Analysis of products of activity in psychology: advantages and disadvantages

Scientific psychology has achieved considerable results during its development. The laws of the person's mental development are formulated, and in different theories the reason for the behavior of people, their psychological features and types is justified. In addition, a scientific approach to the methods of obtaining all this information has been created. About one of the methods of obtaining data on a person, analyzing the products of his activities, - more.

Analysis of products of activity in psychology

Let's define what kind of concept it is. The analysis of products of activity (APD) is a method of studying psychological features of a person by studying the products of his labor or creative activity. Unlike the basic psychological methods (observation and experiment), the APD is conducted indirectly, i.e. without direct communication between the psychologist and his client. The specialist studies the products of graphic, musical, dramatic creativity of a person and on the basis of them draws conclusions about his psychological characteristics.

The analysis of products of activity in psychology is most often used in work with children of different ages, and therefore acquired such a "popularity" in pedagogical practice.

Archival, or praximetric method

For this psychological method, there is another name - archival. This term was used in its activities by American psychologists. They meant by the archival method the study of a person's life through his products of work, creativity, recording of diaries, archival data about him. Its variety is a biographical method that allows one to study the life path of an individual or a group of people through their creative or labor achievements. Thus, modern mankind gets knowledge about the life, relationships and personal characteristics of famous people from the past.

In the Russian psychology the name "analysis of products of activity" is more common, or praximetric (from the Greek "praxis" - "action"). In our society this method is widely used in pedagogical psychology to study the development of children.

Analysis of products of children's activities

APD is very common in working with children from the smallest age, because it allows you to prove yourself in a comfortable for the baby environment (in the game). Little children are not yet able to describe their experiences verbally, they do not yet know what they call what they are feeling right now. But they can do it in another way - to depict on paper, lose with friends, write in the composition. All this can become a valuable material for a psychologist who works with the child.

Analysis of products of children's activities involves the study of such data:

• Products of the activity created in the game: figures from plasticine, constructions from different materials, objects for story-role games;
• Products of labor activity: billets, hand-made articles on labor lessons;
• Productive materials, creative: drawings, poems, notes, songs, compositions, applications and so on;
• Products of training sessions: tests, drafts, homework.

Thanks to the study of these materials, it is possible to draw conclusions about the level of knowledge, the formation of skills, the availability of abilities, focus of interests, the emotional state of the child, his relationships with other people.

When is the method used?

The method of psychological analysis of the products of activity is an effective way to comprehensively study the child's psyche. It allows you to identify features such as:

• Mental processes (thinking, attention, memory, etc.);
• Mental states (mood);
• Mental properties (character, ability - everything that makes a child an individual).

Thus, the method can be used in a variety of situations - to identify the reasons for underachieving the student, with difficulties in adapting the child, to study his relationships with adults and peers, to determine the interests and inclinations of the child to a particular activity.

This list can be continued, because the number of questions about the safe development of the baby increases with his age. An experienced psychologist will always help troubled parents or teachers, if in the arsenal of his methods of work there is an analysis of the products of activity.

What conditions must be met?

In order for the method to give the most complete and accurate results, the psychologist observes a number of conditions during the research:

• Clearly articulates the goal - what specifically and for what is being investigated (for example, the manifestation of the child's relationship with 6 years of age with significant adults and peers in the drawings);
• Chooses children (if this is a group) of the corresponding age (in this case, 6 years) and who have the indicated skills (for example, drawing);
• For all children prepares the same conditions for activities (the same materials, location);
• Minimizes its own impact on the work process of children, ensures that the kids work independently and are motivated;
• Fixes the emotional reactions of children that manifest themselves in the process of work;
• If the study implies a further conversation with the child about the product of his work, prepares questions in advance;
• Provides the criteria by which the final product will be evaluated (for example, the choice of colors, composition).

How is the analysis done?

This method involves the analysis of processes and products of activity. This means that not only the final product of the child's work can carry information about him, but the very process of creating it. For example, when children play a fairy tale, you can see how involved they are in the process, how much they like the role and how they play it, how much the role text matches, and what's new to the process of the kid.

If you analyze a more passive occupation, for example, modeling or drawing, you can record the emotional reactions of the child to what is happening, observe how he estimates his work, how much the product corresponds to the original idea.

