The main task of a psychodiagnostician when using personality questionnaires is to translate the obtained objective diagnostic information into the consumer’s language. Without this, the information received may be ineffective or harmful.

Diagnostic results can be described for at least three categories of consumers: a) professionals; b) administrative and management personnel; c) the person being consulted (client).

A brief description of the main personality questionnaires is presented in Table. 2.

table 2

Basic personality questionnaires

Name	annotation
Psychodiagnostics of constitutional dispositions (temperament)
Eysenck test questionnaire	 A, B (adapted) and C; EPQ, PEN (added psychoticism scale) Theoretical basis combination of theories of I.P. Pavlov and K. Jung Diagnostic subject basic parameters of individuality Scales 3: extraversion  introversion; neuroticism  emotional stability; lie Processing procedure: 1)receiving a raw score;  57
NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI) Costa, McCray	Existing forms (modifications) 3 versions of R-NEO-PI: self-assessment form (S), observer form (R), shortened form (S NEO Five-Factor Inventory). Adaptation was carried out by V.E. Orel, A.A., Rukavishnikov, I.G. Senin, T.A. Martin Theoretical basis concept of the “Big Five” personality factors (Big Five) Diagnostic subject: 5 global personality factors in healthy individuals aged 20 to 80 years Scales neuroticism (N), extraversion (E), openness to experience (O), agreement (A), conscientiousness (C), in addition, 6 parameters underlying each of the 5 factors are differentiated Processing procedure: 1) scoring by key; 2) translation into walls; 3) building a personality profile. Number of questions (tasks) 240 statements and 3 control tasks
Strelyau test questionnaire	Existing forms (modifications) no Theoretical basis differential psychological concept of I.P. Pavlova  B.M. Teplova Diagnostic subject- main characteristics of the VND type Scales 3: level of excitation processes and excitation strength; level of inhibition processes; level of mobility Processing procedure: 1) obtaining a raw score immediately after diagnosis; 2) comparison of the raw score with the statistical standard Number of questions (tasks) 134

Continuation of the table. 2

Test-questionnaire of the structure of temperament (OST) Rusalov V. M.

Existing forms (modifications) 2 forms of OST: for adults (V-OST) aged 18 to 55 years and for children (D-OST) aged 13 to 17 years. Theoretical basis the concept of biological conditionality of the formal-dynamic properties of the individual human behavior, originating in the works of I. P. Pavlov, B. M. Teplov, V. D. Nebylitsyn and their followers Diagnostic subject: individual psychological characteristics of a person in the form of 4 combinations of temperament properties: The first type is highly emotional-active, The second type is highly emotional-passive. The third type is low-emotional and active. The fourth type is low-emotional-passive Scales Ergicity (ER), Social ergicity (SER), Plasticity (P), Social plasticity (SP), Tempo (T), Social tempo (ST ), Emotionality (Em), Social Emotionality (SEM). Each of the eight scales is viewed as a continuum of temperamental properties. Additionally, a Control Scale (K) has been introduced. To solve individual problems, the following 10 indices of human temperament can also be calculated: Index of General Emotionality (IOE), Index of Emotional Imbalance (IED), Index of General Pace (IOT), Index of Level of Readiness for Subject Activities (IUG/P/), Index of Readiness Level to social activity (IUG/S/), Subject Activity Index (IPA), Social Activity Index (ISA), General Activity Index (GAI), Imbalance Activity Index (IAD), Adaptability Index (IA). Processing procedure: calculation of the sum of points by key, each match is worth 1 point Number of questions (tasks) The questionnaire contains 105 questions

Continuation of the table. 2

Psychodiagnostics of socially determined dispositions (character)
Cattell's questionnaire	Existing forms (modifications) A, B (intended for a more detailed study of personality, for persons with more high level education and culture) and C; HSPQ modifications for adolescents from 12 to 16 years old, 14 factors, 142 questions; CPQ for children aged 8 to 12 years. Adaptation by E.M. Alexandrovskaya, I.N. Gilyasheva, N.A. Kapustin, A.A. Rukavishnikov, M.V. Sokolova. Theoretical basis multifactor theories of personality. Diagnostic subject- personality traits Scales 16: affectothymia  sisothymia; intelligence; strength  weakness “I”; dominance  conformity; surgency  desurgency; strength  weakness of the “super-ego”; parmia  trectia; premium  harria; protensia  alaxia; autism  praxernia; artificiality  artlessness; hypothymia  hyperthymia; radicalism  conservatism; self-sufficiency  sociability; control of desires  impulsiveness; frustration  unfrustration Processing procedure: 1)receiving raw points; 3)building a personality profile; 4) comparison with existing standards Number of questions: in forms A and B 187, in form C 105
	Existing forms (modifications) MMIL (modification by F.B. Berezin), SMIL (modification by L.N. Sobchik) Theoretical basis is the implementation of a typological approach to the study of personality Diagnostic subject- personality profile Scales clinical (10): hypochondria, depression, hysteria, psychopathy, masculinity-femininity, paranoidity, psychasthenia, schizoid, hypomania, social introversion
	Control scales: lie, aggravation, self-esteem (lies, reliability, correction) Processing procedure: An answer that matches the key is worth one point; point grades are converted to standard; building a “personality profile” Number of questions: MMPI  550, MMIL  377, SMIL  566

