children.
Along with this, the psychologist needs to monitor the external conditions in which the psychological examination is carried out. External conditions (lighting, silence, ventilation, furniture, room equipment, the personality of the psychologist himself) should not make it difficult for the child to complete the tasks offered to him or cause a persistent negative reflex to the unusual atmosphere for the child of behavior, communication with the psychologist or the proposed action. Even before the examination begins, you need to let the child get used to the environment, “play” it as “natural”.
Child mental development examination program
A psychological examination of a child involves:
identifying the characteristics of his mental development;
identification of mental development disorders;
determination of personal behavioral disorders, the system of relationships to educational activities and to oneself;
identification of the child’s intact, potential and compensatory capabilities;
establishing attitudes towards norms of behavior and value orientations, differences in attitude towards comrades;
determination of optimal conditions for training, development, social adaptation.
The proposed program for the differential diagnosis of mental development disorders in a child is exemplary. It can be changed depending on the age of the child, his individual characteristics and the nature of the violations.
Examination scheme
I. General information about the child and his family
Last name, first name, patronymic of the child.
Year of birth (age)
Visiting a kindergarten or school class
II. Features of a child’s mental development
Features of a child's attention. Stability, concentration, distribution, switchability. Distraction and fluctuation of attention. Absent-mindedness and its causes. Attention and performance.
Features of perception and observation. Memorization (tempo, volume), preservation (strength, duration), recognition (of what is known in the new). Reproduction: reproducing, identifying, facilitating (completeness, accuracy, consistency). Forgetting (partial, deep, situational).
Type of memory (visual, auditory, motor, mixed).
Levels of memory (mechanical, semantic, logical). Memory impairment.
Features of thinking. The flow of the thought process. The state of pace, activity, consistency, evidence and criticality of judgment.
Establishment of cause-and-effect dependencies and functional connections.
Difficulties in the course of mental operations (analysis, synthesis, analogy, comparison, abstraction, generalization, classification).
Difficulties in drawing conclusions, generalizations, conclusions.
Features of the assimilation of concepts (differentiation, substitution of concepts, identification of essential features, formation of definitions).
The state of types of mental activity: visual-effective, visual-figurative, conceptual thinking. Creative and reproductive thinking.
Thinking disorder.
III. Personality survey
1. Features of feelings, emotions, will. The course of the emotional process. Emotional disorders, tendency to affective outbursts, depression, emotional inadequacy. Violations of the higher senses.
The course of the volitional process. Correlations between emotions and will. Violations in the development of the will, stubbornness, easy suggestibility, pliability, whims, negativism, impulsiveness, swagger.
2.Personality and behavior. Interests, needs, ideals, beliefs of the individual. Personal position. Character in the system of personality relationships. Personal communication disorders. Character and temperament.
Violations in behavior and personality: isolation, autism, pride, excessive touchiness, selfishness. Inflated level of claims. Gross violations in communication and behavior.
3. Personal activity. Development of potential opportunities in activities. Sensitivity of age periods and leading type of activity. Motives for various types of activities: gaming, educational, work. Development of the individual’s potential capabilities in activity.
Impaired performance, attitudes towards activities, fatigue.
List of psychological examination methods
Methods for studying attention and sensorimotor reactions
Corrective test.
Account according to Kraepelin.
Finding numbers using Schulte tables.
Tests for switching attention using modifications of Schulte tables (“Red-black table”).
Techniques for studying perception
Methodology "Compasses".
“Clock” technique.
Methodology for studying time perception.
Methods for studying memory
1. Visual and auditory memory test.
2. Memory tests:
To memorize artificial sound combinations;
to memorize 10 words;
on associative memory.
3.Method of pictograms (according to A.R. Luria).
Methods for studying the level and course of thought processes
Understanding stories.
Understanding plot pictures.
Establishing the sequence of events.
Classification.
Exception.
Identification of essential features.
Formation of analogies.
Identification of patterns.
Definition and comparison of concepts.
Understanding the figurative meaning of proverbs and metaphors.
Pictograms.
Selection of antonym words.
Psychometric methods for studying intelligence
Wexler's technique.
Raven tables.
Methods for studying personality traits
Study of self-esteem using the Dembo-Rubinstein method.
