History of temperament and character research in Russian psychology: scientometric analysis of dissertation research

Based on the analysis of modern Russian research on the history of psychology, two important trends in such research have been identified - the reflection of theoretical and methodological foundations and the use of scientometric methods. The paper deals with the analysis of the dynamics of Russian dissertation research works containing the categories «temperament» and «character» in their titles; the period under study is 1992-2018. In total, the data of 128 dissertations defended in the Russian Federation during the specified period were analyzed. To structure the thematic focus of these dissertations (in accordance with V.A. Ganzen’s requirements of a systematic description of any object), the following elements (units) of the classification were used: phenomenology; varieties (types); the structure and the constituent elements; object as a substructure; the relationship of the object with other phenomena; variability and dynamics of the object; factors affecting the state of the object; methods of influence on the object; diagnostics of the object’s state; study history. The study provides a description and structuring of the data arrays formed by the authors of the paper for the specified dissertations taking into account the studied samples and centers for preparing such dissertations, their thematic focus, and scientific specialties. Based on the analysis of the number of prepared and defended dissertations, the dynamics (by three-year periods) of the development of the thematic space including the sought categories was revealed. The authors also compared the dynamics of dissertations in psychological sciences and pedagogical sciences for the same three-year periods and conducted a comparative analysis of the relative indicators of the preparation of dissertations in psychological sciences with the considered categories in the titles and other scientific papers. The analysis showed a consistently low interest of modern Russian researchers in studying these categories. Based on the analysis of data on dissertations prepared in the Soviet period, it was concluded that the category of «temperament» was intensively developed at that time (until 1992). The paper also formulates some limitations of the use of quantitative methods identified in the course of study.