Lecture
A psychodiagnostic test is usually built on the developer's own concept of personality structure. The way a test's author describes and explains a person's psychological characteristics determines the scale structure and interpretation of the test. The collection and systematization of information about the examinee during a psychodiagnostic assessment is based on the subjective model of personality held in the diagnostician's mind. The components of this model influence the choice of methods, the structure of the assessment report, and the way diagnostic information is presented.
Contemporary psychology has several widely used approaches to the study and analysis of personality.
1. The constitutional approach. It rests on the idea that a person's psychological characteristics are linked to their type of constitution (body build, temperament), i.e., to innate, genetically determined parameters.
2. The factor approach is based on studying and analyzing personality using methods of mathematical statistics (factor analysis). Personality traits present in language are grouped into clusters (factors), which subsequently appear as questionnaire scales. Within this approach, R. Cattell's 16PF test, popular in Russia, was developed.
3. The block approach. It involves identifying and singling out separate blocks, or component parts, of personality: personality orientation, character, higher mental functions (thinking, memory, attention, perception), and temperament. From the standpoint of predicting occupational success, the upper blocks carry the greatest informational value: personality orientation, character, and higher mental functions.
The block approach is the most convenient and technologically justified for analyzing personality using psychodiagnostic tools and for developing a system of criteria for psychological selection.
4. The motivational-dynamic approach. This approach rests on the premise that any manifestation of personality can be viewed in terms of hierarchically organized levels of needs (motives). As an example, one may cite A. Maslow's concept of self-actualization. According to it, higher-level needs (the need for love, the need for social status, the need for self-actualization) arise only after a person has satisfied basic needs, i.e., once they experience physiological comfort and a sense of security.
L.N. Sobchik introduced the concept of a "leading tendency," i.e., an individually shaped style of perceiving, processing, and reproducing information about the knowable world, which is transformed into people's thoughts, experiences, and actions. This style permeates all levels of personality, from the genetically given to the higher levels formed in the course of socialization. In analyzing psychodiagnostic results, identifying one or several leading tendencies of personality makes it possible to predict a person's behavior more accurately and to understand their motivational and value priorities.
Individual style of activity is a stable, individually specific system of psychological means, techniques, skills, methods, and ways of carrying out a given activity. Individual style of activity allows people with different individual-typological characteristics of the nervous system, and different structures of abilities, temperament, and character, to achieve equal effectiveness in performing the same activity by different means, thereby compensating for individual traits that would otherwise hinder success (Klimov E.A., 1990).
Appraising staff performance makes it possible to achieve the following objectives:
E. A. Klimov understands professional self-determination as one of the most important manifestations of a person's mental development, as the process of their becoming a full-fledged member of the community of professionals and — more broadly — of society as a whole. Carrying out socially meaningful activity aimed at producing a socially valuable product is the criterion for a person's search for meaning and motivation and for the decisions they make. These decisions crystallize conscious and unconscious aspects, and the decision itself integrates prior experience with future goals.
In Russian-language literature, questions of a subject's professional self-determination are most consistently and comprehensively examined in the works of E. F. Zeer, E. A. Klimov, and N. S. Pryazhnikov.
(The "Diagnosis of the Motivational Structure of Personality" method, V.E. Milman; "Diagnosis of Socio-Psychological Attitudes of Personality in the Motivational-Needs Sphere," O.F. Potemkina). Achievement motivation and failure-avoidance motivation, their role in professional activity, and their diagnosis. (T. Ehlers' method). The level of subjective control, its significance for professional achievement, and the possibility of diagnosing it ("Method for Studying the Level of Subjective Control," J. Rotter)
B.F. Lomov points out that questions of motivation occupy a leading place in most psychological research.
The first line of thought is characterized by monistic views of the concept of "motive," under which various separate psychological phenomena are treated as motives: needs, goals, urges, intentions, stable traits, states, and so on. The second line of thought can be described as combining existing viewpoints into a single concept that treats motive as a complex integral (systemic) psychological formation. What unites these two lines of thought is that motive is perceived by both as a specific psychological phenomenon.
As a theoretical basis for defining the concept of motive, we will draw on the works of L.I. Bozhovich and A.N. Leontiev on the theory of motivational development.
