Conversation is a research method in psychology. Types, advantages and disadvantages of the method

A common diagnostic survey method in psychology is a conversation that allows you to obtain information about the motives of behavior, identify the necessary character traits, and features of the subjective world of the individual. As an independent method, conversation is intensively used in advisory, diagnostic and psychocorrectional psychology.

Conversation in psychology is a means of collecting data, as well as a tool of persuasion, information, and education. It is used in medical, legal, political, and developmental branches of psychology.

Conditions for the conversation

The qualified use of conversation in psychology is the use of fundamental knowledge, communication skills, and the competence of a practical psychologist as a specialist. Questions must be correctly asked and formulated, and have a logical relationship with each other. But the main condition of the method is the respondent’s trust in the researcher.

A conversation in psychology should take place according to a pre-constructed plan, be based on mutual trust, have the appearance of a dialogue and not an interrogation, and exclude suggestion or hint offered as a question. A conversation in psychology is a question-and-answer method of communication between a researcher and a subject in free form on a specific topic.

An important condition for conducting the conversation method in psychology is maintaining confidentiality, ethical standards, and showing respect for the interlocutor. Supporting actions are provided by questionnaires to verify the accuracy of the data and recording the conversation on a voice recorder.

The conversation method is associated with external and internal observation, which involves obtaining non-verbal information and comparing it with verbal information: assessing the subject’s attitude towards the researcher, the subject of the conversation, the situation, the sincerity and responsibility of the individual.

Concept

Conversation method is a communicative psychological interaction in the form of a dialogue, during which the psychologist receives the necessary information from the subject.

The essence of the method is verbal and non-verbal communication, which allows the specialist to identify the key personal characteristics of the opponent.

This diagnostic method has become widespread in all areas of psychology (consulting, political, legal).

The interviewer, during communication, explicitly or unnoticed by his client, asks certain questions in order to obtain the necessary information .

There are other approaches to this concept. So, in pedagogy, conversation is a method of teaching dialogical speech.

Types of conversation

Types of conversation in psychology are divided into the following:

• individual;
• group - several subjects take part in the conversation;
• structured or formalized;
• standardized - increases the ease of processing information, but reduces the degree of cognition: incomplete information is possible;
• non-standardized - it goes at ease, prepared questions are posed according to the circumstances of the conversation, which increases the complexity of data processing;
• organizational: according to the method of implementation - at the place of work, residence, in the psychologist’s office.

On the initiative, the following types of conversation are distinguished:

• controlled - occurs on the initiative of a psychologist who supports the topic of conversation. The disproportionality of the initiative can create closedness of the respondent, simplification of answers to monosyllabic ones;
• uncontrollable - arises on the initiative of the defendant and can take the form of confession, and the psychologist collects the necessary information for the intended purposes, using the ability to listen.

Questions from psychologists during an interview

There are three ways psychologists ask questions:

1. Closed . These are questions that can only be answered with “yes” or “no”. For example: “Is this your final opinion?” They significantly narrow the room for maneuver and force you to fully concentrate on the answer. Often, when answering such questions, a person unconsciously takes a defensive position, since the interviewer plays a dominant role.
2. Open .
   It is not enough to give a negative or affirmative answer here, since the question requires a detailed explanation. For example: “Why do you think so?” In this case, the respondent takes an active position in the conversation, who gets the opportunity to independently construct his speech and determine the answer to the question. Accordingly, the dialogue turns into a monologue for some time.
3. Finding out . The researcher turns to the opponent, wanting to clarify the information received from him. As a result, the person is forced to return to previously stated information and think more carefully about his answer. The best clarifying technique is paraphrasing. The psychologist conveys to the respondent his own words, but in a different form. For example: “If I understand correctly, you were talking about...,”.

Conversation structure

The stages of the conversation are not strictly limited; each of them can gradually move into the next one or be planned:

1. Introductory part. Plays a role in creating an atmosphere of conversation and creating an appropriate mood in the interlocutor. It is necessary to indicate the importance of the respondent’s participation in the conversation, arouse his interest, and communicate the goals of the results. In addition, you need to indicate the time of testing, whether the survey will be the only one with this person, and mention the guarantee of confidentiality.
2. Second phase. Identification of questions that elicit maximum free expression from the interlocutor on a given topic.
3. Third stage. Its task is to conduct a detailed study of the issues under discussion by moving from general to specific issues. The most difficult and active stage is the culmination of the conversation, during which the psychologist must listen, observe, ask questions, maintaining the conversation in the right direction.
4. The final stage. Attempts are made to ease tension and express gratitude for participation.

Pedagogy

Here the main goal of these two methods is the transfer of information and training. However, they are also used to obtain information about students. These are two common teaching “tools” for a teacher when working with a group (class) or individually. The teacher can participate in the story and conversation or observe from the side.