Personality questionnaires (Eysenck, Cattell, MMPI, Shmishek, Keirsey, Lichko, Rusalov, Bassa-Darki).
Spielberger Anxiety Rating Scales, Taylor.
SAN questionnaire.
Projective methods of personality research
Rosenzweig frustration test.
The method of unfinished sentences.
"House, tree, person."
"Non-existent animal."
"Drawing of a family."
"Self-portrait".
Luscher color test.
Psychologist work program
The work of a practical psychologist is primarily aimed at providing psychological assistance to children and their parents with difficulties associated with learning and upbringing, with interpersonal relationships, as well as with the deterioration of the well-being and emotional state of children, which manifest themselves in anxiety, asthenia or depression, which is negative influences mental development.
Psychocorrection is carried out in several stages:
I. Clarification of problem situations of the child, parents, family.
II. Development of programs and plans for studying the child’s personality in problem situations.
imitation-game methods (role-playing games, business games, game therapy, fairy tale therapy, etc.);
non-verbal methods of psychocorrection with elements: art therapy, music therapy, choreography, pantomime;
methods of group behavioral psychocorrection (training for the formation of skills and behavioral abilities in a group);
suggestive methods (group relaxation sessions and autogenic training).
The use of certain methods and techniques of psychocorrection should be strictly differentiated depending on the individual personal properties and qualities of the person being studied.
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In the course of studying preschool children, defectologists have established that their development is subject to the basic patterns of mental development of children normally...
Features of the development of children with hearing impairments
Mental development is a natural change in mental processes; it has a complex organization in time. All children develop unevenly...
Features of memory development in children with hearing impairments
Studies of domestic defectologists and psychiatrists (R.M. Boskis, T.A. Vlasova, M.S. Pevzner, V.F. Matveev, L.M. Bardenshtein, etc.) indicate that...
Features of socio-psychological adaptation of children with visual impairments
Social and psychological adaptation of people with visual impairments is currently one of the most important problems in typhlopsychology. Living for a long time in a confined space...
The features of the psyche of the mentally retarded have been studied quite fully (L.V. Zankov, V.G. Petrova, B.I. Pinsky, S.Ya. Rubinshtein, I.M. Solovyov, Zh.I. Shif, etc.). The mentally retarded are characterized by underdevelopment of cognitive interests (N.G. Morozova)...
Psychological assistance to children with intellectual disabilities
Psychological assistance to children with mental retardation is a complex process that includes two main blocks: · adaptation of the child to the existing defect; · teaching parents how to behave appropriately with their child...
Psychological features of thinking in children of middle preschool age
Thinking is an indirect, generalized reflection of essential, most often not lying on the surface (hidden)...
Psychological and pedagogical characteristics of a mentally retarded child
Children with mental retardation caused by severe organic disorders of the central nervous system are characterized by late development, a psychophysical defect, expressed in disorders of the motor sphere and all aspects of the psyche...
Development of imagination in children with hearing impairments
In children with hearing impairments, specific features of imagination are due to the slow formation of their speech, in particular, the peculiar development of the meanings of words, a lag in the development of role-playing play and thinking...
A 5-year-old child’s interest is increasingly directed towards the sphere of relationships between people. The adult's assessments are subject to critical analysis and comparison with one's own. Under the influence of these assessments, the child’s ideas about the real self (what I am, what I am according to the attitude of my parents towards me) and the ideal self (what kind of me, how good can I be?) are differentiated more clearly.
There is further development of the cognitive sphere of the preschool child’s personality.
Development of arbitrariness and strong-willed qualities allow the child to purposefully overcome certain difficulties specific to a preschooler. Subordination of motives also develops (for example, a child may refuse noisy play while adults are relaxing).
Interest in arithmetic and reading appears. Based on the ability to imagine something, a child can decide simple geometry problems.
The child can already remember something on purpose.
In addition to the communicative function, the planning function of speech develops, i.e. the child learns arrange your actions consistently and logically(formation of self-control and regulation), talk about it. Self-instruction develops, which helps the child in advance organize your attention on upcoming activities.
An older preschooler is able to distinguish the entire spectrum of human emotions, he develops stable feelings and relationships. “Higher feelings” are formed: emotional, moral, aesthetic.
