A psychological diagnosis is not a conclusion about a mental illness or a predisposition to a particular mental illness.

A psychological diagnosis is the final result of a psychological examination to clarify and describe the essence of individual psychological characteristics of a person in order to assess his current state, predict further development and develop recommendations arising from the objectives of the examination.

Psychological diagnosis is the final result of a psychologist’s activity, aimed at identifying the essence of individual psychological characteristics of a person with the aim of:

Assessments of their current state,

Forecast of further development,

2. information exchange function

3. Statistical data collection function (allows you to see trends in the appearance, development, reduction or increase in the number of children with disabilities, etc.). Enables planning of future assistance activities

4. function related to scientific research Types: - symptomatic (diagnostic conclusion based on a symptom) - syndromic - nosological (medical diagnosis. Includes information about etiology)

Psychological diagnoses: -phenomenological diagnosis (judgment of what ego state a person is in by how he relives the events of his past)

Typological diagnosis (allows you to determine the personality of the subject to a certain type. In special psychology, a diagnosis is used that is based on the typology of dysontogenesis)

Functional diagnosis (based on the nosological diagnosis, but not limited to it. Includes a socio-psychological context. Focused on quality care and based on an integrated interdisciplinary approach.

The introduction of PMPK into the work creates the prerequisites for an interested exchange of information and increasing the efficiency of cooperation among commission members).

Korobeinikov identifies 3 levels of FD:

1. Clinical and psychopathological level

a. Assessment of real pathogenic factors in the formation of the cognitive and behavioral sphere of personality

b. Gives qualification and differentiation of affective disorders as disorders of the primary or secondary levels

c. Determination of leading and accompanying symptoms in the context of disorders of socio-psychological adaptation of the individual

2. Clinical and psychological:

a. Differential diagnosis of mild forms of mental development disorders based on pathopsychological and psychometric criteria

b. Clarification of the genesis of disorders of the cognitive and emotional-volitional sphere based on the analysis of expert psychological data and features of the social situation of the child’s development

c. Establishment of qualitative features of mental activity both in operational and motivational characteristics

d. Obtaining a psychometric assessment of the level of intellectual development and the structure of the intelligence profile

e. Assessment of the quality of socio-psychological adaptation of the individual and the probable mechanisms of its violations in the context of a specific case

3. Psychological and pedagogical level:

a. Determining the form of manifestation of school maladjustment

b. Reasons for school maladjustment

c. The nature and severity of difficulties in mastering the curriculum

d. Determining the scope of conflict behavior and the nature of typical forms of affective response

e. Assessing the effectiveness of corrective techniques

The subject of psychological diagnosis is the establishment of individual psychological differences, both normal and pathological. The most important element of diagnosis is the need to clarify in each case why these manifestations are found in the behavior of the subject, what are their causes and consequences.

In general, a psychological diagnosis can be defined as the attribution of a child’s condition to a stable set of psychological variables that determine certain parameters of his activity or condition.

psychological diagnosis diagnostic error

Types of psychological diagnosis

L.S. Vygotsky established three stages of psychological diagnosis: the first stage is a symptomatic (empirical) diagnosis, the second is an etiological diagnosis, the third is a typological diagnosis (the highest level).

Since the subject of psychological diagnosis is both external and internal characteristics of the functioning of the mental system, the basis for formulating a psychological diagnosis can be both the designation of certain phenomena (symptom complexes) and the characterization of individual psychological structures hidden from direct observation (for example, personal, individual neuropsychological qualities) . The possibility of the existence of diagnostic judgments at the level of signs and symptoms served as the basis for identifying a symptomatic diagnosis in various fields of knowledge. A phenomenological diagnosis is followed by an etiological diagnosis, which takes into account the psychological causes of symptoms. Its establishment is associated with identifying the determinants of the phenomenon being studied, which makes it possible to construct a prognostic judgment in each specific case and choose an adequate organizational and content form of psychological assistance. At the same time, we should not forget that due to the polysemy of cause-and-effect relationships between the parameters of the mental system and their external manifestations, as well as the conditioning of human behavior and activity by many factors, the accuracy of the etiological psychological diagnosis may not be high enough, and its validity is confirmed only by the results correctional and developmental influences. This is just one of the limitations of the etiological diagnosis.

