What's in common between a pencil and a boot? Psychological testing

Mankind has achieved all that ismoment, not only because of their physical abilities, the basis of all discoveries and inventions was mental activity. Nowadays there are many diseases and deviations from normal development that can be diagnosed and cured. And many problems with mental activity helps to reveal psychological testing.

Comparison method

The basis of psychological testing includedbasic mental operations, such as analysis, comparison, synthesis, synthesis, abstraction, and concretization. All of them are able to show different sides of the main activity of human thinking.

By comparison man is capablematch objects and phenomena to find similarities and differences between them. During the search for similarities, it can be noted that many objects are similar in one and different in another, and there is nothing in common between some. But the similarity or difference is determined depending on what the characteristics of the object are essential in a given period of time. Very often, a person perceives the same things and actions differently, depending on the situation.

Comparison tests, or What is common between a pencil and a shoe?

Throughout life, first at school, thenin higher education and sometimes when applying for a job, a person is offered to take this test. In childhood, using the concept of comparison, children check the development of their creative potential and determine which thinking prevails in a child. In more mature age, this test can be offered to test how healthy a person’s thinking is.

Categories of words in the test

One of the most common questions in suchcase, is the comparison of disparate items. A.R. Luriy suggests dividing these words into three different categories. The simplest of them is a comparison of two words belonging to the same category, for example, a tram - a bus or a horse - a cow.

In the second category more complex ones prevail.comparisons, they are more different than the same. An example of such a comparison is the "crow - fish". The third group is the most difficult. It presents various concepts, and their comparison should cause a mental conflict. That is, their differences are stronger than similarities. For example, what is common between a pencil and a shoe?

The operational side of thinking and its violations

If a person has a decrease in function,responsible for the level of generalization in judgments, he begins to evaluate objects and phenomena quite extensively. In other words, instead of identifying a common feature, they select a specific situation. That is, if you compare a book and a sofa, then an unhealthy person will say that it can be read on it, without taking into account factors that would be more logical for a normal person and reflect the specific similarities of these subjects. The main reason for the decrease in such thinking is epilepsy, central nervous system lesions and problems after a head injury. Using psychological testing, they also check if the process of generalization is distorted.

In this case, you will notice that the person is looking fortoo generalized signs between objects, not seeing the most important similarity. Basically, the affected consciousness tries to avoid performing the tasks set, starting the search for formal, completely random associations. At the same time, they absolutely do not take into account real similarities and differences, not using them as a control and verification of their own judgments. As an example, what is common between a pencil and a shoe, they are more often said to leave traces. Such violations of the thinking process characterize schizophrenia. But it is worth noting that this is an optional sign of mental disorder. A similar answer can also be given by a person with creative thinking, which is slightly wider than that of ordinary people.

Examples of answers to the question of what is common between a pencil and a shoe (schizophrenia)

Some answers of people with mental disorders.have been fixed. Considering examples of comparing different concepts of people with schizophrenia, we see a distant perception and overly abstract concepts. When comparing the two vehicles, bus and tram, patients note the presence of windows, wheels and various stops. As for the comparison of animals such as a mouse and a cat, unhealthy people note that they are amenable to training, can see in the dark and are used for scientific purposes, completely losing the main signs of similarity. With the most common question about what is common between a pencil and a shoe, patients identify such similarities as leaving marks, playing sounds and the presence of rubber in the structure.

When comparing boats and plates man withdisturbed thinking gives attention to such properties as the possibility of not letting in liquids and the likelihood that these two objects may break, or they speak about the inedibility of these objects. Asking to compare the patient with a globe and a butterfly, the scientists received the following answer: the ability to spin in one place or the symmetry of objects. But in fact, a healthy person will answer that these concepts have nothing in common. Comparing the cloak and the night, schizophrenic patients mark the appearance of these objects in the absence of light and their ability to hide the outlines of the figures. When comparing watches and rivers, it is said that these two objects can be changed by a person, they can go in a vicious circle, and also indicate their connection with infinity.

Conclusion

There are many such answers, butIt should be borne in mind that a healthy person to questions such as "what is common between a rooster and a glass," will answer that they are not comparable. But the patient will try to find signs that make these concepts similar. For example, highlight the identity of the kitchen or pay attention to the presence of ribs (specifying that the glass is faceted).

In any case, such tests should be conducted.comprehensively, and only then it is possible to identify true violations of thinking and give a clear description of what is damaged in a person’s mind. Answering only some questions, it is impossible to see the whole picture.