The final product of the activity is evaluated according to certain criteria. They depend on what goal was set. This may be the degree of development of certain mental functions of the child, his emotional state, the availability of abilities for some activity, and so on.

Stages of the study

Like all psychological research, the analysis of product activities implies the passage of several stages:

• Preparatory - collection of primary data about the child, statement of the hypothesis (what and why is happening, what it can be related to), preparation of materials for analysis;
• Direct research - the psychological analysis of products of activity; If necessary - supplement it with other methods;
• The final stage is the systematization of the data obtained, comparing them with the hypothesis (whether the assumption was confirmed), drawing up recommendations for working with the child for parents and teachers.

Participation of the child is expected only in the second stage. All other steps are performed by a psychologist.

Advantages of the method

The method of analyzing the products of activity has become widespread in Western and Russian psychology due to a number of advantages that it possesses:

• The ability to collect a fairly extensive material from both the group and one child.
• The ability to follow the dynamics of the child's psychological development by comparing the older and the newest products of creativity. For example, to see how improved the fine motor skills of the hands, how the child's attitude to this or that aspect of his life changed, etc.
• This is the most natural way for a child to study his psyche: in the game form of work, the baby feels comfortable and relaxed.
• The ability to identify the most diverse psychological characteristics of the child - from the degree of development of attention to character.

Disadvantages of analyzing the products of activity

Any research method has its drawbacks, which can influence the result. Analysis of the study of products of activity may be subject to such difficulties:

• The use of the method is limited by the age characteristics of the child. For example, in order to study the drawing of the baby, it is necessary that he already had the skills of drawing.
• The processing of the results can be subject to a subjective assessment of the psychologist (for example, the originality of the picture). For this, clear evaluation criteria are necessary, which will exclude the bias of the researcher.
• For an in-depth study of a person's identity with the help of ADA, a lot of time and resources are needed.

Varieties of research methods of products of activities

The analysis of products of activity has its own varieties or can be used as part of other methods of psychological research. These include projective techniques. Their essence lies in the projection (transfer, image) of internal properties, the experiences of a person on the product of his creativity. Studying it, you can get data on the development of this person.

The projective method differs from the classical ADA in that it has a standardized material, according to which the work is carried out, and a specific instruction. For example, the subject gets a task to draw a picture on a given topic, complete an unfinished sentence, compose a story on an image, etc. Such best known techniques include "Rorshach Spots, " "An Inexperienced Animal, " "House, Tree, Man" and others.

Projective methods are effective not only in working with children, but also with adults, as well as people who have mental illnesses.

Another modern interpretation of the method is professionography. It uses the APD of people who belong to a certain type of professional activity. Thanks to the collection of such data, the requirements that are necessary for the successful mastery of a particular profession are derived. This is psycho-physiological, socio-psychological characteristics of man. For example, in order to be a successful teacher, in addition to theoretical training, the specialist must be tactful, patient, able to control emotions, flexible enough and inventive.

Content analysis as a related method

The most developed and widespread version of the archive method is content analysis. It is used not only in psychology, but also in other social sciences, communications. The method involves the study of units of text and their classification. Such units include:

• Single words;
• Phrases (word combinations);
• subject;
• Message whole.

This method is more accurate, since it involves mathematical actions with the resulting material. All units of the study are counted in order to determine the frequency of their use and systematization. This allows us to draw conclusions about the psychological features of the author of the message, about his relationship with the addressee of the message, as well as about more global socio-psychological processes in large groups of people.

Potential sources for content analysis are books, personal diaries, notes in newspapers, songs, poems, etc.

Analysis of pedagogical documentation

A wide variety of applications in the practice of teaching and educating children received another type of ADA. This is an analysis of pedagogical documentation.

A modern educator, psychologist or social worker faces a large amount of data pertaining to students every day. This is a different documentation:

• characteristics;
• Medical history;
• Autobiography;
• Knowledge assessment logs;
• Minutes of meetings;
• School diaries of students;
• Orders and management orders.

All this after studying and systematization allows to create an overall picture of the child's development, identify problem points and outline ways to solve them.

The method of analyzing the products of activity in psychology is an effective tool in the work of a specialist. There is not enough theoretical preparation for its use. This is a constant practice, a personal interest and a desire to develop all the time. But if parents trust their child with such a specialist, they will be sure that they will receive exhaustive information about him and qualified help.