Continuation of the table. 2

Hoag's Adjective Checklist

Existing forms (modifications) no Theoretical basis ideographic approach to personality diagnosis, Q-sorting method Diagnostic subject: personal characteristics Scales 37 scales : No – Total number of marked adjectives, Fav – Number of favorable marked adjectives, Unfav – Number of unfavorable marked adjectives, General – Sense of community, Achievement – ​​Achievement, Dom – Dominance, End – Endurance, Pore – Order, Int – Introspection, Guardianship, Aff – Sociability, Het - Heterosexuality, Eff - Effectiveness (ability to present oneself), Aut - Autonomy (independence), Agg - Aggressiveness, Cha - Variability, Suc - Responsiveness (readiness to help), Aba - Helplessness, Def - Respectfulness, Crs - Need for counseling (advice), S-Cn - Self-control, S-Cfd - Self-confidence, P-Adj - Adaptability, Iss - Ideal Self, Cps - Creativity, Mls - Military leadership, Mas - Masculinity, Fem - Femininity, CP – Critical Parent, NP – Nurturing Parent, A – Adult, FC – Free Child, AC – Adapted Child, A-1 – High Origence and Low Intelligence, A-2 – High Origence and High Intelligence, A-3 – Low Origence and Low Intelligence, A-4 – Low Origence and High Intelligence. Processing procedure: 1) obtaining raw points for the key; 2)translation of raw scores into walls separately for male and female subgroups based on the total number of marked adjectives; 3) adding walls to the profile sheet. Number of questions (tasks) 300 cards with adjectives that describe personality characteristics

Continuation of the table. 2

California Personality Inventory (CPI)

Existing forms (modifications) CPI-R (462 statements (194 statements were included in the questionnaire from the MMPI) diagnoses 4 personality types (alpha, beta, gamma and delta) and 7 levels of self-actualization. Adaptation of the CPI was carried out under the guidance of N.A. Baturin. Theoretical basis created on the basis of the Minnesota Multifactor Personality Questionnaire, however, unlike it, it is not based on clinical observations, but on identifying qualities that manifest themselves in real everyday interpersonal interaction. Diagnostic subject: personal characteristics Scales 18 scales are combined into 4 classes: ClassI. Measuring demeanor, authority, self-confidence and interpersonal adequacy: Do - Dominance, Cs - Capacity for Status, Sy - Sociability, Sp - Social Appearance, Sa - Self-Acceptance, Wb - Sense of Well-Being. ClassII. Measuring socialization, responsibility, internal values ​​and character: Re – Responsibility, So – Socialization, Sc – Self-Control, To – Tolerance, Gi – Good Impression, Cm – Commonality. ClassIII. Measuring the potential to achieve goals and intellectual efficiency: Ac - Achievement through conformity, Ai - Achievement through independence, Ie - Intellectual efficiency. ClassIV. Measuring intellectual and motivational orientation: Ru – Psychological orientation, Fx – Flexibility, Fe – Femininity Processing procedure: 1) calculation of primary estimates by key; 2) constructing profile assessments using questionnaire scales. Number of questions (tasks) 480 statements (178 statements were included in the questionnaire from the MMPI)

