§ 1. The principles of classical system approach and their role in a person’s system diagnostics

Developing the theory, methods and equipment for a person’s complex diagnostics for many years we constantly faced two important questions: what is more reasonable to diagnose? and how to do it better?

Being a unity of soul (psyche) and body (soma) a man is simultaneously a part of socium. That’s why a person’s integrated diagnostics means a combination of psychological, somatic and sociological diagnostics. It gives the answer to the question “What should be diagnosed?”, but only generally. To have a more concrete answer you need a theoretical instrument which can help to fill in the information field, i.e. to select individual objects of investigation so that there were no any “white spots” left during a person’s integrated diagnostics and the degree of attention to the diagnostics of this or that quality corresponded to the degree of its importance.

Dealing with the problem “how is it better to diagnose?” we should mention that a great number of techniques has appeared in the arsenal of methods of a person’s diagnostics, particularly in psychological diagnostics and interfacing to it areas. This positive phenomenon has also its negative sides. At first, “interdepartmental” differentiating caused an excessive partition of diagnostic methods and diagnostic information about a person. Secondly, a practical psychologist, teacher, doctor finds it difficult to orientate in a great number of diagnostic techniques (occasionally contradictory) and the results received with their help. All this essentially complicates both the development of the unified theory of a person and his activity, and practical work with people, especially psychologic-pedagogical and administrative one. That’s why there should be a theoretical criterion of estimation of different diagnostic techniques to select and systematize them while solving the problem of complex (system) diagnostics of a person.

A person’s system diagnostics is meant as a theory and practice of a person’s integrated investigation on the basis of system analysis and system synthesis of his qualities and functions. Theoretic-methodological basis of a person’s system diagnostics was the system approach circumscribed in the works of M.I.Setrov (1972), A.I.Uyemov (1978), B.G.Ananyev (1968), B.F.Lomov (1984), V.A.Ganzen (1984) and others.

A person’s system diagnostics requires a full taking into account of all methodological principles of system approach and also the use of all basic components of system approach.

1.1.1. The principle of physics

Table 1 – The examples of manifestations of the laws of physics in psychology

The laws of physics	Psychological conformities to natural laws
Mechanical motion is relative. One and the same motion in different systems can look differently.	This implies, at first, that psychic development (of abilities, professionally important qualities, knowledge, skills, etc.) is relative. You should judge the process of their development(or degradation) not according to the level of the expressiveness of this or that quality, but according to the difference () between the points indicating the stages of development. Secondly, the degree of natural gifts (professionalism) should be revealed comparing the level of expressiveness of some qualities of estimated individual with similar qualities of other individuals. So, we can see, that natural gifts, genius, talent are relative notions. The genius of one social-historical epoch can not be the same for another epoch, etc.
The first Newton’s law (the law of inertia). Any isolated (not being influenced by external forces) body keeps its state of tranquility or uniform rectilinear motion.	It means that to change a psychic state, psychic process, personality psychological characteristics, social orientation, outlook, etc. you need an external or (and) internal influence. The effectiveness of the change is proportional to the effectiveness of overcoming of inertia. Too sharp and strong influence (especially in the opposite direction) leads to psychological explosion (conflict).
The second Newton’s law shows that the change of a body’s speed is caused by the influence of other bodies on it.	It means that external or internal influences are the causes of the change of the speed of development or degradation of psychic functions. That’s why the diagnostic index is not only the fact of the change of the development, but also the speed of this process.
The third Newton’s law. While interacting two bodies, their forces, by which they influence each other, are equal in modulo and opposite in direction.	The force of psychological influence on a personality is equal in modulo to the sum of qualitative and quantitative aspects of this influence. The qualitative aspect depends on social and psychological significance of the influence for a given person. The quantitative aspect depends on the quantity and vector of influences.
The angle of influence is equal to the angle of reflection.	The direction of a person’s psychic reaction on a psychic influence depends on what angle to the plane of a person’s needs this influence is made.

According to this principle any system is characteristic of physics laws, In system diagnostics the registration of the principle of physics is especially necessary while interpreting the results of the investigation. The examples in table 1 illustrate how these principles work in psychic states.

The postulates of principles of physics play a very important role in the comprehension of the essence of a person’s system diagnostics.

According to the postulate of integrity a composite system should be considered as a single unit. The example of such composite and at the same time integrated system is a man. The diagnostics of this integrated system should take system character which enables to diagnose the whole spectrum of a person’s qualities and also to review the investigated quality in the context other qualities of a person’s integrated structure.

According to the postulate of autonomy a system has a spatially-temporary metrics and intra-system laws of conservation which are defined by the contents and the structure of the system and don’t depend on the environment. That’s why identical external influences, also in the process of psycho-diagnostics cause different individual reactions, connected with individual (autonomic) features of the examinees. The postulate of autonomy corresponds to the well-known formula of S.L.Rubenstein according to which any external influences on a person are carried out through his internal conditions.