Application of objective diagnostic methods to assess professionally important qualities of divers

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of professionally important diver’s qualities through objective diagnostic methods, the use of which may be recommended to improve activities of professional psychological selection.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study involved a diving unit in the amount of 16 people aged 25-45 years with work experience from 2 to more than 10 years. The studied men specialists, for health reasons, based on the annual military-medical commission, are fit to serve in the diver specialty and approved for diving descents to a depth of 60 meters. The following methods were used to evaluate personal professionally important qualities (further - PIQ): Ch.D. Spielberger, Yu.L. Hanin, G.Eysenck (EPi), C. Thomas, 16-factor personality questionnaire by Cattell, J.Rotter SCL. The following methods were used to evaluate intellectual PIQ: Schulte-Platonov, MIOM complex intelligence structure test. the following methods were used for evaluating psychophysiological PIQ: tepping-test, SVMR by T.D. Loskutova, “Landolt rings” test. The methods’ testing was held in two stages to prove its reliability (in summer and winter periods of study).
RESULTS: The detailed psychological diver profile is formed that includes the main personal, intellectual and psychophysiological PIQ. There is a tendency of changing intellectual and psychophysiological PIQ during the time that indicates a mutual influence of PIQ and professional (labor) activity. In turn, personal PIQ remain unchanged. In this regard, the proven methods can be recommended to improve activities of professional psychological selection. However, it is necessary to develop additional ones for monitoring the success of professional (labor) activity.
DISCUSSION: It was found that diver’s predominant type of temperament is sanguine or phlegmatic, the distinctive feature of which is the strong nervous system and high performance. Responsibility, perseverance, determination, emotional discipline helps to reduce the level of conflict in the team during diving operations, and also it can be a prognostic indicator to determine the success of professional activity. There is a general tendency of average values in studying intellectual abilities, though a high level of amount and attention set-shifting are characterized by high ability to perceive both a large number of unrelated objects that allows to perform multiple tasks simultaneously and to make the right decision in an extreme situation. Descending and intermediate type of nervous system allow to perform monotonous tasks long time with minimal errors. There is the maintenance of working capacity and endurance, resistance to interference, reliability in critical situations. Specialists can work in a stable environment with moderate information intensity prior to fatigue. Such comprehensive differentiated approach to study the specialty of “diver” allows to organize PIQ properly to improve activities of professional psychological selection.