Continuation of the table. 2

Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI)	Existing forms (modifications) adapted N.G. Kolyzaeva Theoretical basis developed on the basis of the California Personality Questionnaire Diagnostic subject: unlike CPI, it diagnoses not only positive, but also negative, undesirable characteristics and manifestations of personality in communication Scales 9 main ones: nervousness-stability; emotional immaturity, spontaneous aggressiveness; depression; frustration, excitability; sociability; calmness, composure, restraint; reactive aggressiveness, authoritarianism, desire for dominance; shyness, shyness; openness-closedness. 3 additional scales: extraversion-introversion, emotional lability, masculinity-femininity. Processing procedure: 1)receiving raw points; 2)transfer of raw points into walls; 3)building a profile Number of questions (tasks) 212 judgments.
Pathoha-racterological diagnostic questionnaire of A. E. Lichko (PDO)	Existing forms (modifications) no Theoretical basis theory of accentuated types by K. Leonhard, theory of personality as a system of relationships by V.N. Myasishcheva Diagnostic subject- types of accentuation of character traits Scales(11) correspond to empirically identified types of character accentuation: hyperthymic, cycloid, emotionally labile, astheno-neurotic, sensitive, psychasthenic, schizoid, epileptoid, hysterical, unstable, conformal Processing procedure: 1) counting points in accordance with the key; 2) the results obtained are assessed according to two main rating scales: objective and subjective assessments; 3) the additional indicators provided for in the objective assessment scale (dissimulation and frankness) are calculated, allowing one to assess the frankness of the results Number of questions (tasks) 25

Continuation of the table. 2

Leonhard character questionnaire	Existing forms (modifications) no Theoretical basis Diagnostic subject- types of accentuations Scales(10) correspond to the types of accentuations: hyperthymic, excitable, emotive, pedantic, anxious, cyclothymic, demonstrative, unbalanced, dysthymic, exalted Processing procedure: 2) multiplying the raw score by a coefficient specific to each type of accentuation; Number of questions (tasks) 88
Šmishek Accentuated Personality Traits Questionnaire (ASPL)	Existing forms (modifications) no Theoretical basis typology of accentuations by K. Leonhard Diagnostic subject- types of accentuations Scales(10) correspond to the types of accentuations: hyperthymic, anxious, dysthymic, pedantic, excitable, emotive, stuck, demonstrative, cyclothymic, exalted Processing procedure: 1) obtaining a raw score immediately after diagnosis; 2) comparison of the raw score with the statistical standard; 3) construction of a “personal accentuation profile” Number of questions (tasks) 88
diagnostic test L.T. Yampolsky (PDT)	Existing forms (modifications) no Theoretical basis the interpretation of the scales is related to the structural models of B.G.’s personality. Ananyeva, A.G. Kovaleva Diagnostic subject: personality traits Scales 10 scales of the first level: neuroticism, psychoticism, depression, conscientiousness, disinhibition, general activity, timidity, sociability, aesthetic impressionability, femininity; 4 scales of the second level: mental imbalance, asociality, introversion, sensitivity Processing procedure: 1)receiving raw points; 2)transfer of raw points into walls; 3) comparison with existing standards Number of questions (tasks)174

Continuation of the table. 2

Diagnosis of situational-reflexive personality traits
Osgood's semantic differential	Existing forms (modifications) modifications differ in the number of scales, from 15 in the classical one to 50. Modifications: graphic semantic differential by E.Yu Artemyeva, verbal semantic differential by E.L. Dotsenko. Theoretical basis–– situational actualization of personal constructs, taking into account the evaluative component Scales –– 15 bipolar scales with opposite adjectives Diagnostic subject- emotional attitude of the individual to objects, subjective personal meaning, etc. To determine the minimum number of dimensions (scales) of the semantic space of an object, factor analysis is used; usually 3 factors are identified that correspond to the main dimensions of the semantic space: assessment (E), strength or potency (P), activity (A) Processing procedure- construction of the so-called semantic space: 1) determine the distance of a point in semantic space from the neutral position of the scale ( quality characteristic, feature polarization); 2) determine the distance from the origin of coordinates (quantitative characteristics, intensity); 3) quantitative data is depicted in the form of a semantic profile of the concept (stimulus) under study The essence of the technique: the object under study (stimulus), which can be a word, concept, symbol in verbal or non-verbal form, is assessed by correlation with one of the fixed points of the scale, specified by features that are polar in meaning (most often expressed by adjectives). The space of the scale between opposite values ​​is perceived by the subject as a continuous continuum of gradations of the expression of values, moving from the average zero point to varying degrees of one or the opposite sign Number of questions (tasks) depending on the purpose and objectives of the study, a set of objects for scaling is determined, a set of scales is established

End of table. 2

Repertory grid technique

Theoretical basis–– the study of individual personal constructs that mediate perception and self-perception in the analysis of the personal meaning of concepts. Constructs have the form of bipolar concepts (for example, white-black, etc.) A construct is “ personal education", this is an interpretation that is superimposed on reality. First of all, the names of these constructs and their meaning are informative. Scales and number of questions (tasks)–– are established depending on the purposes of the survey (research) or are allocated during the research Processing procedure: 1) identify objects and constructs; 2) evaluate the identified objects according to the relevant constructs; 3) create assessment matrices and process them in order to obtain a number of indicators characterizing the phenomenon being diagnosed. Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the goal is not so much to compare the test subject’s assessments with normative data, but rather to reconstruct individual system semantic units, generalizations, oppositions that underlie an objective attitude towards oneself and others, identification of unique constructs, unlike group constructs

Diagnosis of personality traits, being a universal tool for a psychologist, in practice requires the development and application of a well-thought-out strategy and adaptive (targeted) interpretation.

