Social psychology

Background. In today’s hectic civilization, it is very important for a person to maintain personal boundaries which help him or her keep his/her identity. Personal sovereignty (PS) is a trait that demonstrates the extent to which a person’s empirical Self is respected by his/her social environment. Whereas the genesis and correlations system of personal sovereignty in proximal relationships have been investigated widely, little is known about whether they are culturally sensitive or not. 

Objective. In this study, we aimed to investigate the patterns and genesis of personal sovereignty in relation to age and gender, by comparing individuals from Armenian, Chinese, and Russian cultures. Our sample consisted of 780 respondents, of whom 223 were from Armenia, 277 from China, and 280 from Russia; 367 were adolescents (Mage = 13) and 413 were youth (Mage = 21); there were 361 males and 419 females. 

Method. The “Personal Sovereignty Questionnaire–2010” was used. 

Results. The results suggest that culture, age, and gender all impact on the sense of personal sovereignty. Although there were no differences between cultures on the main PS score, we did find different PS patterns within all three cultures and when comparing males versus females. The PS scores in youth were higher than in adolescents, except in Armenia where the results were inverted. All age trends in PS were found in females, but not in males. Gender differences in PS within each culture were found in youth but not in adolescents. 

Conclusion. We discussed and explained the outcomes with reference to the specificity of the way each culture endorses traditional or secular-rational values, which values determine the prevalent attitudes towards gender roles and demands on adolescents and youth. 

Background. This study was carried out using the framework of S. Schwartz’s theory of basic human values. 

Objective. This article examines the dynamics of the basic values of Russians (2008– 2016) and the relationship between value orientations and economic attitudes among Christians and Muslims in Russia. 

Design. The dynamics of values of Russians were analyzed based on the five waves rounds of ESS (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016), each of which included around 2,000 respondents. The 2010 sample included ethnic Russians as well as respondents from the North Caucasus (N = 278). 

Results. We found that the most preferred value among Russians is Security. However, the importance of this value decreased over 10 years (2006–2016). Such values as Achievement, Tradition, and Power were relatively stable among Russians during this period. In addition, between 2006 and 2016 we observed the increasing priority of the values of Hedonism and Stimulation. Using our own data set, we examined the relations between values and attitudes toward different types of economic behavior. 

Conclusion. We found that the patterns of the relations between values and attitudes toward different types of economic behavior had similarities as well as differences among Christians (in the Central Federal District and the North Caucasus Federal District) and Muslims (in the North Caucasus Federal District) in Russia. 

Background. We use Social identity theory as a theoretical framework, specifically focusing on strategies of identity management. The study is based on the following theoretical assumptions. First, identity management strategies might serve as mediators between different identity threats and behavioral patterns in intergroup relations. Second, identity management strategies help to make the shift from the individual to the group level of analysis, allowing us to take the consequences of intergroup behavior for a group entitativity into consideration. Third, identity management strategies strongly depend on the social context of intergroup relations. 

Objective. In the current study, we look into the relationships between identity management strategies of the ethnic Russian majority and their attitudes towards multiculturalism to identify whether certain strategies are helpful or harmful for the acceptance of multiculturalism in Russia. 

Design. We use Russia vs. the West comparison to evoke the perception of identity threat. We measure strategies of identity management based on this comparison, as well as attitudes towards multiculturalism in a survey of 307 Russian participants. 

Results. The findings suggest that identity management strategies are indeed related to attitudes towards cultural diversity and equality in Russia, as well as to acculturation expectations of whether minorities should adopt the mainstream Russian culture or keep their own. We find that strategies of individualization, individual mobility and assimilation have mostly negative consequences for acculturation expectations, as they all show patterns that support assimilation of minorities instead of integration. We also find support for the “scapegoat” hypothesis, showing that choosing the strategy of changing the comparison group results in more negative attitudes toward cultural diversity and equality for all in Russia. The strategies of social creativity (change of the categorization dimension, temporal comparison, comparison with a standard, etc.) seem to be irrelevant for attitudes towards multiculturalism. 

