"Unfinished offers" for adolescents: description

The test "Unfinished sentences" in psychology is practiced when it becomes necessary to identify and study certain attitudes of man, and not only realized by him. This technique is able to help understand what an individual feels about themselves, their parents, family, society, life goals. It is effective, but it has some specifics.

Principles of methodology

The "Unfinished sentences" test is based on the concept of free associations. It allows us to identify problems of an interpersonal and individual nature, to determine the inner experiences of a person, his propensity to diseases that are related to nervous disorders. And the test itself is not difficult. Even a child of preschool age can cope with it. It can even be called interesting.

How is it conducted? Respondent is given a form with unfinished proposals. Standardly there are 60 of them, but there may be other quantity if the test is made individually for any group of people or one person.

All unfinished sentences are related to certain life aspects, of which there are only 15. This attitude is toward oneself, the past, the future, the subordinates, friends, father, mother, family, superiors, colleagues and representatives of the opposite sex. Also, the aspects include feelings of guilt, anxiety (fears), goals, and intimate relationships.

If you take a standard test, then for each "category" there are four unfinished proposals. And the person who is invited to go through should supplement the started phrases in free form and as quickly as possible, almost without thinking and focusing only on their emotions and feelings.

Examples

To understand what the "Unfinished sentences" test is, you can after reading a few examples taken from it.

Here are two phrases: "If everything is against me, then ..." and "When I'm not lucky, I ...". They are responsible for the respondent's attitude to himself. The phrase "Would do anything to forget ..." has a reference to a sense of guilt. But the sentence "My fears more than once made me ..." refers to fears and anxieties.

In principle, the original test can be conducted among adolescents. It is only better to omit the unfinished proposals of a sexual nature, because there is something about the intima ("My sex life ...") and marriage in general. Phrases affecting the subject of superiors can be transformed. In the sentence "When my boss approaches me ..." the last word is harmonically replaced by a "teacher". The rest of the test does not represent anything special, so it can be conducted among respondents of all ages.

Identification of suicidal intentions

Most often, it is with this goal that the technique "Unfinished offers" is used among adolescents. Unfortunately, in our time it is relevant.

To identify suicidal intentions among schoolchildren of such an unstable age, it is necessary to convert the standard test and reduce the number of questions. They can be 28, among which only 4 will be thematic, but veiled. That's how they can sound: "Tomorrow I ...", "There will come a day when ...", "I want to live, because ...", "When I finish school ...".

Of course, it is unlikely that someone will cross out the third question from the above and write about the absence of the sense of existence as such. But even according to a perfectly normal answer, you can determine whether everything is in order with a teenager. He can write: "There will come a day when I will finally be happy." And it will become a "bell". If he so formulated the continuation of the phrase, then, most likely, something is bothering him. And this can not be left without attention.

Test option for school

As mentioned before, the standard variant can be changed. Unfinished proposals for junior students should sound as simple as possible. Here is an example of how they can be: "In studies I see ...", "In school I ...", "Our class ...", "My classmates ...". These unfinished proposals for schoolchildren are understandable and simple. But, based on their answers, one can understand the personal specifics of each.

Suppose the student continued the above phrases as follows: "In studies, I see the opportunity to gain new knowledge. At school I listen to the teacher and try to do the tasks. Our class is not very good. My classmates love to laugh at me. " Well, these answers allow to understand - the child likes to go to school, as he sees in this the possibility of self-improvement and the development of his abilities. But he is not satisfied with the nature of the relations with his classmates. There is a lack of communication and a sense of inferiority.

What to do with the results?

Their processing and interpretation is handled by a qualified specialist who is perfectly familiar with the test "Unfinished offers". The person who first encountered this technique will make it simple, but time will go a long way.

And the principle is simple. For each category of proposals, a characteristic is developed that defines the system of relations in question as neutral, positive or negative. If a positive mood is seen in the continuation of the respondent, then the answer is set to zero. Do you see more neutrality? Then this is a unit. But the continuations with a negative character are marked with a deuce.

It is important to note that the methodology "Unfinished sentences" (for teenagers and not only) implies the interpretation of answers by groups. Let the phrases and mixed in the form, but process them four by combining them into a single category.

Interpretation

As an example, we can take the category of sentences, the continuation of which is intended to understand the respondent's attitude to his own abilities. Suppose a teenager replied: "When the circumstances are against me, I begin to work hard. I consider myself capable of anything if I want to. My greatest weakness is the infinite craving for new knowledge. When I'm not lucky, I work hard to get what I want, no matter what. " Such answers are considered good. If the teenager gave similar continuations to the proposed phrases, then he is confident in himself, and he is able to overcome obstacles.

It is worthwhile to give an example of a negative interpretation. You can refer to a group of proposals for goals. Suppose a teenager gave them such a continuation: "I always wanted to kill someone. I would have found happiness by becoming completely alone. My dream is to go to an uninhabited island. Most of all I want from my life that no one should touch me. " And in this case, even the method of unfinished proposals is not needed to understand the hostile and pessimistic essence of the respondent. With the naked eye it is clear that he is an unrealistic thinker of a deep introvert who rejects society.

What can I find out?

The technique of "Unfinished sentences" for adolescents and people of other ages is a way to manifest one's essence. The main thing is that the respondent is initially set for this, because trust and disposition to the test is important.

Based on the results of the interpretation of the results, it is possible to clarify the areas in which negative, neutral and positive attitudes predominate.

Also, in practice, cases were known when the test helped to identify the respondent's mental illness. These are situations of a specific nature, since they involve psychiatrists. First, the main areas of frustration and conflict are identified. Then, the relationships between the person's personal attitudes are determined. And after that, the so-called personality structure is defined. It turns out what is its degree of response, emotional adaptation, maturity, level of reality, conflict.

Feature of the methodology

All of the above really helps to find out the test. Why? Because there are no prepared options and correct or incorrect answers in it. The person responds like a spirit. He does not think and does not analyze how he would respond to hide some aspect of his personality. It becomes open, and this allows the psychologist to understand his essence. That's why the test "Unfinished offers" for teenagers should be done regularly. After all, in school, at such a difficult age, it is extremely important to monitor the internal development of children.