Another is due to the fact that most psychological phenomena and problems known to science are polycausal, that is, they exist under the simultaneous action of several psychological causes. At the same time, this does not mean that the breadth of the cause-and-effect scheme is the key to an effective solution to a specific problem.

A typological psychological diagnosis involves assigning a diagnostic phenomenon to a certain category based on the studied real forms and psychological patterns of personality development. It takes into account the close interconnection of individual substructures of the psyche, its multi-level functional systems working together, implying that any external signs cannot be isolated and limited to the characteristics of individual mental functions.

The system-forming unit of a typological diagnosis is a psychological syndrome - a stable set of signs and symptoms corresponding to the same phenomenon, united by a common cause. Each psychological syndrome is distinguished by a unique set of specific symptoms that appear in a certain sequence, have a hierarchical structure and an external form of manifestation. The signs included in the structure of the syndrome can be combined with other symptoms, leading to its complication or change. It is possible to combine “small” syndromes into “large” ones, which have high typological specificity and correlate specific symptom complexes with certain psychological phenomena. This diagnosis is based on phenomenological typologies, and diagnostic categories are formed according to external characteristics: from constitutional and portrait to behavioral and activity.

Symptomatic, etiological and typological psychological diagnoses reflect the diversity of its types in content. Along with this classification, it is also possible to describe the result of the psychodiagnostic activity of a specialist by the method of justification, by the nature of the examination conducted, by the time of presentation.

According to the method of substantiation, clinical and statistical psychological diagnoses are distinguished. They are based on the specifics and decision-making criteria. In the first case, the diagnosis is based on identifying the qualitative side of the individual’s psychological functioning in the personological aspect, which constitutes its specificity. In the second, it is based on a quantitative assessment of the level of development or formation of the parameters of a specific psychological sphere (high - low level, meets - does not meet the requirements).

Based on the nature of the psychological examination, implicit and rational psychological diagnoses are distinguished. An implicit psychological diagnosis is often defined as an intuitive, unconsciously obtained conclusion (conclusion) about the state of the mental system, which determines the characteristics of a person’s behavior and activity. The recognition process occurs on the basis of an unconscious analysis of one’s own impressions and external signs. According to V. Cherny, such “intuitive diagnostics” is inherent in every person, since behind it lies a personal idea, formed in individual experience, of how external data, contextual conditions and people’s behavior are combined with each other in typical cases. However, such implicit diagnosis also has a downside. Considering that the perceptual-cognitive sphere of a specialist usually undergoes the greatest transformation, standards and professional cliches often appear in the structure of his professional consciousness, predetermining the attitude towards a person, goals, character and tactics of interaction with him.

A rational diagnosis is a scientifically based conclusion, often independent of the specialist’s previous experience and theoretical preferences, which is based on precisely established and empirically confirmed diagnostic data. Rational diagnostics are based only on reproducible facts.

According to the method of logical construction, there are:

• 1. Direct substantiated psychological diagnosis, when there is a set of symptoms or a combination of diagnostic signs characteristic of a specific psychological phenomenon.
• 2. Indirect diagnosis, obtained by excluding less probable signs or highlighting the most probable of them.
• 3. Diagnosis based on the results of exposure (catamnesis), when the diagnosis is established conditionally, based on the favorable result of providing psychological assistance in a given specific diagnostic situation.

The complexity and variety of types of psychological diagnosis, the variability of the grounds for its formulation create various kinds of obstacles on the way to the correct decision, as well as conditions for the occurrence of various kinds of diagnostic errors.

Psychological diagnosis is the final result of a psychological examination to clarify and describe the essence of individual psychological characteristics of a person in order to assess his current state, forecast further development and develop recommendations arising from the objectives of the examination.

Psychological diagnosis- this is a structured description of a complex of interrelated mental properties - abilities, motives, stable personality traits.

Psychological diagnosis- this is not a conclusion about mental illness or a predisposition to a specific mental illness. In modern psychodiagnostics psychological diagnosis is not limited to fixation and is not associated with the prognosis of possible mental illnesses. It can be given to any healthy person and means a structured description of a complex of interrelated mental properties - abilities, style traits and motives of a person.

The structuring of a psychological diagnosis is understood as bringing various parameters of a person’s mental state into a specific system: they are grouped by level of significance, by relatedness of origin, and by possible lines of causal mutual influence.