Conclusion. Our findings suggest that none of the strategies of identity management promote acceptance of multiculturalism. However, strategies of social creativity are the only ones that do not have negative consequences for support of multiculturalism. Theoretical and practical implications for multiculturalism policy adoption in Russia are discussed. 

Background. The emergence of the new media — the Internet and social networks — has had a considerable impact not only on media technologies, genres of journalism, and environment the journalist works in, but also on every user of global communication. Ongoing changes are extending their influence to all the media, making it important for researchers to reconsider the role of journalism in modern society and the perspectives of its development in the information age.

Objective. In order to get an adequate picture of the ongoing changes, we need to understand how the new media impact their users. We studied the dependence of people’s self-identification (values) on their Internet activity and use of social networks. Our hypothesis was that use of the new media leads to the formation of a new personality type, among whose most distinct characteristics is a much stronger desire for selfdetermination. 

Design. The characteristic features of respondents’ self-identification were studied by their choosing a reference group. Their desire for self-determination was revealed by giving them ethical dilemmas. A questionnaire was devised to study their communicative preferences and attitudes. Various methods of mathematical analysis were applied. 

Results. Factor analysis revealed two psychological types of people, different from others in how much they use the new media. Statistical analyses of the group comparison data showed that the desire for self-determination is considerably higher for active users, and is especially high for those who adhere to spiritual values (by the Maslow pyramid). A two-way ANOVA confirmed the overall effect of these two factors — spiritual values and the new media — on the desire for self-determination. 

Conclusion. The data obtained show that the new media support people’s desire for self-determination. Using the new media and thereby acquiring the identify of a journalist becomes an important factor of personality development and is in line with the general evolution of the psyche.

Background: Notwithstanding all the different forms of art, the source of the creative process, its initial impulse, is an artistic image, and its creation is closely connected with the imagination. L. Vygotsky held the view that artistic creativity has great importance in overall development. In this regard, it is relevant to study the role of personal psychological characteristics that stimulate creativity, determine creative potential, and indicate personal predisposition to artistic activity. 

Objective: to study individual psychological characteristics of art specialists with a highly productive creative imagination. 

Design: There were 240 respondents: art specialists (artists, actors) and specialists who do not work in artistic fields. The empirical research included: assessment of the level of productivity of the creative imagination and psychological testing. All the participants, within the bounds of their profession, were divided into high productivity and low productivity groups. The productivity level of the creative imagination was assessed by expert judgment of art works made by the participants using a monotype technique. For psychological testing, the following methods were used: Freiburg Personality Inventory (FPI); Volitional Self-Control Inventory by A. Zverkov and E. Eidman; the “Choose the Side” test by E. Torrance; the “Unfinished Figures” subtest by E. Torrance; and the technique of pair comparisons by V. Skvortsov. Statistical data processing was conducted on the basis of percentage distribution and comparative analysis using the Student parametric t-test. We used STATISTICA 13.0 software. 

Results: We found the following psychological characteristics of art specialists with highly productive creative imagination: high emotionality, inclination to affective reactions, high anxiety and excitability, and need for self-realization. Artists with highly productive creative imagination were characterized by immersion in their own emotions, psychic estrangement, high sensitivity, flexibility, ingenuity, right-hemisphere and combined types of thinking, and a high level of nonverbal creativity. Actors with highly productive creative imagination were characterized by stability, relaxation, selfsatisfaction, and average nonverbal creativity; the mixed type of thinking predominated in this group.

Conclusion: The differences in the intensity of the psychological characteristics of representatives of these different professional groups may be determined by the level of productivity of their creative imagination. We discovered general and specific (depending on professional activity) psychological characteristics of art specialists with a high level of productivity of the creative imagination.

Background. Choice, under conditions of uncertainty, is mediated by integral dynamic regulatory systems that represent hierarchies of cognitive and personality processes. As such, individual decision-making patterns can be studied in the context of intellectual and personality potential. This article presents the results of a cross-cultural comparison of personality characteristics, such as coping with uncertainty, emotional intelligence, and academic achievement, between Azerbaijani and Russian university students.

Objective. We aimed at establishing metric invariance and at highlighting relationships between emotional intelligence and the scales of the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ).

