Analysis of activity products in psychology: advantages and disadvantages

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

Scientific psychology has achieved considerable results during its development. The regularities of human mental development are formulated, in various theories the rationale for the causes of people's behavior, their psychological characteristics and types is given. In addition, a scientific approach has been created to how to obtain all this information. About one of the methods for obtaining data about a person, analyzing the products of his activity, - further.

Analysis of activity products in psychology

Let's define what this concept is. Activity product analysis (APA) is a method of studying the psychological characteristics of a person by studying the products of his labor or creative activity. Unlike the main psychological methods (observation and experiment), APD is carried out indirectly, that is, without direct communication between the psychologist and his client. A specialist studies the products of a person's graphic, musical, dramatic creativity and, on their basis, draws conclusions about his psychological characteristics.

Analysis of activity products in psychology is most often used in working withchildren of different ages, therefore, has gained such "popularity" in teaching practice.

Archival or praximetric method

There is another name for this psychological method - archival. This term was used in their activities by American psychologists. They meant by the archival method the study of a person's life through his products of labor, creativity, diary entries, archival data about him. Its variety is the biographical method, which allows you to study the life path of an individual or a group of people through their creative or labor achievements. This is how modern humanity receives knowledge about the life, relationships and personal characteristics of famous people from the past.

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

Analysis of children's products

APD is very common in working with children from a very young age, because it allows them to express themselves in comfortable conditions for the baby (in the game). Young children are not yet able to verbally describe their experiences, they do not yet know the name of what they are currently feeling. But they can do it in a different way - draw on paper, play with friends, write in an essay. All this can be valuable material for a psychologist,who works with the child.

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

• products of activities created in the game: plasticine figurines, constructions from different materials, items for role-playing games;
• products of labor activity: blanks, crafts at labor lessons;
• productive materials, creative: drawings, poems, notes, songs, essays, applications and more;
• study products: tests, drafts, homework.

Through the study of these materials, one can draw conclusions about the level of knowledge, the formation of skills, the presence of abilities, the orientation 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);
• psychic properties (character, abilities - everything that makes a child an individual).

Thus, the method can be used in a variety of situations - to identify the causes of student failure, with difficulties in adapting the child, to study his relationship with adults and peers, to determine the interests and inclinations of the child to a particular type of activity.

Thisthe list goes on, because the number of questions about the successful development of the baby increases with his age. An experienced psychologist will always help worried parents or educators if the analysis of activity products is in the arsenal of his working methods.

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 study:

• clearly formulates the goal - what exactly is being studied and why (for example, the manifestation of the relationship of a 6-year-old child with significant adults and peers in the drawings);
• selects children (if it is a group) of the appropriate age (in this case, 6 years old) and with the specified skills (such as drawing);
• prepares the same conditions for activities for all children (same materials, venue);
• minimizes its own influence on the work process of children, makes sure 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 involves a further conversation with the child about the product of his work, he prepares questions in advance;
• indicates the criteria by which the final product will be judged (e.g. color choice, composition).

How is the analysis done?

This method involves the analysis of processes and products of activity. This means that not only the final productThe child's work can carry information about him, but also the very process of its creation. For example, when children play staging a fairy tale, you can observe how involved they are in the process, how much they like the role and how they act it out, how much the text of the role corresponds, and also what new things the child brings to the process.

If a more passive activity is analyzed, for example, modeling or drawing, you can record the child's emotional reactions to what is happening, observe how he himself evaluates his work, how much the resulting product corresponds to the original idea.

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

Stages of conducting research

Like all psychological research, the analysis of products of activity involves the passage of several stages:

• preparatory - collecting primary data about the child, hypothesizing (what is happening and why, what it may be connected with), preparing materials for analysis;
• directly research - 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 andteachers.

The participation of the child himself is expected only at the second stage. All other steps are taken by the psychologist.

Dignity of the method

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

• The opportunity to collect quite extensive material from both the group and one child.
• The ability to track the dynamics of the psychological development of the child by comparing the oldest and newest products of creativity. For example, to see how much the fine motor skills of the hands have improved, how the child's attitude to this or that aspect of his life has changed, etc.
• This is the most natural way for a child to explore his psyche: in a playful way of working, the baby feels comfortable and relaxed.
• The ability to identify a wide variety of psychological characteristics of a child - from the degree of development of attention to character.

Disadvantages of product analysis

Any research method has its drawbacks, which can affect the result. The analysis of the study of products of activity can be subject to the following difficulties:

• The use of the method is limited by the age characteristics of the child. For example, in order to learn the drawing of a baby, it is necessary that he already has drawing skills.
• Processing of the results may be subject to subjective assessment by the psychologist (for example, the originality of the drawing). This requires clear criteria for evaluation,which will exclude the bias of the researcher.
• It takes a lot of time and resources to fully study a person's personality with the help of ADF.

Varieties of research methods for activity products

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

The projective method differs from the classical AFA in that it has a standardized material on which the work is carried out, and specific instructions. For example, the subject is given the task to draw a picture on a given topic, complete an unfinished sentence, make up a story based on the image, etc. The most well-known methods include Rorschach Spots, Non-Existent 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 illness.

Another modern interpretation of the method is professiography. It uses the ADF 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. These are the psychophysiological, socio-psychological characteristics of a person. For example,in order to be a successful teacher, in addition to theoretical training, a specialist must be tactful, patient, able to control emotions, flexible enough and inventive.

Content analysis as a related method

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

• single words;
• phrases (phrases);
• subject;
• message as a whole.

This method is more accurate, because it involves mathematical operations with the received material. All research units are counted in order to determine the frequency of their use and systematization. This allows us to draw conclusions about the psychological characteristics 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, newspaper articles, songs, poems, etc.

Analysis of pedagogical documentation

Widely used in the practice of education and upbringing of children received another type of APD. This is an analysis of pedagogical documentation.

A modern educator, psychologist or social worker is confronted every day with a large amount of data concerning students. It's differentdocumentation:

• characteristics;
• medical history;
• autobiographies;
• knowledge assessment journals;
• meeting minutes;
• school student diaries;
• orders and orders of the leadership.

All this, after studying and systematizing, allows you to create a general picture of the development of the child, identify problematic 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 background to use it. This is a constant practice, personal interest and desire to develop all the time. But if parents entrust their child to such a specialist, they will be sure that they will receive comprehensive information about him and qualified assistance.