Psychological diagnosis is important for the psychological prognosis of behavior (with the exception of diagnosing the current mental state, which is necessary for choosing the optimal method of interaction with a person in this state).

The basic concepts of psychodiagnostics include diagnostic signs, diagnostic categories and diagnostic conclusion.

Signs are distinguished by the fact that they can be directly observed and recorded. Categories are hidden from direct observation; these are internal psychological factors (psychological reasons) that determine certain human behavior. Therefore, in the social sciences, diagnostic categories are usually called “latent variables.” For quantitative categories, the name “diagnostic factors” is also often used. Diagnostic output- this is a transition from observable features to the level of hidden categories.

In the practice of psychodiagnostic research there are three levels of establishing a psychological diagnosis:

1) symptomatic, built on the basis of mathematical processing of research data (which can be performed by a computer);

2) etiological, taking into account not only the presence of certain features (symptoms), but also the reasons for their occurrence;

3) typological, which consists in determining the place and meaning of the data obtained in the holistic dynamic structure of the subject’s personality.

The main elements of the psychodiagnostic process, forming a system that performs the functions of making a psychological diagnosis, are:

1) psychodiagnostician (in some cases – a group of specialists);

2) client (subject or their group);

3) psychodiagnostic method or set of methods;

4) the conditions in which the psychodiagnostic study is carried out.

A specialist (group of specialists) who has the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities, has the appropriate qualifications that give the right to conduct a psychodiagnostic study, and has the internal readiness to carry it out, can act as a psychodiagnostician. A client (subject) is any person or group of people who are ready and agree to conduct a psychodiagnostic study. The exception is small children, whose consent for research must be obtained from their parents or persons replacing them. A similar requirement applies to situations where the subject is partially or completely incapacitated. The consent of the subjects is also not required if the psychodiagnostic study is carried out by court decision. In addition, in some rather rare cases, for example, when a psychodiagnostic study is carried out in relation to military personnel, it can be carried out without the consent of the subjects, however, such cases must be specified in the relevant regulatory documents. The methods used must be valid and reliable, and the psychodiagnostician must have sufficient qualifications.

Conditions for psychodiagnostic research– a set of factors that, to one degree or another, can affect the reliability of the results obtained.

These conditions can be internal (the mental and physical state of the subject, including his readiness for conscientious cooperation) and external (the presence of the necessary environment, time of day, sanitary and hygienic conditions, the duration of the study itself, the lack of subjective attitudes of the psychodiagnostician and his internal readiness to quality implementation of their professional duties, validity and reliability of psychodiagnostic techniques).

Stages of the psychodiagnostic process The psychodiagnostic process consists of a number of mandatory stages, the implementation of which ensures the formulation of a psychological diagnosis and the writing of a psychological report. Various authors identify different stages of the psychodiagnostic process.

A. V. Batarshev identifies three stages in the testing process:

1) choice of test method; 2) direct testing; 3) interpretation of the results of a psychodiagnostic study.

Psychodiagnostic study, from Cormann's point of view, begins with the formulation of a question (diagnosis goal), carried out based on the results of a preliminary study.

Next, the selection of psychodiagnostic methods, the actual psychodiagnostic study and processing of the results are carried out, after which an assessment is made of whether answers to the questions posed are received or not. If there is not enough information, steps three to five are repeated. At the conclusion of the psychodiagnostic study, its results are summed up.

The basic stages of the psychodiagnostic process in domestic psychology include (A. A. Bodalev, V. V. Stolin):

1) indicative;

2) planning;

3) collection of psychodiagnostic data;

4) processing and interpretation of data;

5) preparation of a psychological report;

6) monitoring the effectiveness of psychodiagnostics.

In general, the psychodiagnostic process includes three main blocks:

1) preparatory; 2) research; 3) final.

At the same time, the preparatory block includes the following stages: acquaintance, orientation, preparation of a set of psychodiagnostic techniques. The research block includes the psychodiagnostic study itself, processing and analysis of the results obtained, and the development of intermediate hypotheses. The final block represents the psychologist’s activities in writing a psychodiagnostic report and developing recommendations.

It should be noted that the psychodiagnostic process is not strictly regulated, and its stages are not necessarily implemented in the sequence as they were presented above. The structure and stages of the psychodiagnostic process are largely determined by the goals of psychodiagnostics and the tasks facing the psychologist.