Design. Azerbaijani and Russian student samples were selected for this study due to the almost identical educational programs offered by Moscow State University to students in Moscow and its branch in Baku. Coping with uncertainty was measured by the MDMQ, emotional intelligence by the EmIn questionnaire, and academic achievement by GPA scores. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to verify factor structure invariance and congruence.

Results. The congruence of factor structures for both questionnaires was verified. For the MDMQ four-factor structure for both samples was confirmed. For the EmIn questionnaire, invariance for two scales was established — “Understanding other people’s emotions” and “Managing own emotions”. Relationships among personality traits, gender, age, and academic achievements are explained for the Lomonosov Moscow State University students in Moscow (Russia) and its branch in Baku (Azerbaijan). No crosscultural differences were found for emotional intelligence and productive coping (Vigilance). A cultural difference was established in unproductive coping preference for Buck Passing. A similarity between the cultures was captured in the relationship of higher emotional intelligence (EQ) scores to higher Vigilance scores and to lower levels of unproductive coping patterns. Vigilance was a predictor of academic achievement, but only in the Russian sample.

Conclusion. The similarity of the educational systems, as both samples studied similar programs, demonstrates very few cross-cultural differences.

Background. Runaway behavior among children in residential care is a serious social problem in all countries of the world. Existing scientific data on risk factors and motives of runaway from out-of-home care may not be absolutely relevant to the Russian cultural context.

Objective. To describe risk factors and the motives that cause children to runaway from residential care.

Design. A qualitative study that included 2 focus groups with staff and graduates of residential care supplemented by the analysis of 23 cases of child runaways from residential care in St. Petersburg.

Results. The study revealed the following runaway risk factors and motives: 1) running to parents or relatives, 2) romantic and/or sexual relations, 3) interaction with peers, 4) psychiatric problems, 5) addictive behavior, 6) avoidance of conflicts, 7) physical or emotional violence, 8) unmotivated runaways for entertainment, 9) problems adapting to the care institution, 10) dissatisfaction with the conditions at the care institution. Moreover, in this study, two different types of runaways have been identified, including relatively “true” runaways and those who are not psychologically experienced as such, but are only disobeying the formal rules of the care institution.

Conclusions. Runaways of children from residential care are extremely heterogeneous in nature. In further empirical studies, it should be taken into account that runaways may be true and formal. There can be multiple reasons for running away: the care institution itself, a child’s personality, or his or her social network outside of the care institution.

Background: The dimension of individualism-collectivism is regarded as one of the most important cultural factors that influence a person’s self-consciousness, and help shape his/her sense of self as independent or interdependent. Moreover, studies support the conclusion that the salience of both tendencies may vary not only within a single national culture (depending on the place of residence, language environment, etc.), but also on the level of the individual self (depending on the current situation). In our research we have assumed that the language environment (receiving education in one’s native or a foreign language) acts as a socio-cultural factor affecting the self-concept of students of the same nationality–more specifically, the intensity of their individualistic and collectivistic characteristics.

Objective: Finding socio-cultural differences in self-image between two groups of Azerbaijanian students (learning in Russian and Azerbaijanian, respectively).

Design: The sample included one hundred students from Baku colleges and universities equally divided into two groups. Participants in the first group were studying in Azerbaijani while those in the second group were learning in Russian. We collected data in the form of open-ended self-descriptions. We examined these texts using contentanalysis procedures. Then we calculated correlations between certain defined characteristics for each group.

Results: The self-descriptions produced by students learning in Azerbaijanian contained the following features: norm compliance as a significant factor in emotional wellbeing; self-criticism related to negative feelings and expectation of outside criticism; the prevalence of self-justification and bravado as basic forms of psychological defense, combined with the lack of self-enhancement; and focus on society and interpersonal relations affecting the respondents’ inner feelings. The second group’s (those learning in Russian) self-descriptions featured positive self-esteem as an important component of emotional well-being. Self-criticism was not associated with negative feelings and others’ judgments. In the texts of Russian-speaking students there was a tendency to use self-embellishment as a way of self-enhancement. This group was less inclined to focus on society.

