Classification of subjects - the Rubinstein method

A fairly simple, but highly effective system for assessing the psychological state of a person, used both in Russia and abroad, was proposed by our compatriot - scientist Sergei Leonidovich Rubinshtein. The method of "classification of objects", created at the end of the last century, preserves the status of one of the most popular in modern psychology.

Creator's personality

Sergei Leonidovich Rubinstein is one of the most outstanding domestic scientists of the twentieth century in the field of philosophy and psychology. Based on the system of philosophical views on the psychological nature of man, Rubinstein succeeded in creating a philosophical and psychological concept of man. It generalized the activity, behavior, conscious, spiritual and psychological life of the individual.

Rubinstein's research and the works based on them created the foundation for the development of psychology both in Russia and in the world. For example, the method "Classification of objects" is used to assess the psychological state of a person and at the present time.

Unfortunately, Sergei Leonidovich was forced to prematurely interrupt his scientific activity - the outbreak of war against "cosmopolitans" was the reason for his dismissal.

One of the results of the rigorous work of S. L. Rubinshtein is a system for identifying psychological abnormalities, entitled "Classification of objects" - a technique that allows you to perform an analysis of a person's psychological state by simple tests. The system was proposed by K. Goldstein, and developed by LS Vygotsky, B. V. Zeigarnik, and S. L. Rubinshtein.

Development of pathopsychology

Identify pathopsychology in a separate branch of science obliged events of the mid-twentieth century. Bloody wars and the illnesses that arise in the participants in combat, manifested in the disturbance of the functions of thinking, led to the need to search for new mechanisms to combat psychological disorders.

The most famous psychologists, including S. L. Rubinshtein, helped to rehabilitate patients in military hospitals. Their experimental studies have made an invaluable contribution to the domestic psychological science, as well as to the process of achieving victory.

It was during the Great Patriotic War that invaluable empirical data accumulated in the basis of pathopsychological science, formed as an isolated knowledge institution only by the 1980s, was accumulated, and a "Classification of objects" was developed, a technique that allows us to identify psychological illnesses in a subject by simple analysis.

Principles of pathopsychology

Pathopsychology is a differentiated direction of clinical psychology.

• The subject of the study is mental abnormalities and disorders.
• The task - to identify the causes of the disease, the degree of its progression and the search for ways to cure this disease.
• Methods - psychological analysis and tests, allowing to analyze the psychological state of a person, to reveal skills of differentiation, identification of objects, thinking.

One of the most common among them is the "Classification of objects" - a technique compiled by SL Rubinshtein to identify psychological disorders in humans, in particular, problems with logic and inferences.

The method of analysis is experiment. Unlike the classical tools of psychology-tests, the experiment has no time limits. On the contrary, such an indicator as the time of the assignment allows, depending on the degree of complexity of the task, to make reliable conclusions about the psychological state of the subject.

The value of the method "Classification of objects"

"Classification of objects" - a technique designed to analyze the concentration of the subject, as well as to assess its overall performance. Unlike other methods - "Exclusion of subjects", where the emphasis is on analyzing a person's logical thinking, studying the validity of his generalizations, that is, by induction, the classification method implies deductive analysis. The procedure for "classifying" items is more labor-intensive than their "exceptions". In this regard, the subject requires high performance.

Methodological support

Today in every first institution of public health, as well as in kindergartens and schools for studying the psychological state of people, the method "Classification of objects" is used. Stimulus material used for analysis - a deck of cards with images that correspond to the psychological state and mood of the patient. According to different sources, the deck should consist of 68-70 cards. Due to the fact that the methodology is regularly improved, it is quite possible that their number will gradually increase or decrease.

The main condition for the methodical material is the use of cards of the established pattern. The image, the main strokes in the figure, its color and appearance, and the paper should be made in accordance with the template developed by the laboratory of experimental pathopsychology of the Institute of Psychiatry of the RSFSR Ministry of Health. Since all these indicators are important for the experiment, the results of a study performed using non-standard cards are invalid.

Typical images of cards

It is worth noting that the methodology "Classification of images of objects" was upgraded - it was suggested to replace the images on cards with their corresponding words. Experience has shown that the technique of "Classification of words" is easy to generalize, but difficulties in the field of concentration and memory.

List of words (examples):

• Apple tree;

• TV;
• Lantern and others.

Order of conduct

One of the easiest ways to detect psychological abnormalities is the "Classification of objects" technique. Instructions for the study:

• Stage 1. "Deaf instruction" - the subject is offered to lay out the cards provided for the experiment, by groups. At the same time, the tester does not give clear instructions on what criteria should be used to combine the concepts on the method cards. If the subject asks a question about how to form groups, the leader of the experiment should recommend referring only to his own opinion.
• Stage 2. Peridical evaluation - the leader of the experiment should ask the subject about the criteria for grouping. All statements must be recorded on the checklist. If the formation of groups was conducted on the basis of the right criteria, the leader should praise or criticize the work of the subject. The reaction of the subject should also be recorded in the control form.
• Stage 3. The leader proposes to combine the created groups of cards into larger ones. The criterion of generalization also remains for the subject.

Further, the results of the work are evaluated.

Features of child pathopsychology

To study the psychological state of children, the methodology "Classification of objects" is also used. "Children's" version of the order of the study is almost no different from the "adult". The only exception is the number of cards. To work with children, depending on their age, it is necessary to remove from the deck all cards with images unknown to the child. In case of successful passing of the test, as an experiment and to determine the level of its development, it can be suggested to add to each of the groups an "adult" card, be sure to find out the reason for choosing one or the other aggregate grouping.

However, due to high psychological, mental and time costs, this technique is rarely used to analyze the psychological state of children. An exception is research to identify schizophrenic processes. In such cases, it is possible to achieve reliable indicators only by using these techniques in the aggregate - classification and subsequent exclusion of objects.

Analysis of experimental data

Problems of psychological development with a high degree of probability to doctors demonstrate the technique of "Classification of objects." Interpretation of results indicates the presence of a disease and depends on the following factors:

1. Correctness of the classification of the classification.

2. Logical formation of groups.

In this case, it is worth paying special attention to the rationale for selecting a picture to be assigned to a particular grouping. For example, some subjects referred the spoon to the instruments, as with it, women darn pantyhose, and the cleaning woman - to the medical staff, referring to sterility.

Also, attention should be paid to the persistence with which the subject proves his point of view.

Correlation of the results of psychological methods

The data obtained as a result of the method "Classification of objects" is usually analyzed through the prism of the "Exclusion of subjects" technique, since the two systems of analysis of a person's psychological state are aimed at studying the rationality of thinking. The information obtained as a result of their presentation demonstrates the complete pathopsychological picture of the individual.

It is also possible to use this technique with other test and experimental systems. However, do not forget that if a person has psychological illnesses, each of the analyzes will require a large amount of labor costs, in connection with which the effectiveness of each subsequent experiment will be reduced.

Of course, carrying out the experiment and analyzing its results requires appropriate knowledge and skills. However, if you decide to conduct a general analysis of the child's psychological development, you can also use the "Classification of subjects" technique. Certainly, accurate data will not be obtained, but filling out the playing time with entertaining tasks will be extremely useful.