Man is part of a vast multifaceted world. He has certain relationships with him and feels it in his own way, and thanks to his 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 the characteristics of the subject
Everything that surrounds us has its own 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 the objects of the 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 the thinking of a person, his speech, attention, memory, will. To identify the level of its development in the personality, methods of perception help.
Process synthesis
Sometimes the question arises of what is primary: sensations or perceptions. The first is a simpler category, since it implies only one feeling (vision, smell, hearing, tactile and painful signs). The second connects them into a complex and reflects the subject as a whole, with all its characteristics. This, in essence, is the creation of an image of an object. For example, if a person sees a chair, then it evaluates at the same time the color, shape, size, which item 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 in 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 a reflection of the object in his brain, his image. This is a synthetic form of the subject, which appears as a result of information processing. Here, the thought 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. Also affect his intentions at the moment, mood, desires, etc. Therefore, the perception of the same objects will be individual in people.
Research Methods in Psychology
In order to study various psychic manifestations in the consciousness of a person, there are methods familiar to us. So the most common method is an experiment (laboratory, natural), through which purposefully creates an environment in which you can most clearly and accurately see the expression of a certain indicator.
Excellent results are obtained by the observation method (external and internal). It provides for a clear organization, fixing of results and subsequent explanation of human abilities or behavioral models and their causes.
The testing method (limited by the time period of the test) allows you to study certain mental characteristics of the individual, the level of intellectual development, personal qualities. As a rule, he is also a priority in the work of psychologists.
If necessary, use the biographical method (analysis of an individual’s life path in order to identify the most significant factors for him, predict further events and correct them), as well as a method of psychological modeling, the essence of which is to simulate mental processes or organize human activities in artificially created conditions.
The most popular diagnostic methods
To study human cognition of the world, there are techniques for perception. Most often, they are based on the method of experiment, since it allows you to make an internal psychological phenomenon accessible to objective observation. For him, artificial conditions are created that stimulate the manifestation of the necessary phenomena. Typically, this type of study is carried out in pairs. Testing is also very common. The above research methods in synthesis with methods for the development of perception provide a high level of awareness of the external world by a person.
The feeling of music
The perception of melodies is their listening and understanding. In order to fully enjoy them, you need to have some training and abilities. Basically, this is achieved by listening to works of different genres and their analysis, as well as conducting related activities (singing, dancing, studying data on the life of composers, their style, development of creativity). With careful organization of this process, a person develops the ability to define such concepts as rhythm, tempo, melody, harmony, etc. Methods of musical perception make it possible to identify the facets of an individual's education in this area. In particular, you can use the conversation, which allows you to see the degree of interest in the work and the breadth of the person. Data can also be obtained by monitoring the subject’s behavior during the hearing. The indicators are emotionality, facial expressions, concentration and interest in music. Also, for the diagnosis of auditory perception, the color expression technique gives good results. The subjects are invited to portray their feelings while listening. Conclusions about impressions are made based on the contents of the picture and the color scheme used.
Environmental awareness
As you know, the main colors have their own shades, saturation. The range of the palette for each person is different. You can identify it using the test of understanding and the use of words-names in the sample. 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 specified tones must be selected from a number of objects. Then a person for a certain time examines a series of samples of the same color of different lightness (for example, from light to dark) and then must restore it from memory. Color blindness is sometimes found in people — the inability to distinguish certain colors (often red and green) or lack of vision. Its presence is checked by conducting a test, during which the subject is offered cards where certain figures or figures of a different tone are drawn against the background of one color, and he must see and name them.
Diagnosis of shape recognition
The comprehension of shape 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). You can study the accuracy level of these sensations using the methods of perceiving the form, for example, a person is invited to remember 9 figures for 10 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, a test will be successful, for which 5 geometric shapes and objects of different shapes and colors are needed. The specialist offers the child to compare different geometric shapes and name their differences, then select objects of the specified 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 objects on 2 grounds and independently explains the differences in geometric shapes, then he has a high level of perception, an average level if he seeks the help of an adult, and low if he can not complete the task.
Human action timeline
All processes of our life take place in time. Perception of this category is an awareness of the sequence of phenomena of reality and the speed with which they pass. This indicator has its difficulty in understanding due to its inherent characteristics. This is fluidity (seconds-minutes-hours), invisibility and variability (tomorrow goes into today and after a day becomes yesterday), so time is known through the rhythm of life processes (pulse, heartbeat, respiratory rate) or the device we are used to - hours. Various states of a person (fatigue, irritability, enthusiasm, emotions, etc.) influence his perception.
The technique of perceiving time is quite simple. To carry it out you need a regular stopwatch. The study is carried out by conducting 10 samples. The test subject is asked to determine the length of the time interval of different durations (30 sec., 1 min., 120 sec.) Without looking at the clock. The experimenter signals the beginning of the gap by hitting a pencil on the table and controls the duration of the clock. The test subject must indicate the end of the specified segment. The results of all attempts are recorded. To determine the level of perception of time, you need to calculate the accuracy of the estimates for each experiment. To do this, the actual indicator is divided by a given interval and multiplied by one hundred. Thus, the experimenter obtains a time estimation coefficient. This methodology for 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, to name during the letter of the alphabet or to memorize a poem. This is how the ability to determine time in uncomfortable conditions (in the subway, at the reception, in the crowd, during the hustle and bustle, is training).
A man lives in the external environment and is a witness to all its changes. Determine the level of knowledge of reality helps perception techniques. Each person has a different knowledge and experience, but despite this, it is this particular mental process that allows us to be part of a multifaceted world, to feel the richness of sounds, colors and shapes, enjoy life and create for our own pleasure.