Conclusions: The characteristics of these two groups’ self-depictions gravitated toward two different self-constructs: independent (for those learning in Russian) and interdependent (for the participants learning in Azerbaijanian), the division being in line with the individualistic and collectivistic culture, respectively.

Background. This article sets forth the problem of attitudes towards women in connection with the ethno-religious characteristics of their appearance (for example, the hijab [Islamic headscarf]). 

Design. There were 200 subjects: at the first stage 50 women and 50 men aged 22 to 30 (mean age 25); at the second stage 100 females, residents of Rostov-on-Don, Russia. 

Method. The study used the Cook-Medley Hostility Scale (translated and adapted by Yu.A. Mendzheritskaya), as well as the author’s questionnaire, which consisted of stimulus material (two sets of photos of five girls; in the first set, a portrait shot from the front with natural make-up, in the second set, the same girls, but wearing a black hijab). Respondents were asked to rank the girls in the photographs on a scale from friendly to hostile. At the second stage, we added questions about the respondents’ religious beliefs and their assumptions about the religious beliefs of the girls with and without the hijab. 

Results. The results show that the respondent’s level of aggression can lead to a negative, hostile attitude towards a Muslim girl (based only on her external appearance), and more men evaluate the girls wearing the hijab as hostile. We also noted that the color of eyes and hair (even if only the eyelashes and eyebrows could be seen) can form an idea about religious beliefs. 

Conclusion. Based on the received data, we can talk about the role of appearance. In the future, we plan to study specific features of the perception of appearance and discrimination against girls with a different appearance, in particular ethno-cultural clothing, because appearance is one of the most important triggers of discriminatory behavior.

Background. Social anxiety is one of the most common and disturbing conditions of childhood and adolescence. It is defined as an excessive fear of embarrassment or humiliation in social performance situations. Recent studies have identified a number of psychological factors that could explain the maintenance of the condition. 

Objective. The objective of this study was to investigate psychological factors of social anxiety in adolescents with a multifactor psychosocial model. 

Design: The study population comprised 183 Russian-speaking adolescents from Moscow secondary schools, ranging in age from 12 to 16 years. Self-report measures were used to access social anxiety, symptoms of depression, gender role identification, perfectionism, hostility, family emotional communications, and social support. 

Results. The results indicate that social anxiety was positively correlated with symptoms of depression and suicidal thoughts. No quantitative differences in social anxiety between girls and boys were found, while masculinity and undifferentiated gender identification had a strong association with social anxiety. A positive correlation was found between “concern over mistakes” (fear of making a mistake and being negatively compared with peers) and “overdoing” (spending too much time doing homework and too little or none communicating with peers), using the Child Perfectionism Questionnaire (CPQ) subscales and Social Anxiety and Distress Scale (SADS) total score. Positive correlations were found between social anxiety and suppression of emotions and outward well-being subscales, as well in as the Family Emotional Communication (FEC) total score. It is not common to discuss emotions and feelings; it is difficult to share negative experiences; and it is important for the families of socially anxious adolescents to put up a good front. Analysis revealed significant negative correlations between the SADS total score (as well its subscales) and the Social Support scale total score and emotional support subscale; the Practical Support scale negatively correlated with the SADS total score. 

Conclusion. These findings confirm our hypothesis that social anxiety has a complex nature and can be dealt with by a multifactor psychosocial model.

Background. This paper analyzes students’ changing perceptions of conflict after training them in mediation skills. The theoretical basis of this paper is an ontological approach of studying conflict, in which the image of the conflict situation determines the specific behavior. This allowed for the development a training program aimed at changing conceptual structures. The processes of constructing conceptual structures are understood not only as explanatory models that are used for the construction of the outer world in social cognition but also as a manifestation of the internal picture of the world and an inducement to control this world as well as certain actions in the conflict. Our training program was designed by considering ontological mechanisms of conflict behavior regulation. Consequently, the most important result of the program efficiency assessment is the change in participants’ image of the conflict situation. 

Objective. This study aims to change the images of the conflict situation in school students learning the basics of mediation. 