Cattell's Sixteen Factor Personality Inventory (16 PF)

R. B. Cattell (1905-1998) – American psychologist, professor at the University of Illinois, as well as Stanley Hall and Clark universities.

Considered the founder of the testological movement, he developed a system of tests aimed at studying a wide range of mental functions (sensory, perceptual, intellectual, etc.). He is the author of the 16 PF test questionnaire.

History of the creation of the questionnaire

R. Cattell proceeded from the idea of ​​a multifactorial structure of personality and noted the need to study all personality properties that determine behavior. The name and definition of these properties follows from the application of mathematical and statistical techniques and the results of factor analysis. Therefore, R. Cattell spoke about personality factors.

The first versions of the questionnaire appeared in 1949; in subsequent years they were revised based on factor analysis and question analysis. In the process of improving the scales, individual factors and their psychological understanding were also refined.

The desire to comprehend personality in its breadth, that is, to register all forms of behavior and all situations in which personal properties are manifested, led R. Cattell to collect large quantity concepts relating to personal properties (from the English Dictionary and the works of G. Allport). He compared them with each other, excluding and combining them, as a result of which, using factor analysis, he received 15 personality factors, to which he added the 16th factor of intelligence. R. Cattell believed that the personal properties he created and studied reflect the entire structure of the personality, and considered himself to be a supporter of the multifactor theory of personality.

Brief characteristics of the questionnaire

The author divides personality factors into 1st and 2nd order factors. Bipolarity (two-polarity) of the factor is relative; it does not have any positive or negative moral or pathological meaning; there is no region of indefinite and zero values ​​between the poles.

Factors are assigned two types of names: technical and household.

Technical names are intended for specialists and are associated with the scientifically established value of the factor.

Common names are descriptive and publicly available definitions. Designed for communication between a psychodiagnostician and a customer.

One of the first attempts at complete computerization and psychometric adaptation of Cattell’s sixteen-factor questionnaire was carried out by A.G. Shmelev and V.I. Pokhilko.

The questionnaire has three forms: A, B, C.

Forms A and B contain 187 questions each, Form C contains 105 questions. Questions can be answered in three ways (agree, disagree, intermediate answer). Each factor has an unequal number of questions. Answers are noted on the answer sheet. The questionnaire is extensive, takes a lot of time and requires a careful approach on the part of the subjects. Individual and group presentation of this technique is possible.

Evaluating results using templates is simple: the results obtained for each factor are presented in derived indicators (walls) using a table. The wall system establishes a connection between the test subject's result and the results obtained from other people in a certain population.

Possibilities of the technique

The technique is designed to measure 16 personality factors and is an implementation of a trait-based approach to its research. R. Cattell and his colleagues, in addition to the two main forms of the questionnaire, developed equivalent forms for people with different educational levels; There are questionnaire options for children and adolescents. There is a special “pathological” addition to the questionnaire, which consists of 12 clinical factor scales. Group examination is possible. The questionnaire has found fairly widespread use in domestic psychodiagnostic research.

Motivating test subjects

The smallest number of distortions occurs if the subject has a personal interest in the results of the experiment, but does not see in the information that he expects to receive from the psychologist something that determines his life on a large scale. This appropriate level of motivation occurs when the subject has a desire to expand knowledge about himself, to test himself, to check. A good way to motivate is to promise to tell us about the results after processing the experimental data, and to give a short comment if necessary.

You should not agree to requests to give the results of an experiment or interview in writing. A written description based on the results of an ordered psychodiagnostic examination is a special topic. A summary of the requirements for a psychodiagnostic report is presented in Appendix. 1.

Forced participation in an experiment may result in inaccurate data. If there are assumptions about the low motivation of the subjects, then it is necessary to use techniques that increase motivation, for example, introduce a competitive moment, increase the aesthetic design of the entire experimental situation (settings, equipment, stimulus material, etc.).

Very high motivation and interest in “good” results are often found in professional selection. Its influence can be so great that it will change the entire “picture”, and adjustment scales and techniques will be ineffective.

