Techniques for the perception of color, music, form and time. Research methods in psychology

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Man is part of a huge multifaceted world. He has certain relationships with it and feels it in his own way, and thanks to the ability to perceive colors, sounds, shapes, spatial characteristics and temporal relationships, his impression of the environment is formed. Awareness of the qualities of objects in people occurs in different ways. To study the level of cognition of objects of reality, there are methods for diagnosing perception, which will be discussed in this article.

Analysis of item characteristics

Everything that surrounds us has its indicators (size, shape, color). Recognition and isolation from a number of similar objects or phenomena occurs through a complex of analyzers. Perception (perception) is a reflection in the consciousness of the personality of objects of the surrounding world as a result of their impact on the senses. In other words, it is a complex of sensations. This mental process is inextricably linked with a person's thinking, his speech, attention,memory, will. Methods for perception help to identify the level of its development in a person.

Process Synthesis

Sometimes the question arises as to what comes first: sensations or perceptions. The first is a simpler category, since it implies only one sense (sight, smell, hearing, tactile and pain signs). The second connects them into a complex and reflects the object as a whole, with all its characteristics. This is, in fact, the creation of the image of the subject. For example, if a person sees a chair, then he simultaneously evaluates the color, shape, size, what object to touch, and at the same time realizes that you can sit on it.

What does perception depend on?

The formation of a person's attitude begins from the first year of his life. First, the child learns the individual properties of objects through the senses. But as the analyzer system develops, the totality of his impressions increases, the characteristics of external stimuli are synthesized, creating in the brain a reflection of the object, its image. This is already a synthetic form of the subject, which appears as a result of information processing. Here, the mental process is mandatory, which provides a new level of awareness of the world (perception). It, in turn, depends on the level of mental operations, the availability of information in a person and his experience. His intentions at the moment, mood, desires, etc. also influence. Therefore, the perception of the same objects will be individual for people.

Research methods inpsychology

In order to study various mental manifestations in the mind of a person, there are ways familiar to us. So the most common method is an experiment (laboratory, natural), through which an environment is purposefully created in which you can most clearly and accurately see the expression of a certain indicator.

Excellent results are obtained by the method of observation (external and internal). It provides for a clear organization, fixing the results and the subsequent explanation of the abilities or behavioral patterns of a person and their causes.

The testing method (a time-limited test) allows you to study certain mental characteristics of an individual, the level of intellectual development, personal qualities. As a rule, it is also a priority in the work of psychologists.

If necessary, use the biographical method (analysis of the individual's life path in order to identify the most significant factors for him, predict further events and correct them), as well as the method of psychological modeling, the essence of which is to simulate mental processes or organize human activities in artificially created conditions.

Most popular ways of diagnosing

To study human knowledge of the world, there are methods for perception. Most often they are based on the method of experiment, since it makes it possible to make an internal psychological phenomenon accessible to objective observation. For him, artificialconditions that stimulate the manifestation of the desired phenomena. As a rule, this type of study is carried out in pairs. Testing is also very common. The above methods of research, in synthesis with the methods of developing perception, provide a high level of awareness of the external world by a person.

Feel the music

Perception of melodies is their hearing and understanding. In order to fully enjoy them, you need to have a certain training and abilities. Basically, this is achieved by listening to works of different genres and analyzing them, as well as by conducting related classes (singing, dancing, studying data about the life of composers, their style, the development of creativity). With careful organization of this process, a person develops the ability to define such concepts as rhythm, tempo, melody, harmony, etc. The methods of musical perception make it possible to identify the facets of an individual's education in this area. In particular, you can use a conversation that allows you to see the degree of interest in the work and the breadth of a person’s horizons. Also, data can be obtained in the course of observing the behavior of the subject during the hearing. Indicators are emotionality, facial expressions, concentration and interest in music. Also, for diagnosing auditory perception, the color expression technique gives good results. The subjects are asked to describe their feelings while listening. Impressions are based on the content of the drawing and the color scheme used.

Awareness of environmental colors

As you know, primary colors have their own shades, saturation. The range of the palette is different for each person. You can identify it with the help of a test of understanding and the use of words-names according to the model. It shows visual perception. The technique is as follows: first, the subject is offered an object and he must name its color, or one of the indicated tones must be selected from a number of objects. Then a person examines for a certain time a number of samples of the same color of different lightness (for example, from light to dark) and then must restore it from memory. Sometimes color blindness occurs in people - the inability to distinguish certain colors (often red and green) or a lack of vision. Its presence is checked by conducting a test, during which the subject is offered cards where certain figures or numbers of a different tone are drawn against the background of one color, and he must see and name them.

Diagnosis of shape recognition

Comprehension of outlines and relief is one of the most important tasks of visual analyzers. It allows you to evaluate the geometric features of various objects, which can be both planar and volumetric. The perception of both those and other objects implies that a person does not just "photograph" them, but receives information about the totality of characteristics (volume, color, shape). It is possible to study the level of accuracy of these sensations using the methods of form perception, for example, a person is offered for 10memorize 9 figures for seconds, and then find them on a table with a large number of images. According to the appropriate formula, the experimenter calculates the level of recognition of the proposed material.

For children, the test will be successful, which requires 5 geometric shapes and objects of different shapes and colors. The specialist invites the child to compare different geometric shapes and name their differences, then select objects of the indicated characteristics from a number of objects, for example, round and red, rectangular and blue … All results are recorded and conclusions are drawn from them. If the baby quickly selects the necessary items according to 2 signs and independently explains the differences in geometric shapes, then he has a high level of perception, an average level if he resorts to the help of an adult, and a low level if he cannot complete the task.

Chronology of human actions

All processes of our life take place in time. The perception of this category is the awareness of the sequence of phenomena of reality and the speed with which they pass. This indicator has its own difficulty in understanding due to its inherent characteristics. This is fluidity (seconds-minutes-hours), invisibility and variability (tomorrow turns into today and in a day becomes yesterday), so time is known through the rhythm of life processes (pulse, heartbeat, breathing rate) or a familiar device - hours. Its perception is influenced by various states of a person (fatigue, irritability, enthusiasm, emotions, etc.).

The method of time perception is quite simple. To carry it out, you need a regular stopwatch. The study is underwayby conducting 10 samples. The subject is asked to determine the length of a time segment of different duration (30 seconds, 1 minute, 120 seconds) without looking at the clock. The beginning of the interval is signaled by the experimenter by striking the table with a pencil and controls its duration by the clock. The test subject must indicate the end of the specified segment with a sign. The results of all attempts are recorded. To determine the level of time perception, it is necessary to calculate the accuracy of the estimate for each experience. To do this, the actual indicator is divided by the specified interval and multiplied by one hundred. In this way, the experimenter obtains a coefficient for estimating time. This method of perception allows you to analyze the actual sense of time by a person. If the indicator is less than 100, then the person underestimates the intervals, and if more - overestimates. Sometimes you can complicate the task, for example, call the letters of the alphabet during the exercise or recite a poem by heart. This is how the ability to determine the time is trained in uncomfortable conditions (in the subway, at the reception, in the crowd, during the hustle and bustle…).

Man lives in the external environment and is a witness to all its changes. Methods for perception help determine the level of knowledge of reality. It is different for each person, like a store of knowledge and life experience, but despite this, it is this mental process that allows us to be part of a multifaceted world, to feel the richness of sounds, colors and forms, to enjoy life and create for our own pleasure.