Design. This study involved 360 students (grades 7-9; average age of 14 years and 8 months). During the preparatory stage, we tried to identify the characteristics of a conflict situation in 360 school children using the association experiment, which used the word “conflict” as a stimulus. To study the structure of the conflict situation image, we used Kelly’s repertory. The method of the training program regarding the basics of mediation was based on communication techniques used to resolve complex issues, including the involvement of students, a free personal statement, problem discussion and a joint search for solutions. 

Results. We recorded significant changes in all of the structural components of the conflict situation image before and after training, as well as in their interrelated underlying categorization. One of the results of the program was an increase in the variability of behaviors in conflict. Before the program began, teenagers considered themselves and other conflict participants to be oriented to only meet their own interests. Upon completion of training, they developed an efficient model of behavior in conflict that included various forms of behavior, such as agreement, concession and withdrawal. The teenagers saw good reason to take a qualitatively new, organizational position in the conflict. In this regard, they described themselves as being more active in conflict and as initiating conflict resolution more often than before the training program. Educational videos and the experience of being involved in the conflict as a third party made the teenagers believe in the possibility of constructive conflict resolution based on having respect for the other participant. 

Conclusion. Analysis of structural changes in the conflict situation image during the learning process demonstrated the effectiveness of training students in mediation skills. This study contributes to the better understanding of conflictological competence in general and that of school students in particular. This study describes the mechanism of conflictological competence development.

Background. This study addresses a current problem relating to trust and the identification of gender differences in trust/mistrust manifestation. Gender identity is associated with cultural stereotypes and social roles, which facilitate the formation of trust in people. It acts as a significant integral meaning-based component of an individual’s “I”- conception, which contributes to the formation of trust in himself and the world around him. 

Objective. To study features of trust/mistrust towards others in young people with different gender identities. 

Design. The cross-gender-typical sample consisted of 179 representatives, 83 males and 96 females, ages 17 to 23 (M = 19.34 and SD = 1.79). The techniques for collecting data included the MMPI, the Sex-Role Inventory by S. Bem, and the Trust/Mistrust towards Others questionnaire by A. Kupreychenko. The results were processed via the Mann-Whitney U Test, the Kruskal-Wallis H criterion, and cluster analysis. 

Results. Criteria of trust/mistrust among the youth with different gender identities were identified, and basic types of trust — categoric, irrational–emotional, ambivalent– contradictory, and non-differentiated — were singled out. Irrespective of biological sex, bearers of different gender identities do not exhibit the same criteria to determine trust/ mistrust. 

Conclusion. This study makes it possible to enrich our understanding of the role of social gender in the formation of interpersonal trust and differences in the foundations of trust toward others, in people with different gender identities. The empirical typology of trust in youth with different gender identities allows for using the typology in organizing psychological diagnostics, and for support and improvement of their interpersonal relations.

This article aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) by using a sample of 1783 employees of a large Russian organization. We conducted a series of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) tests of the factorial structure and the configural, metric, scalar, factor variance, factor covariance, and factor means invariances of the model across gender and age groups. The validity of the Russian version of the UWES-9 was investigated by study- ing its relationship with burnout, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and turnover inten- tion. The CFA showed that both the 1-factor and the 3-factor models of the UWES-9 fit well with the data, but the 3-factor model demonstrates a significantly better fit. however, the differences are minor; therefore, in practical terms, the models are iden- tical. Thus the Russian version of the UWES-9 can be used both as a three-scale mea- surement and as a single scale of work engagement. Results from the multi-group CFA provided evidence of factorial invariance of the 3-factor model across gender and age groups. Internal consistencies of the vigor, dedication, and absorption subscales are acceptable. The results also suggested the convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the UWES-9, as shown by its relationship with burnout, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and turnover intention. The article also discusses the differences in levels of work engagement within different gender and age groups. Overall, the results show that the Russian version of the UWES-9 demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties comparable with the original version and those in other languages. The Russian version of the UWES-9 can therefore be recommended for use in research and practice. 