In contemporary psychology the word motivation is used in two senses: to denote the system of factors that determine behavior, which includes, in particular, needs, motives, goals, intentions, aspirations, and much else, and as a characteristic of the process that stimulates and sustains behavioral activity at a given level. But motivation is conditioned by the needs of the personality and by the circumstances of the activity, since decision-making and the formation of intentions take these factors into account.
Identifying motivational dominants is of fundamental importance, since they determine a person's decision-making, and when explaining the grounds for an action or activity, they become the arguments for the decision made.
One of the best-known and most popular theories of motivation was proposed by the famous American psychologist A. Maslow. According to Maslow's theory, human behavior is determined by needs – states produced by the need for objects necessary for a person's existence, which serve as a source of their activity. A. Maslow identified five qualitatively distinct groups of human needs:
physiological needs necessary for human survival: food, water, rest, and so on;
needs for safety and confidence in the future - protection from physical and other dangers from the surrounding world and confidence that physiological needs will continue to be satisfied in the future;
social needs - the need for a social environment. In interacting with people - a sense of “camaraderie” and support;
needs for esteem, for the recognition of others, and for striving toward personal achievement;
the need for self-expression, i.e., the need for one's own growth and for realizing one's potential.
The first two groups of needs are primary, while the following three are secondary; as long as the lower-level needs remain unsatisfied, their influence on a person's motivation will take priority.
The subject of study in many pieces of research (A.Z. Abzalova, B.I. Dodonov, T.P. Dmitrieva, and others) has been the typology of professional-activity motivation. The most widespread typology of motivational structure is presented by T.N. Antonova, K. Zamfir, and L.E. Kurneshova. These authors generally distinguish two types of professional-activity motivation: external and internal. One can speak of the internal type of motivation when the activity is significant for the individual in its own right, and the individual derives enjoyment directly from the activity itself. If, however, the motivation for professional activity is based on the drive to satisfy other needs (motives of social prestige, salary, and so on), then this is external motivation.
A more in-depth study of the types of professional-activity motivation was proposed by K. Zamfir. She proceeds from the idea of three types of motivation: internal motivation, external positive motivation, and external negative motivation. By internal motives the author means what is generated in a person's mind by the work activity itself: an understanding of its social usefulness; the satisfaction that the work brings, i.e., the result and the process of labor. Internal motivation arises from the needs of the activity itself, when a person works with enjoyment, without any external pressure. External motivation comprises those motives that lie outside the worker and the work as such: earnings, fear of censure, the drive for prestige, and so on. External positive motivation includes: material incentives, career advancement, approval from colleagues and the team, and prestige - that is, the incentives for the sake of which a person considers it worthwhile to make an effort. Under external negative motivation the author includes punishments, criticism, censure, fines, and the like.
Motivation for activity, aimed at achieving success, and for avoiding failure. People motivated by success achieve considerably more in life and usually set positive goals for themselves in their activity. They strive to achieve success in their activity, seek out such activity, actively engage in it, and choose the means and prefer the actions aimed at attaining the set goal. Such people expect to succeed, so when taking on a piece of work they invariably count on succeeding and are confident of it. They expect to receive approval for actions aimed at attaining the set goal, and the work associated with it evokes positive emotions in them. They are also characterized by the full mobilization of all their resources and by concentrating their attention on attaining the set goal.
People motivated by avoiding failure, display self-doubt, do not believe they can succeed, and fear criticism. Work that carries a risk of failure is usually associated for them with negative emotional experiences; they take no pleasure in the activity and find it burdensome. As a result, they often end up not as winners but as the defeated – life's losers, on the whole.
The level of subjective control is a generalized personality characteristic that manifests itself in a similar way across different situations. Psychologists believe that the level of subjective control is linked to a person's sense of responsibility for what is happening «here and now», as well as for distant consequences, i.e., to the social maturity and independence of the personality. Methods for diagnosing this personality characteristic were first tested in the 1960s in the USA. The best known of them is the locus of control scale (locus of control scale), developed by J. B. Rotter ( J. B. Rotter). This scale is based on the premise that all people fall into two types — internals and externals — depending on how they judge what causes various events in their lives and who is responsible for them. Every person can be rated on the «internality-externality» scale. Internals have an internal locus of control, externals — an external one. The differences between the two types of control localization can prove significant for occupational success (an internal locus of control correlates significantly with the index of professional success).