When conveying information pedagogically, a conversation, of course, takes more time than a story. The teacher’s task is to “push” the interlocutors to the right thought. If you need to discover some new fact, some initial knowledge about the system is required. If the task is to “build” facts, then the basic information can be everyday, unsystematized. Naturally, having such a conversation (especially if there are quite a lot of students) is not so easy.

It seems that it is easier for the teacher to voice the data himself than to wait for the students, thanks to his prompts, to figure it out. However, knowledge gained through conversation is retained longer. The students' attention is focused, they are active, and they practically find the answer themselves. And this method has been developed in pedagogy since the time of Socrates, who conducted educational conversations.

With active listening, the student maintains attention, does not get distracted by unimportant things, and tries to immediately build a system. It is also important to show that he is, in fact, listening carefully. Facial expressions and gestures are significant . It is advisable for him to take notes and ask questions. It is clear that this should not interfere with the storyteller. Especially if he speaks in front of a large audience. You need to set aside time for questions after the speech and invite listeners to a small dialogue.

The narrator himself must help the listeners maintain attention. For example, it is important to avoid monotonous speech, you need to give vivid examples, and take into account the characteristics of the listeners. It would be nice to announce the plan of your story. Emphasize how the narrative develops so that the audience can also get their bearings. For example, use expressions: “finishing”, “moving on to...”, “first and last point”... It is better to invite people to take notes, suggesting the most important things. It is important not to forget that the story is not a structured lecture in which it is necessary to write down definitions. The story can be quite emotional, with a free structure. It can convey more feeling and sensation.

Creating an atmosphere

The liberation of the interlocutor plays an important role: in an atmosphere of sincerity, it becomes possible to obtain the most accurate information. The researcher must exclude circumstances that provoke the subject’s insincerity, such as fear of looking incompetent, prohibition of mentioning third parties, frankness in intimate aspects of the issue, misunderstanding of the purpose of the conversation, fear of incorrect conclusions.

The course of the conversation is formed at the very beginning, so the researcher needs to show genuine interest in the personality of the subject, his opinions, but avoid open agreement or denial of the point of view. It is permissible to express your attitude to the topic of conversation through facial expressions, gestures, intonation, posing additional questions, and making comments of a specific type.

Advantages of conversation as a research method

• During the conversation, you can obtain the most complete information about the personality of the subject, which cannot be found out by other methods.
• A conversation is the only type of research that allows you to distinguish truth or lies in the words of your interlocutor, since it uses non-verbal signals (gestures, facial expressions, postures, tone of voice, etc.), analyzed by a specialist to determine accurate information.
• Material costs are kept to a minimum , since no additional equipment and tools are used (pens, paper for multiple questionnaires, etc.).
• The friendliness and positive attitude of the researcher help the interlocutor to relax, which increases the likelihood of obtaining more reliable information.
• The subject can be confident in the confidentiality of the conversation , since it is conducted alone with a specialist.
• Emotional release during the conversation, while other research methods do not provide such an opportunity.

Perception of the interlocutor

There are two types of perception: organizational allows you to correctly perceive the interlocutor’s speech, emotional, empathic is characterized by the ability to penetrate.

The researcher’s remarks can be considered questions, although they are not posed in this form, and the respondent’s questions can be considered answers, regardless of subjective perception.

The psychologist should keep in mind that some remarks that imply a certain attitude towards the interlocutor can affect the course of the conversation until it completely stops.

Remarks with a hint of condemnation, praise, order, threat, warning, moralizing, humiliation, avoidance of the problem, or direct advice are undesirable. Such phrases disrupt the natural flow of the respondent’s reasoning and can cause a reaction of defense and irritation. The psychologist’s task is to direct the conversation in a direction that meets the goals.

Requirements for conducting a conversation

Despite the popularity of the apparent simplicity of the method, the conversation should be conducted carefully and in accordance with clear regulations. Otherwise, simple communication risks developing into interrogation. To prevent this from happening, specialists adhere to certain requirements:

• the content of the conversation must be prepared in advance
• Before any communication between the psychologist and the respondent, a trusting relationship must be established
• questions must be clear to the client
• the conversation should include not only direct questions, but also leading ones
• Direct and unexpected questions should be included in the conversation to monitor the client's reaction and compare it with expected results
• Any conversation must be recorded. Preferably, not in a notepad, but on a voice recorder. So that the details of the conversation are not lost, forgotten or distorted.

Types of hearing

Hearing is divided into the following types:

1. Reflexive: its essence lies in the formation of a conversation using the active speech intervention of a psychologist in the communication process. Basic techniques: clarifying, paraphrasing, reflecting feelings, summing up.
2. Non-reflective listening: the psychologist controls the conversation non-verbally: facial expressions, eye contact, gestures, choice of distance. The technique is useful in the following cases: the respondent expresses his own point of view, he needs to speak out, the interlocutor finds it difficult to solve pressing problems, or experiences uncertainty.