In this article the features of social-relationship systems are analyzed based on the data from a sociopsychological empirical study conducted in two stages (2002 and 2014) on a large sample with the help of g. Kelly’s Repertory grid Technique. A. V. Petrovsky’s three-factor interpersonal-relationships model as interpreted for closed groups by M. Yu. Kondratev and the concept of the closed society as described by Karl Popper provide the foundation for the theoretical hypothesis we tested. The empirical data obtained in 2002 came from 391 participants of different ages who were living in provincial towns in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The elderly respondents (232 people) had lived almost all their lives under the Soviet regime; the middle-aged respondents (159 people) got their education and started their careers in the USSR. Soviet society is considered to be closed because of its authoritarian and collectivist nature, static social structure, and dogmatic ideology. It is argued that both closed societies and closed groups are characterized by a rigid hierarchical social structure, isolation from other systems, and depersonalization of social relations. We have proved that members of a closed group and citizens of a closed society have similar social-relationship matrices. 

In this article the features of social-relationship systems are analyzed based on the data from a sociopsychological empirical study conducted in two stages (2002 and 2014) on a large sample with the help of g. Kelly’s Repertory grid Technique. A. V. Petrovsky’s three-factor interpersonal-relationships model as interpreted for closed groups by M. Yu. Kondratev and the concept of the closed society as described by Karl Popper provide the foundation for the theoretical hypothesis we tested. The empirical data obtained in 2002 came from 391 participants of different ages who were living in provincial towns in the Nizhny Novgorod region. The elderly respondents (232 people) had lived almost all their lives under the Soviet regime; the middle-aged respondents (159 people) got their education and started their careers in the USSR. Soviet society is considered to be closed because of its authoritarian and collectivist nature, static social structure, and dogmatic ideology. It is argued that both closed societies and closed groups are characterized by a rigid hierarchical social structure, isolation from other systems, and depersonalization of social relations. We have proved that members of a closed group and citizens of a closed society have similar social-relationship matrices.

Analyses of the connection between cultural values and economic development have changed many times in different countries and in different periods. In Russia, which is constantly undergoing economic and social transformations, this issue is especially rel- evant. One can say that culture, to some extent, bears responsibility for economic devel- opment, and so it is to be expected that different generations of the Russian people would perceive questions related to the connection of cultural values and economic attitudes in different ways. This article presents the results of research dedicated to revealing the correlation between cultural values and economic attitudes among different generations of Russians (N = 110 people). The participants were youth (18–25 years old) and adults (37–63 years). I found that, for the adult generation, the “power-distance” index (a mea- sure of the level of dependence on power structures) was positively correlated with eco- nomic self-determination and the desire to have money. For the younger generation, nei- ther the power-distance index nor the “masculinity” index was associated with economic autonomy, while the “uncertainty-avoidance” index encouraged economic autonomy but did not create additional opportunities for increasing personal income. In the study eco- nomic paternalism was expressed more by the younger generation; they were also more ready to invest energy in business, but they were not as interested as the adult generation in the state of the economy. 

Typical male and female roles and relationships can be observed at different social levels: intergroup, intragroup, interpersonal, intrapersonal. In adolescence, increased development of gender characteristics (gender identity, gender stereotypes, gender roles) appears at all levels. Since the leading activity at this age is interpersonal communication, research into gender characteristics and their influence on relations in the student group is one of the most important tasks of modern psychology. 

One hundred and forty teenagers in grades 6-8 from secondary schools in Moscow, aged of 12–14, were involved in the research. Special social-psychological techniques were applied for assessment of status relations (sociometry, referentometry, methodology for defining the informal intragroup power structure) and gender characteristics (Bem Sex Role Inventory in classical and modified versions), as well as correlation and cluster analyses. 

We found that representations about the group leader contained clear masculine features. We underline the discrepancy between the qualities attributed to the image of the leader and the qualities of the actual group leaders. Thus, the image of the leader includes predominantly masculine characteristics, while actual high-status group members describe themselves with both feminine and gender-neutral features. Finally gender-typed behavior and masculine traits are more typical of low-status teenagers.