12. Problems of complex psychodiagnostics

Mass distribution of tests, numerous collections of tests, published in large quantities, but the form of their presentation (text of the methodology, key for processing, a couple of lines as a description of the measured characteristics) makes their serious professional use impossible. Moreover, the information presented in such collections is usually not enough to understand how good or bad a particular test is: there is no data on the specifics of development and/or adaptation of the test, its standardization, information on validity, reliability, etc. In addition However, most tests are outdated, and the test is supposed to show whether the test taker has the skills necessary to complete an academic task or work in a specific professional field. In contrast to criterion-oriented tests, standard-oriented methods only show that the subject is at some point on the distribution curve of the population's results. In criterion-referenced tests, the emphasis is on what an individual can do and what he knows, rather than on how he compares to others. Psychodiagnostic data can be used in social practice to form a specific decision - it simply makes a judgment about the specific individual characteristics of the client. The lack of literature on methods of psychological research sometimes leads to incompetent use of methods and uncritical acceptance of theoretical concepts that penetrate through the interpretation of data. When carrying out psychodiagnostics, great attention must be paid to all stages of the study: search stage, pilotage, main, final.

Principles of completing psychodiagnostic batteries

PB is a set of test tasks (subtests), combined into one psychodiagnostic technique and aimed at measuring various aspects of a complex psychological construct. Also, a test battery is understood as a set of techniques designed to solve a specific psychodiagnostic problem. Psychological diagnostics presupposes the presence of unity of a theoretical concept (theory), a method (and its instrumental implementation) and a method of influencing mental reality.

It follows that a method constructed within the framework of one theoretical concept cannot be fully used to objectify that side of an object that is illuminated by another theory, and the data obtained using this method cannot be the basis for constructing a technology of influence based on completely other theoretical concepts. This is the "principle of methodological limitation."

Principles of constructing a comprehensive psychological portrait of a personality

The psychological portrait of a person is laid down from birth. Its basis is temperament, developed on the basis of mental processes. An important component of the psychological portrait is character, which is formed under the influence of various factors.

In order to be able to predict human behavior in the widest possible range of situations, psychologists strive to measure universal, basic or system-forming traits, on the basis of which a more objective psychological portrait of the individual can be obtained.

PSYCHOLOGICAL PORTRAIT OF A PERSONALITY is a complex psychological characteristic of a person, containing a description of his internal make-up and possible actions in certain significant circumstances. Based on an assessment of personality properties, a psychological portrait can be drawn up, including the following components: 1. temperament;2. character;3. abilities; 4. focus; 5. intelligence;6. emotionality; 7. strong-willed qualities; 8. ability to communicate;9. self-esteem;10. level of self-control;11. ability for group interaction. Some researchers (Kudryashova S.V., Yunina E.A.) offer a slightly different idea of ​​the psychological portrait of a person. They include: 1) socio-demographic characteristics (gender, age, education, occupation); 2) socio-psychological characteristics (needs, motives, attitudes towards others, levels of understanding); 3) individual personal (attention, memory , type of thinking, temperament).

Forms for presenting the results of psychological research

The completion of any research work is the presentation of the results in the form that is accepted by the scientific community. It is necessary to distinguish between two main forms of presenting results: qualification and research.

Qualification work - coursework, diploma work, dissertation, etc. - serves to ensure that a student, graduate student or applicant, having presented his scientific research, receives a document certifying the level of competence. Requirements for such work, the method of their execution and presentation of results are set out in the relevant instructions and regulations adopted by academic councils.

The results of scientific research work are the results obtained during the research activities of a scientist. Presentation of scientific results usually occurs in three forms: 1) oral presentations; 2) publications; 3) electronic versions. In any of these forms there is a description. V. A. Ganzen understands description as any form of presentation of information about the results obtained in a study.

There are the following options for presenting information: verbal form (text, speech), symbolic (signs, formulas), graphic (diagrams, graphs), object-like (layouts, material models, films, etc.).