Instructing subjects

Before starting the study, subjects are given approximately the following instructions.

“This study aims to determine some of the characteristics of your personality. You will be asked a series of questions and three possible answers to each of them (a, b, c). You should answer like this:

first read the question and the answer options;

then choose one of three answer options that reflects your opinion;

Mark the index of your chosen answer on the answer sheet.

Try to adhere to the following rules:

1) do not spend a lot of time thinking about answers, give the answer that first comes to mind;

2) you need to answer as accurately as possible, try not to resort to an intermediate answer too often, choose it only when you cannot answer otherwise;

3) answer each question in the order in which they are located, do not skip a single question;

4) answer as sincerely as possible, there can be no “right” or “wrong” answers here, do not try to make a good impression with your answers, they must correspond to reality.”

Attention! Before conducting a diagnosis, familiarize yourself with the basic ethical standards of a psychologist presented in Appendix. 2.

The popularity of the test method is explained by the following main advantages (below, as a basis for comparison, we mainly mean traditional oral and written exams):

Standardization of conditions and results. Test methods are relatively independent of the qualifications of the user (performer), for whose role even a laboratory assistant with secondary education can be trained. This, however, does not mean that in order to prepare a comprehensive conclusion on a battery of tests, it is not necessary to involve a qualified specialist with a full-fledged higher psychological education.

Efficiency and efficiency. A typical test consists of a series of short tasks, each of which usually takes no more than half a minute to complete, and the entire test usually takes no more than an hour (in school practice this is one lesson); A group of subjects is tested simultaneously, thus saving significant time (man-hours) on data collection.

3) Quantitative differentiated nature of the assessment. The granularity of the scale and the standardization of the test allows us to consider it as “ measuring tool”, giving a quantitative assessment of the measured properties (knowledge, skills in a given area). In addition, the quantitative nature of test results makes it possible to apply a well-developed psychometric apparatus to tests, which allows one to assess how well a given test works on a given sample of subjects under given conditions.

Optimal difficulty. A professionally done test consists of tasks of OPTIMUM DIFFICULTY. In this case, the average test taker scores approximately 50 percent of the maximum possible number of points. This is achieved through preliminary tests - a psychometric experiment, or aerobatics. If during aerobatics it becomes known that approximately half of the examined contingent can cope with the task, then such a task is considered successful and is left in the test.

Reliability. This is perhaps the most important advantage of the tests. The “lottery” nature of modern exams with the drawing of “lucky” or “unlucky” tickets has long become a byword. The lottery for the examinee here results in low reliability for the examiner - answer to one fragment curriculum, as a rule, is not indicative of the level of assimilation of all material. In contrast, any well-constructed test covers the main sections of the curriculum (the area of ​​knowledge being tested or the manifestations of some skill or ability). As a result, the opportunity for “tail-leaders” to become excellent students, and for an excellent student to suddenly “fail,” is sharply reduced.

Let us also name a number of advantages, which in a logical sense are consequences derived from those listed above, but deserve independent mention.

6) The most important social consequence of the above advantages of the test method is Fairness. It should be understood as protection from examiner bias. Good test puts all subjects on equal terms. The subjectivity of examiners is most strongly manifested, as is known, not in the interpretation of the level of a solved problem (it is not so easy to call black and white - a solved problem is unsolved), but in the biased selection of tasks - easier for their own, harder for others. How fair such selection turns out to be is of enormous importance for the development of society. Therefore, it is so important for everyone who has access to tests and their results to learn a culture of competent and humane use of tests. For only a conscientious and qualified attitude of users towards tests turns them into a tool that increases, rather than decreases, the level of justice in society. Kulikov L.V. Psychological research. -- St. Petersburg, 1994

7) Possibility of computerization. In this case, this is not just an additional convenience that reduces the living pile of qualified performers during a mass examination. As a result of computerization, all testing parameters are increased (for example, with adaptive computer testing testing time is sharply reduced. We especially emphasize that computerization is a powerful tool for ensuring information security(diagnostic reliability). Computer organization of testing, which involves the creation of powerful information “banks” test tasks", allows you to technically prevent abuse by unscrupulous examiners. The choice of tasks offered to a particular subject can be made from such a bank by the computer program directly during testing, and presenting a given test subject with a certain task in this case is as much a surprise for the examiner as for the subject.