Human activity (professional and production-related) occurs within the context of explicit or implicit competition and proves to be more or less productive and creative. Operationalization and measurement of the competitiveness of personality without due regard for personal and situational interactions reduces the content of the notion. Competitiveness requires a high degree of personal energy, flexibility, intelligence, and creativity in regulating activity. However, enlarging the domain of psychological studies has necessitated the study of personality in the context of the natural social situations in which it functions. This structural and functional analysis allows expansion of the description of the phenomenology of the competitiveness of personality as well as classification of the strategies of competitive behavior. In this study competitive-behavior strategies (1,064 critical incidents in professional activities) were analyzed using the Critical Incident Technique and thematic content analysis. To classify the data set, I used two-step cluster analysis as an exploratory method and analyzed the cross-tables of several categorical variables using the log-linear method of model selection. I applied the Solution Tree method for categorical variables to build a dependent-variable hierarchical model with the relevant predictor values. Through analysis of the results of the cluster analysis, the hierarchical model, and the functional and situational analysis of the context, it is possible to single out and validate three types of competitiveness strategies: the dependent, irrational, destructive, short-term strategy (quasi-competitiveness); the dependent, rational, constructive, short-term strategy; and the free, rational, constructive, long-term strategy. Study of the nature of competition and a subject’s competitive-behavior strategies is required to analyze, predict, and correct destructive strategies for enhancing performance.

Currently, in the Russian Federation more and more attention is being paid to the quality of human capital. The innovative future of the country as a whole and its regions in particular depends on having young people with an active lifestyle, a high level of education, and a desire to be included in the development process of their country, region, city, or town. In most regions of the Russian Federation, programs and projects are supported that promote the self-actualization of young people and create conditions to ensure a full and rich life for the younger generation. But, despite these measures, as well as major government funding, the process of active internal migration and the outflow of talented young people from provincial areas into the central regions, as well as from rural to urban settlements, lead to the significant negative skewing of socioeconomic development in the regions of the Russian Federation. Thus, these are the issues: which characteristics of life in a megalopolis are valuable and attractive to young people and are there differences in the images of a big city held by native young people and newcomers.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the characteristics of the value-sense and need-motivational spheres of native and newcomer youth in a megalopolis as well as to reveal the specifics of their images of a contemporary megalopolis. A comprehensive study conducted in Ekaterinburg among young people in the senior classes of secondary schools, colleges, and universities, as well as among young working men and women (N = 1108; ages 17-25), disclosed the base values in the subjective evaluation of the environment of a megalopolis by native and newcomer youth. In accordance with the objectives of the study, the sample was divided into two contrasting groups: native residents of Ekaterinburg (living there since birth) 437; newcomer residents of Ekaterinburg (living there fewer than 3 years) who were actively adapting to life in the megalopolis at the time the of the study 671 people. The study was conducted with the use of age-specific characteristics of a battery of diagnostic instruments. This article describes the specifics of the value orientations and evaluations of the image of the city among native and newcomer young people. Value determinants of the assessment of the environment of the big city by the native respondents for the most part had a social focus, and at the same time this category of young people generally did not seek to dominate and manage the environment of the megalopolis. The newcomer young people had an intense orientation to values. This orientation ensured their adaptation to and formation of a positive image of the city as a potential location for their personal self-realization.

This article presents the results of a study of sociometric status and its relation to personal characteristics and educational activities conducted on 96 first-year and 52 second-year students at the Moscow Theatre College. The sociometric study included three sets of questions combining the everyday life and communication of a student: educational activities, leadership and interpersonal communication. To determine the diagnostics of personality characteristics, Cattell’s multiple-factor personality questionnaire 16 PF was used.

The comparative analysis of the group unity sociometric index has shown that there is more mutuality in the choices dealing with interpersonal communication than in the choices dealing with professional activities. The grades that teachers give in actor training appear as a steady focus that determines the degree of leadership/reject not only in the professional but also in the social and interpersonal spheres. The high level of motivation (energy and determination) captured by Cattell’s factor test Q4 is one of the most significant qualities that determines the number of choices in various spheres of student activity (mastering the profession, leadership qualities and interpersonal communication).