Basic methods of psychology as an instrument of human cognition

Psychology is a science that studies the mental processes and behavioral reactions of people. The study of the psychology of man, like any other science, begins with an examination of its tasks, goals and methods. In its development, psychology, otherwise known as the science of the soul, has gone through several stages. For the first time the spiritual component of man was talked about in the fifth century BC. During this period of time, people's basic ideas about the soul were based on numerous legends and myths, ancient beliefs and legends. The time of the second stage of the development of psychology is the 5th-6th centuries AD. At their turn, the science of psychology as such did not yet exist, all reflections on the soul of man were part of the general philosophy. A long time passed before psychology began to be talked about as a separate science in its modern sense. This happened only in the late 18th century. Then it became one of the main subjects in many universities in Europe.

Each science has its own goals and objectives, the achievement of which is possible thanks to the methods that it uses for this. Basic Methods of Psychology - this is a certain means by which psychologists collect the reliable data necessary for the construction of basic scientific theories and the further development of science as a whole. For an insignificant period of existence as a separate field of knowledge, the science of the soul has accumulated a sufficiently large number of its own methods. The main ones are:

• Observation;
• experiment;
• interview;
• conversation;
• Questioning.

The method of observation in psychology consists in a specially organized perception of the object of observation with subsequent recording of its behavioral reactions. In the broader sense of the word, observation is the perception and remembering by a separate person of the world that surrounds it. The objects of research of a specialist using this psychological method can be: the content of the object's speech, its intensity, duration, the prevalence of emotions accompanying it, movements. Observation is usually carried out either by the observer himself (psychologist) or by special equipment (video camera, audio equipment, etc.).

Experiment (from Latin - "experience", "trial") is a method of psychology that allows you to track the behavior of the subject in an artificially created, but close to reality situation. Carrying out the experiment allows us to fully assess the scale of the existing problem, as well as the result of the work already done. For example, a psychologist works with a patient suffering from fear of spiders. At the final stage of the work, the psychologist can conduct an experiment in which the patient will be asked to approach the aquarium, in which there is an insect that previously caused him horror. According to the patient's reaction, one can judge how successfully the treatment was performed and whether there is a positive effect in this case.

The basic methods of psychology, as a rule, have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, observation is only passive contemplative. The researcher observes the usual activity of the subject, but can not bring the necessary changes into it. If the creation of an artificial situation is necessary, the researcher resorts to such a method as an experiment that has great advantages in comparison with observation.

Conversation is a kind of verbal communication between the researcher and the subject (psychologist and patient), in which the researcher seeks to obtain as much information as possible about the subject. This scientific method is usually used at the initial stage of the study and precedes observation or experiment.

The survey is a method of interaction between the researcher and the subject, which is carried out by formulating the necessary questions and getting answers from the subject. Questioning is a type of interaction between two participants in the study (psychologist, patient), in which the latter is offered, as a rule, to answer the questions asked. Such basic methods of psychology as questioning and questioning can have common features. A specialist's interview is usually conducted orally, the questionnaire is a written survey, where the subject is offered several options for an answer. At the same time, questions can be completely identical, regardless of the form of their presentation to the patient - oral or written.

All the basic methods of psychology have a close relationship with each other and can be applied both separately and together. Which particular method of study will be useful in each particular case, the researcher himself decides.

Today researchers of the science of the soul to achieve the goals can use the methods of modern psychology, the classifications of which offer different scientists. For example, the classification of methods from the author of several textbooks on psychology V. Druzhinin contains only three basic methods: empirical, theoretical and descriptive. Most of them, as a rule, are still only experimental in nature and in applied psychology are used extremely rarely.