Verbal and non-verbal communication

Important verbal skills of a psychologist include the ability to correctly formulate and ask questions, and the ability to listen to answers.

The effectiveness of the “you approach” has long been proven, in which a specialist asks questions not in the first person, but focusing on the position of the interlocutor.

The same concept applies when discussing any facts. The psychologist asserts something not on his own behalf, but from the position of his client. For example, he says: “,As you know...”, instead of “,I have information...”.

also stimulate the subject’s activity with the help of short remarks expressing approval, understanding, and goodwill.

Such phrases carry semantic and emotional meaning, but do not confuse a person with his thoughts: “Continue”, “I understand”, “This is interesting”, “More details, please”, etc. .

Often, instead of encouraging statements, a specialist uses “speaking” nonverbal signals .

A nod of the head, an approving glance or an affirmative gesture is often enough to encourage a person and persuade him to continue the story.

Encouraging phrases and non-verbal signals in psychology are usually called “opening” , since they stimulate the development of a conversation and set the subject up for communication.

A negative impression is made by any value judgments, remarks, ridicule or unnecessarily intrusive questions. With such behavior from a specialist, one cannot count on effective communication.

Nonverbal communication also plays a significant role. Nonverbal cues include :

Conversation in psychology: advantages and disadvantages

The advantage of the conversation method is the prerequisites for the correct understanding of questions, taking into account the oral, more relaxed form of answers.

The disadvantages of conversation in psychology are:

• large time costs, which is of particular importance during mass surveys;
• the need for high professional skills to conduct an effective conversation;
• the possibility of violation of objectivity on the part of the researcher, depending on his personality, professional skills and experience.

Tips and tricks

1. It is necessary to prepare questions in advance on the problem under study, their formulation should be clear and understandable, taking into account the level of competence of the subject, and the questions should encourage a detailed answer.
2. It is worth choosing the right questions , taking into account the mood and subjective attitude of the respondent during the conversation.
3. It is recommended to start the conversation with an abstract topic , gradually moving on to the planned one.
4. Showing goodwill towards the words of the interlocutor and genuine interest (pauses, asking again, “echo”, self-perception, i.e. active listening) inspire the trust of the respondent, which allows you to obtain the most reliable data.
5. Be sure to conduct the study in a calm state . The interlocutor will feel the excited state and turn it on himself, which reduces the effectiveness of the entire conversation.
6. It is recommended to find out in advance what environment and time will be most comfortable for the subject in order to effectively conduct the study.

From all of the above, we can conclude that conversation is one of the fundamental and effective research methods in psychology; it is used to obtain the most complete information about the subject through a combination of verbal and nonverbal forms of communication.

But along with the many advantages of this method, there is one major drawback - the professionalism of the researcher . It is necessary to be able to organize a conversation, taking into account all the details: the character and mood of the subject at the time of communication, the situation, the correct questions; the skill of “reading” and comparing verbal and non-verbal signals is also required. Only if the specialist has a high level of competence can the desired result be achieved during the research process.

Sources used:

• https://mind-control.ru/obshhenie-i-vliyanie/metod-besedy-v-psikhologii/
• https://plusiminusi.ru/plyusy-i-minusy-besedy-kak-metoda-issledovaniya/

Combination of methods

Conversation is successfully used as a component of the main method, for example, survey, observation, testing, experiment. The combination of psychological methods - conversation, experiment, survey, observation - provides comprehensive information that characterizes the person being studied.

An experiment in psychology is a study under given conditions using the indirect intervention of a researcher. It is possible to simulate an artificial situation, circumstances under which the subject will manifest himself in a manner characteristic of him.

The effectiveness of the conversation reflects the general culture of the specialist and depends both on attention to words and on the ability to receive non-verbal information. The content of both types of information allows you to correctly interpret the data and improve the reliability of the results. A successfully organized conversation guarantees the accuracy of the information received.

Psychology

In this science, conversation and story are used to obtain information, often in-depth .
That is, when telling something, a person not only conveys facts, but shows, even without meaning to, his attitude. In a conversation, there is a psychological interaction between at least two people. Plus, the third person can look at the conversation from the outside and analyze it. Here it is important not just to hear, but also to see those talking. Of course, in psychology the conversation is prepared. Questions (cards can even be used) and psychological techniques are thought out, a plan is built, and the characteristics of the participants in the process are taken into account. Often the purpose of a conversation is to convince the other person of something. There is constant feedback here. How does the interlocutor respond? What is his facial expression, posture, gestures? There is a constant analysis of whether what is said is true. At the same time, the professional interlocutor (psychologist) tries to maintain a relaxed and trusting atmosphere. Often they try to “talk” the interlocutor by asking open questions. That is, it will not be enough to answer them “yes or no”, but you need to tell something, express your attitude. Analysis and reflection take place and after the conversation, conclusions are drawn for the future.