To emotional feelings can be attributed:
Curiosity;
Curiosity;
Sense of humor;
Astonishment.
Towards aesthetic feelings can be attributed:
Sense of beauty;
Feeling heroic.
To moral feelings can be attributed:
Feeling of pride;
Feeling of shame;
Feeling of friendship.
Against the background of emotional dependence on the assessments of an adult, the child develops a desire for recognition, expressed in the desire to receive approval and praise, to confirm his importance.
Quite often at this age, children develop such a trait as deceit, that is, a deliberate distortion of the truth. The development of this trait is facilitated by a violation of parent-child relationships, when a close adult, with excessive severity or a negative attitude, blocks the child’s development of a positive sense of self and self-confidence. And in order not to lose the trust of an adult, and often to protect himself from attacks, the child begins to come up with excuses for his mistakes and shift the blame onto others.
Moral development of an older preschooler in depends largely on the degree of adult participation in it, since it is in communication with an adult that the child learns, comprehends and interprets moral! norms and rules. It is necessary to form the habit of moral behavior in a child. This is facilitated by the creation of problematic situations and the inclusion of children in them in the process of everyday life.
By the age of 7, children of senior preschool age have already developed a fairly high level of competence in various types of activities and in the sphere of relationships. This competence is manifested primarily in the ability to make one’s own decisions based on existing knowledge, skills and abilities.
The child has developed a stable positive attitude towards himself and confidence in his abilities. He is able to show emotionality and independence in solving social and everyday problems.
When organizing joint games, he uses an agreement, knows how to take into account the interests of others, and to some extent restrain his emotional impulses.
The development of arbitrariness and volition is manifested in the ability to follow the instructions of an adult and adhere to the rules of the game. The child strives to complete any task efficiently, compare it with a model and redo it if something did not work out.
Attempts to independently come up with explanations for various phenomena indicate a new stage in the development of cognitive abilities. The child is actively interested in educational literature, symbolic images, graphic diagrams, and makes attempts to use them independently. Children of older preschool age tend to predominate socially significant motives over personal. In the process of assimilating moral norms and rules, an active attitude towards one’s own life is formed, empathy and compassion develop.
The self-esteem of a child of senior preschool age is quite adequate; it is more typical to overestimate it than to underestimate it. The child evaluates the result of activity more objectively than behavior.
At the age of 6-7 years, visual-figurative thinking with elements of the abstract develops. However, the child still experiences difficulties in comparing several features of objects at once, in identifying the most significant in objects and phenomena, in transferring the acquired skills of mental activity to solving new problems.
In an older preschooler, the imagination needs support from an object to a lesser extent than at previous stages of development. It turns into internal activity, which manifests itself in verbal creativity (counting books, teasers, poems), in the creation of drawings, modeling, etc.
There is a gradual transition from play as a leading activity to learning.
Psychological readiness for school.
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Components of psychological readiness |
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Intelligent Readiness |
Ø Having a broad outlook and stock of knowledge. Ø Formation of initial skills in educational activities. Ø Analytical thinking (the ability to comprehend signs and connections between phenomena, the ability to act according to a pattern). Ø Logical memorization. Ø Development of fine motor skills and sensorimotor coordination. Ø The ability to identify a learning task and translate it into an independent goal of activity. Ø Development of phonemic hearing |
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Personal readiness |
Ø Acceptance of a new social position. Ø A positive attitude towards school, teachers, educational activities, and oneself. Ø Development of cognitive criteria, curiosity. Ø Developing a desire to go to school. Ø Voluntary control of one's behavior. Ø Objectivity of self-esteem. Ø Loss of “childhood”, spontaneity |
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Social and psychological readiness |
Ø Flexible mastery of ways to establish relationships. Ø Development of the need for communication. Ø Ability to obey rules and regulations. Ø The ability to act together and coordinate your actions. |
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Emotional-volitional readiness |
Ø Development of “emotional anticipation” (anticipation and experience of long-term consequences of one’s activities). Ø Emotional stability. Ø Formation of not being afraid of difficulties. Self-esteem. Ø The ability to limit emotional outbursts. Ø Ability to systematically complete tasks. |
If you want to diagnose your child, then you can do this via the Internet (with a web camera) by contacting me, a psychologist
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