8) Psychological adequacy. This is the most important psychological consequence of optimal complexity. The presence in the test (compared to traditional exam options) of a large number of short tasks of average difficulty gives many test takers (especially anxious, unconfident ones) a chance to “get hooked”, believe in themselves, and activate psychologically optimal installation"to overcome." After all, when such a subject remains face to face with one or two very complex and large tasks and does not see how he can cope with them at all, then he loses heart and does not reveal all his capabilities. And if there are a lot of tasks, and some of them clearly begin to “give in” (the test subject is confident that he will cope with them), the person during the testing process is encouraged and begins to “fight” for the maximum result. The property of optimal complexity that we have already mentioned is important for the test in that it not only provides the measuring (discriminating) power of the test, but also ensures the optimal psychological mood of the subjects. A person is not a passive object of measurement during testing (like a weight when weighing) - he always reacts strongly emotionally to the test. A test situation of optimal complexity is an optimal stimulus - people experience normal level stress (tension) necessary in order to show the highest result. A lack of stress (in the case of an easy test), and even more so an excess (in the case of a difficult one), distort the measurement results. This, as a rule, is completely misunderstood by the organizers of our competitive exams, who, in the event of high competition, try to give applicants more difficult problems (“to fill in”) - this creates excess stress, which does not give the opportunity to prove themselves to people who are well prepared but have reduced resistance to stress.

In many countries, the implementation of the test method (as well as resistance to this implementation) is closely related to socio-political circumstances. Introduction of well-equipped testing services in education -- essential tool in the fight against corruption that affects the ruling elite (nomenklatura) in many countries. In the West, testing services operate independently of the “graduating” (schools) and “receiving” (universities) organizations and provide the applicant with an independent certificate of test results, with which he can go to any institution. This independence of the testing service from issuing and receiving organizations is an additional factor in the democratization of the process of selecting professional personnel in society, giving a talented and simply efficient person an extra chance to prove themselves. Kulikov L.V. Psychological research. -- St. Petersburg, 1994

However, all of the above does not mean that the test method does not have some very serious shortcomings that do not allow the entire diagnosis of abilities and knowledge to be reduced exclusively to testing.

As always, certain disadvantages of the test method are a continuation of its advantages:

1) The danger of “blind” (automatic) errors. The blind faith of low-skilled performers that the test should work correctly automatically sometimes gives rise to serious errors and incidents: the test subject did not understand the instructions and began to answer completely differently from what the standard instructions require, the test subject for some reason used distorting tactics, a “shift” arose in attaching a stencil-key to the answer form (with manual, non-computer scoring), etc. Moral - the user should not approach the test with a “magic installation”, as if this magical “black box” should always work properly without any control with sides of a person.

2) The danger of profanity. This is the effect of the activities of “laymen” in the literal sense of the word. It is no secret that the apparent ease of conducting tests seduces people who are not suitable for any skilled work. Equipped with tests of incomprehensible quality, but with loud advertising names, testing ignoramuses aggressively offer their services to anyone and everyone. As a result, all problems are supposed to be solved with the help of 2-3 tests - “for all occasions”. A new label is attached to the quantitative test score - a conclusion, creating the appearance of compliance with the diagnostic task. A popular example is the widespread use of clinical MMPI test for personnel selection in our country. In this case, a high score on the eighth scale “Schizophrenia” is interpreted as “originality of thinking”, on the fourth scale “Psychopathy” - as “impulsivity”, etc. The idea that a normal healthy subject is wary at the sight of many MMPI questions, which openly name psychiatric symptoms (“I often hear voices”) and present a purely “defensive” profile, do not bother laymen. Let us emphasize once again that unscrupulous profanity and elementary ignorance go hand in hand in the field of testing. Izmailov I.A., Mikhalevskaya M.B. General workshop in psychology: General psychometrics. *-- M., 1983

3) “Loss of an individual approach, “stress”. The test is the most general “comb” under which all people are adjusted. The possibility of missing out on the unique individuality of a non-standard person (especially a child) is, unfortunately, quite likely. The test subjects themselves feel this, and it makes them nervous - especially in the situation of certification testing. People with reduced resistance to stress even experience a certain violation of self-regulation - they begin to worry and make mistakes in basic matters for themselves (simply because of the “jitters”). Noticing such a reaction to a test in a timely manner is a task that is within the power of a qualified and conscientious performer.

4) Loss of individual approach, “reproduction”. Knowledge tests appeal primarily to the standard application of ready-made knowledge. The inability to reveal one's individuality in the presence of standard, given answers is an irreparable drawback of the test method. From the point of view of identifying creative potential, most tests are very limited precisely because they do not appeal to creative, constructive activity. In any case, individual standardized creative tests deal with very abstract material, and achievement (knowledge) tests adapted for life important material(professionally relevant), as a rule, are performed in the form of a standard set of tasks with a given answer.

