Ontological Modelling as a Means of Modernizing the Scientific Apparatus of Psychology

Abstract

In modern world, where information structures and influences dominate – a trend amplified by the characteristics of postmodern culture – psychology, as a science, is emerging as the primary source of guiding principles and frameworks for the harmonious organization of the individual and society. Therefore, the methodological framework of Ukrainian psychology must be as responsive as possible to the challenges of postmodernism and take into account all the characteristics of contemporary scientific discourse. These characteristics stem primarily from the need to modernize scientific psychology by achieving the greatest possible harmony between the naturalistic-experimental and rational-intellectual programs for verifying knowledge about complex psychological phenomena. This modernization is made possible by the use of ontological modeling (also known as formal ontologization or ontological engineering) as a promising tool in psychology. Ontological modeling is justified as a) a modern method of descriptive reconstruction of psychological knowledge; b) a cutting-edge tool for designing research programs, organizing the research process, and synthesizing and verifying the results of psychological research; c) a way of thinking characteristic of contemporary researchers in the social sciences and humanities. The theoretical foundation of ontological modeling as a means of modernizing the scientific apparatus of psychology is provided by the theories of representationism and logical empiricism (logical positivism). In accordance with the principles of these approaches, psychological theory must 1) possess clear explanatory power and the empirical adequacy of scientific models; 2) be characterized by the existential force of ontological commitments; and 3) demonstrate the structural equivalence of models with respect to descriptions of reality. Ontological modeling can ensure the implementation of these aspects in scientific psychology. The following definition is proposed: ontological modeling is a psychological method and process for creating a conceptual model of a specific domain of psychology, which provides a reasoned description of that domain as a set of concepts and the relationships between them based on n-order predicate logic, and which ranges from concrete empirical facts to universal, as of the time of the study, conceptual representations of psychological knowledge. The formulation and generalization of psychological research findings as subject-predicate structures and the representation of empirical phenomena through n-order predicates should be regarded as a strict methodological standard. It is proposed that a universal categorical matrix (developed by A.V. Furman) be adopted as the conceptual foundation for the application of ontological modeling within the theoretical framework of Ukrainian psychology. According to the matrix presented above, the formal-ontological structure of psychological research consists of five levels of scientific conceptualization: 1) the recording of ontic phenomena, facts hic et nunc (instances); 2) the primary ontological conceptualization of the phenomenon under study; 3) a specific ontological conceptualization of the phenomenon in its invariants, depending on various ontogenetic conditions; 4) a general ontological conceptualization of the phenomenon within the framework of a specific epistemological program; 5) a universal ontological conceptualization of the phenomenon, which is inherent in any fact, including imaginary, simulated, or probable ones. The structural foundation of psychological theory consists of the ontological signature and its core – the thesaurus of psychological research.