(«Career Anchors», G.S. Nikiforov; «Self-Actualization Test», Yu.E. Aleshina et al).
The concept of «career» comes from the French language and denotes advancement in the sphere of professional activity, the attainment of recognition.
Traditionally, occupational psychology examines the development of professionally important qualities that determine the success of one's work, its productivity, and so on. But what is specific to the properly psychological approach is a shift of emphasis toward the problem of developing the personality of the working person as such. For this reason, examining the value-based, meaning-related, personal aspects of the developing subject of labor becomes a rather promising line of inquiry. Here it is important to understand how the value-moral, meaning-related, personal structure of a person's professional consciousness is formed.
A.N. Leontiev already spoke of two "births of personality": the first - in preschool age, when the first hierarchy of motives is built and the ability to give something up appears; and the second - in adolescence, when the young person becomes newly aware of their motives and begins to direct their own behavior. To this one could add a third birth of personality, linked to civic maturity and to bringing one's motives into line with social and even universal human ones. It is precisely in professional activity, when an already grown person realizes their developing potential to the fullest, that it is useful to reflect on what a person not only works for but lives for altogether, and on how professional activity itself allows them to pass on the best of what they have to other people.
In general, the following stages in the development of a personality's self-awareness can be conventionally distinguished (according to Yu.B. Gippenreiter):
assimilating norms that mediate physical development (the formation of the personality's "physical self");
the formation of the "social layer of personality";
the formation of the "spiritual center of personality" (value-moral self-determination).
The central problem in the development of a specialist's personality is the development of their value-and-meaning sphere, the development of their readiness to pose to themselves and answer the question: what do I live and work for, why am I a professional of this or that kind at all?
The best-known periodization of human development as a subject of labor in Russia is that of E.A. Klimov (1996):
1. The pre-play stage (from birth to age 3), during which the functions of perception, movement, and speech are mastered, along with the simplest rules of behavior and moral judgments, which become the foundation for further development and for a person's induction into labor.
2. The play stage (from age 3 to 6-8), during which the "basic meanings" of human activity are mastered, along with acquaintance with specific occupations (playing at being a driver, a doctor, a shop assistant, a teacher...). Note that D.B. Elkonin (1978), following G.V. Plekhanov, wrote that "play is the child of labor," and that the very emergence of children's role-play arose once children could no longer directly master adult labor, once the historical division and increasing complexity of labor had occurred.
3. The stage of mastering learning activity (from 6-8 to 11-12 years), during which the functions of self-control, self-analysis, and the ability to plan one's own activity, among others, develop intensively. It is especially important when a child independently plans their time while doing homework, overcoming the urge to go out and relax after school.
4. The stage of "optation" (optatio - from the Latin for desire, choice) (from 11-12 to 14-18 years). This is the stage of preparing for life and for work, of conscious and responsible planning and choice of a professional path; accordingly, a person in a situation of professional self-determination is called an "optant." The paradox of this stage is that an adult, for example an unemployed person, may well find themselves in an "optant" situation too; as E.A. Klimov himself noted, "optation is not so much an indication of age" as of the situation of choosing an occupation.
5. The apprentice stage is the professional training that most school graduates undergo.
6. The adaptant stage is entry into the profession after completing professional training, lasting from several months to 2-3 years.
7. The internal-colleague stage is entry into the profession as a full-fledged colleague capable of working steadily at a normal level. This is the stage of which E.A. Klimov says that colleagues perceive the worker as "one of their own among their own," i.e., the worker has already entered the professional community as a full member ("inter" means precisely: having entered "within the profession).
8. The master stage, when a worker can be described as "the best" among the "normal," among the "good," i.e., the worker clearly stands out against the general background.
9. The authority stage means that the worker has become "the best among masters." Naturally, not every worker can boast of this.