5) Lack of a trusting environment. The soulless and formalized nature of the testing procedure itself, of course, results in the fact that the subject is deprived of the feeling that the psychologist is interested in him personally, in helping with his problems and difficulties. Dialogical methods (conversation, games, etc.) in this regard have undoubted advantages: by directly communicating with the subject, a qualified psychologist can establish trusting contact, show personal involvement, and create an atmosphere that relieves tension and protection.

6) Loss of individual approach, inadequate complexity. Sometimes unqualified “testologists” subject a child to tests that are too difficult and complex for his age. He has not yet developed the necessary concepts and conceptual skills to adequately comprehend how general instructions to the test, and the meaning of individual questions. In section 1.4 “History of psychodiagnostics” we already talked about the dramatic incidents of a sharp underestimation of the mental development of children when using verbal tests. But many “nonverbal” tests also require the development of verbal thinking - at least to comprehend what the adult says in his instructions. An alternative to “adult” testing in child psychology is a game approach to testing, when the test is included in the context of a game and the child performs it as if playing.

Thus, tests cannot be made the only comprehensive method of any diagnostics (both educational, professional and personal) - they require the parallel use of free written works(in personality diagnostics, the place of essays is taken by projective tests with a free response), as well as an oral interview (interview). That is, the place of tests is to supplement the above mentioned more traditional methods. In this capacity, tests are indispensable, since they do not have many of the disadvantages inherent in traditional methods. Druzhinin V.N. Experimental psychology. -- St. Petersburg, 2000

A calm, rational awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of the testing method frees everyone (performers, customers, subjects) from both excessive reliance on the test method and from neglect of it.

The test method is one of the main ones in modern psychodiagnostics. In terms of popularity in educational and professional psychodiagnostics, it has firmly held first place in world psychodiagnostic practice for almost a century.

In this section, tests should be understood as methods that consist of a series of tasks with a choice from ready-made options answer. When calculating test scores, the selected answers receive an unambiguous quantitative interpretation and are summed up. The total score is compared with quantitative test norms, and after this comparison, standard diagnostic conclusions are formulated.

The popularity of the test method is explained by the following main advantages:

1) standardization of conditions and results. Test methods are relatively independent of the qualifications of the user (performer), for whose role even a laboratory assistant with secondary education can be trained. This, however, does not mean that in order to prepare a comprehensive conclusion on a battery of tests it is not necessary to involve a qualified specialist with a full-fledged higher psychological education;

2) efficiency and economy. A typical test consists of a series of short tasks, each of which usually takes no more than half a minute to complete, and the entire test usually takes no more than an hour. A group of subjects is tested simultaneously, thus saving significant time on data collection;

3) quantitative differentiated nature of the assessment. The granularity of the scale and the standardization of the test allow us to consider it as a “measuring instrument” that gives a quantitative assessment of the measured properties. The quantitative nature of the test results makes it possible to apply a well-developed psychometric apparatus that allows one to assess how well a given test works on a given sample of subjects under given conditions;

4) optimal difficulty. A professionally done test consists of tasks of optimal difficulty. In this case, the average subject scores approximately 50% of the maximum possible number of points. This is achieved through preliminary tests - a psychometric experiment (or aerobatics). If during aerobatics it becomes known that approximately half of the examined contingent can cope with the task, then such a task is considered successful and is left in the test;

5) reliability. This is probably the most important advantage of tests in educational psychodiagnostics. The lottery nature of modern exams with lucky or unlucky tickets drawn has long become the talk of the town. The lottery for the examinee here results in low reliability for the examiner - the answer to one fragment of the curriculum, as a rule, is not indicative of the level of mastery of the entire material. In contrast, any well-constructed test covers the main sections of the curriculum (the area of ​​knowledge being tested or the manifestation of some skill or ability). As a result, the opportunity for “tail-leaders” to become excellent students, and for an excellent student to suddenly fail, is sharply reduced;

6) justice. It is the most important social consequence of the above advantages. It should be understood as protection from examiner bias. A good test puts everyone on an equal footing. The examiner’s subjectivity is most strongly manifested, as is known, not in the interpretation of the level of solution of the problem (it is not so easy to call black white, or a solved problem unsolved), but in the tendentious selection of tasks - easier for one’s own, harder for someone else’s. Tests provide the most important function of the school as a social filter - the function of “social and professional selection”. How fair such selection turns out to be is of enormous importance for the development of society. Therefore, it is so important for everyone who has access to tests and their results to learn the culture of competent and humane use of tests, because only a conscientious and qualified attitude of users towards tests turns them into a tool that increases, and not decreases, the level of justice in society;