Verbal form is the most common option for presenting descriptions. Natural and scientific text. The main requirement for a scientific text is consistency and logic of presentation. Geometric (spatial-shaped) descriptions are a traditional way of encoding scientific information. Since the geometric description complements and explains the text, it is “tied” to the linguistic description. The geometric description is clear. It allows you to simultaneously present a system of relationships between individual variables studied in an experiment. The initial way to represent data is to depict a distribution. For this purpose, histograms and distribution polygons are used. If a researcher wants to more clearly present the relationship between various quantities, for example, the proportion of subjects with different qualitative characteristics, then it is more profitable for him to use a diagram. The ideal way to complete an experimental study is to discover a functional relationship between the independent and dependent variables, which can be described analytically - graphs. Numerous “learning curves” or “fatigue curves” are similar, showing changes in activity efficiency over time. Along with graphs, psychology uses spatial-graphical descriptions that take into account the structure of parameters and the relationships between elements. If a metric is defined in the feature space, a more strict data representation is used - tables.

Psychological diagnosis– a relatively completed result of a psychologist’s activity, aimed at clarifying the essence of individual psychological characteristics with the aim of:

Assessments of their current state,

Forecast of further development,

Structuring of psychological diagnosis- bringing various parameters of a person’s mental state into a specific system. Psychological diagnosis is important for psychological prognosis of behavior(except for diagnosing the current mental state).

In cases of experienced distress, the provision of not just advisory, but also psychotherapeutic assistance is required. If a person’s suffering develops into a clinical picture of a disease and the person consults a doctor, then psychotherapeutic assistance is of a medical nature and is provided by a psychotherapist or psychologist under the guidance of a doctor.

The difference between psychotherapeutic intervention and medical intervention lies in the following provisions:

1) the nature of trouble lies not in the painful processes occurring in the human body, but in the characteristics of his personality, the specifics of his life situation and the nature of relationships with others;

2) the person seeking help is neither objectively nor subjectively recognizing himself as sick.

The main thing in a medical diagnosis is the definition and classification of the existing manifestations of the disease, which are clarified through their connection with the pathophysiological mechanism typical for a given syndrome.

Psychological diagnosis (PD)– the final result of a psychologist’s activity, aimed at clarifying the essence of individual psychological characteristics of a person in order to assess their current state, forecast further development and develop recommendations determined by the task of a psychodiagnostic examination.

Subject of psychological diagnosis– establishment of individual psychological differences in normal and pathological conditions. The most important element of a psychological diagnosis is to clarify in each individual case why these manifestations are found in the behavior of the subject, what their causes and consequences are.

As psychological knowledge becomes more enriched, the “etiological” element in a psychological diagnosis will probably not be as significant as it is at present, at least in current, practical work. Today, as a rule, having established certain individual psychological characteristics by means of psychodiagnostics, the researcher is deprived of the opportunity to indicate their causes and place in the personality structure.

L. S. Vygotsky called this level of diagnosis symptomatic (or empirical). This diagnosis is limited to the statement of certain features or symptoms, on the basis of which practical conclusions are directly drawn. L. S. Vygotsky answers that this diagnosis is not strictly scientific, because the establishment of symptoms never automatically leads to a diagnosis. Here, the work of a psychologist can be completely replaced by machine data processing.

The second stage in the development of psychological diagnosis is etiological diagnosis, taking into account not only the presence of certain features (symptoms), but also the reasons for their occurrence.

Highest level - typological diagnosis, which consists in determining the place and meaning of the data obtained in a holistic, dynamic picture of the personality. According to L. S. Vygotsky, the diagnosis should always take into account the complex structure of the personality.

Diagnosis is inextricably linked with prognosis. According to L. S. Vygotsky, the content of the prognosis and diagnosis coincide, but the prognosis is based on the ability to understand “the internal logic of the self-movement of the development process so much that, on the basis of the past and present, it outlines the path of development.” It is recommended to divide the forecast into separate periods and resort to long-term repeated observations. The development of the theory of psychological diagnosis is currently one of the most important tasks of psychodiagnostics.

There are also two types of diagnosis:

1. Diagnosis based on stating the presence or absence of any sign. The test subject's data can be correlated with some norm (for example, when determining developmental pathology) or with a criterion.

2. A diagnosis that allows one to find the place of a subject or group of subjects on a scale of the severity of certain qualities. This requires comparisons of the obtained diagnostic data within the examined sample, ranking of subjects according to the degree of representation of certain indicators, introduction of an indicator of high, medium and low levels of development of the studied features by correlation with the criterion.