10. The mentor stage is the highest level of work of any specialist. This stage is notable in that the worker is no longer simply a superb specialist in their field but is transformed into a Teacher, capable of passing on their finest experience to students and instilling in them a part of their own soul (the best part of the soul). Thus, the highest level of development of any specialist is the pedagogical level. It should be noted that it is precisely pedagogy and education that form the core of human culture, since they ensure the continuity and preservation of humanity's best experience. A professional who has become a Mentor-Teacher is, in their own way, also a cultured being in the best sense of the word.
Professional career and self-realization. We regard career as a person's natural need for the full realization of all their abilities throughout life, for the benefit of people and society, bringing them satisfaction with themselves.
In choosing a field of professional activity, a person consciously (or unconsciously) constructs their own personal concept of a prosperous future - orderly, mutually coherent, predictable and understandable.
Full life self-realization in the professional sphere is possible if a person:
recognizes their professional activity as the best way to realize their own personality;
is aware of their abilities, interests, life preferences and behavioral motives, and is capable of friendly interaction with other people regardless of their individual characteristics;
possesses the knowledge, abilities and skills that allow them to realize their abilities as fully as possible in professional activity and in a variety of relationships;
is capable of the purposeful volitional effort needed to realize their striving to be an effective, competent professional who matters to others at every stage of their life path.
In the broad sense of the word, career is understood as the overall sequence of a person's development and self-realization in the main spheres of life activity: work, family, social life, and leisure.
The success of a person's career depends on a whole range of factors. G.S. Altshuller developed a distinctive algorithm for building a career.
First, a person must answer the question of what goals they set for themselves.
Second, determine what is preventing them from becoming what they dream of being.
Third, decide how to overcome the resistance of life circumstances.
(The «Job Satisfaction» test, V.A. Rozanov; «Assessing an Organization Employee's Loyalty», L.G. Pochebut, O.E. Koroleva; the Organizational Culture Attractiveness Questionnaire, G.S. Nikiforov).
A positive model for the development of an employee's attitude toward the organization and its culture has three stages: dependability, loyalty, and commitment to the organization.
Dependability as applied to a company employee is compliance with norms, sharing the company's goals and values, and following its requirements and regulations. This dependability is, as a rule, built on discipline, reinforced by an incentive system, as well as by the employee's upbringing and training.
Loyalty is a benevolent, correct, sincere, respectful, emotionally colored attitude toward the company and its employees, a desire to be useful and needed, and to give warning of danger.
A loyal employee always strives to be honest and sincere toward the company, to perform their work in the best possible way, and is even prepared to make certain sacrifices for the sake of the company's success, feeling a sense of pride in its victories. A loyal employee has a strong desire to remain a member of the organization despite problems and difficulties that arise in its work, and is full of enthusiasm and a wish to help.
If the level of hidden staff turnover in a company is high, it will steadily lose its stability.
Besides observation carried out by management and the HR department, employee loyalty is worth assessing through surveys. Based on the results of regular anonymous surveys on job satisfaction and the search for a new position, five groups of employees can be identified:
employees satisfied with their work who are not looking for a new position;
satisfied employees who are nonetheless looking for a new job;
dissatisfied employees actively searching for a job;
dissatisfied employees who are not looking for a new position;
employees with an undecided position («I find it difficult to answer», «I have not thought about it»).
Appraising a company's personnel performs administrative, informative, and motivational functions.
The following incentive levers of influence are used for motivation:
For a personnel appraisal system to produce a significant result, before developing and implementing it one needs to determine:
The need to appraise personnel by developing and implementing a system is most often prompted by:
Numerous methods are used to appraise working personnel, making it possible to assess each employee as accurately as possible. These methods include:
What are the features of a subject's professional self-determination and professional growth.
Diagnosis of employees' professionally important qualities.
Approaches to studying motivation for professional activity.
Diagnosis of achievement motivation and failure-avoidance motivation, and their role in professional activity.
Level of subjective control, its significance in professional achievement, and the possibilities for diagnosing it
What is a professional career; name its types.
Characterise the periods of life and the professional development of the subject of the activity.
Characterise the conditions for self-realisation in the professional sphere when building a career.
Predicting employees' behaviour in typical situations to assess potential risks related to their activity, job satisfaction, and identifying an employee's loyalty to the organisation.
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