7) possibility of computerization. In this case, this is not just an additional convenience that reduces the human labor of qualified performers during a mass examination. As a result of computerization, all testing parameters are increased (for example, with adapted computer testing, testing time is sharply reduced). Computerization is a powerful tool for ensuring information security (diagnostic reliability). The computer organization of testing, which involves the creation of powerful information banks of test tasks, makes it possible to technically prevent abuse by unscrupulous examiners. The selection of tasks offered to a particular subject can be made from such a bank by the computer program itself directly during testing, and the presentation of a particular task to a given subject in this case is as much a surprise for the examiner as for the subject.

In many countries, the implementation of the test method (as well as resistance to this implementation) is closely related to socio-political circumstances. The introduction of well-equipped testing services in education is a vital tool in the fight against corruption that affects the ruling elite (nomenklatura) in many countries. In the West, testing services operate independently of issuing (schools) and receiving (universities) organizations and provide the applicant with an independent certificate of test results, with which he can go to any institution. This independence of the testing service from issuing and receiving organizations is an additional factor in the democratization of the process of selecting professional personnel in society, giving a talented and simply efficient person an extra chance to prove themselves.

2. Disadvantages of the test method

The test method has some very serious disadvantages that do not allow the entire diagnosis of abilities and knowledge to be reduced exclusively to testing, such as:

1) danger of “blind” (automatic) errors. The blind faith of low-skilled performers that the test should work correctly automatically sometimes gives rise to serious errors and incidents: the test subject did not understand the instructions and began to answer completely differently from what the standard instructions require, the test subject for some reason used distorting tactics, a shift in attaching a stencil key to the answer form (for manual, non-computer scoring), etc. The user should not approach the test with a magical attitude, as if this magic black box should always work properly without any human control;

2) danger of profanation. It is no secret that the apparent ease of conducting tests seduces people who are not suitable for any skilled work. Equipped with tests of incomprehensible quality, but with loud advertising names, testing ignoramuses aggressively offer their services to anyone and everyone. All problems are supposed to be solved with the help of 2-3 tests - for all occasions. A new label is attached to the quantitative test score - a conclusion, creating the appearance of compliance with the diagnostic task. An example of such profanation is the widespread use of the MMPI clinical test for personnel selection in our country. Unscrupulous profanity and basic ignorance go hand in hand in the field of testing;

3) loss of individual approach, stress. The test is the most general ranking under which all people are fitted. Opportunity to miss bright personality a non-standard person is, unfortunately, quite likely. The test subjects themselves feel this, and it makes them nervous, especially in the situation of certification testing. People with reduced resistance to stress even experience a certain disruption of self-regulation - they begin to worry and make mistakes in basic matters for themselves. Noticing such a reaction to a test in a timely manner is a task that is within the power of a qualified and conscientious performer;

4) loss of individual approach, reproduction. Knowledge tests appeal primarily to the standard application of ready-made knowledge;

5) lack of opportunity to reveal individuality in the presence of standard, given answers, this is an irreparable shortcoming of the test method. From the point of view of identifying creative potential, most tests are limited precisely by the fact that they do not appeal to creative, constructive activity. In any case, some standardized creativity tests deal with very abstract material, and tests of achievement (knowledge), adapted on vital material (professionally relevant), as a rule, are made in the form of a standard set of tasks with a given answer;

6) lack of trust. The soulless and formalized nature of the testing procedure itself results in the fact that the subject is deprived of the feeling that the psychologist is interested in him personally, in helping with his problems and difficulties. Dialogical methods (conversation, game) in this regard have undoubted advantages: by directly communicating with the subject, a qualified psychologist can establish trusting contact, show personal involvement, create an atmosphere that relieves tension and protection;

7) loss of individual approach, inadequate complexity. Sometimes unqualified testologists subject a child to tests that are too difficult for his age. He has not yet developed the necessary concepts and conceptual skills to adequately comprehend both the general instructions for the test and the meaning of individual questions.

Thus, tests cannot be made the only comprehensive method of any diagnosis (both educational and professional, and personal) - they require the parallel use of free written work (in personal diagnostics, the place of essays is taken by projective tests with a free response), as well as an oral interview (interview). Thus, the place of tests is to complement the above traditional methods. In this capacity, tests are indispensable, since they do not have many of the disadvantages inherent in traditional methods.

A calm awareness of the advantages and disadvantages of the testing method frees everyone (performers, customers, subjects) from both excessive reliance on the test method and from neglecting it.