Articles

Zotova O. Yu., Karapetyan L. V. (2018). Psychological security as the foundation of personal psychological wellbeing (analytical review)

Background. Security as a socio-cultural phenomenon requires a comprehensive approach and integrates a multitude of aspects of social reality, each of which is important both for an individual and society as a whole. It has been shown that there are certain universal desires and needs which are valued by all cultures and peoples as essential to providing a high quality of life; one of such universals is the need for security. Consequently, the status of people’s security in a society directly depends on the processes taking place in the society as a whole, and a craving for security and the need for it act as powerful stimulators of social changes.

Aim. A theoretical analysis of studies on psychological security as a socio-cultural phenomenon.

Method. Sources were selected according the following principles of scientific cognition: development, systematicity, and determinism.

Result and discussion. It has been shown that, on the one hand, an individual’s security is the result of an effective political, economic, social, and cultural environment. On the other hand, a society’s security is a combination of individual people’s security. It has been proved that the strengthening of a society’s psychological security is key to achieving the wellbeing of different categories of people.

It has been demonstrated that security is a dynamic process, since at every point in time we are dealing with a new type of danger. As a result, psychological security must constantly be created all over again. The latent character of security is shown by the fact that a person starts to strain after it only when an actual threat to life, health, and wellbeing emerges. What’s more, the use of an interdisciplinary approach (psychological and sociological, in particular) appears to be the most fruitful, especially with regard to such latent phenomena as security and wellbeing.

It has been shown that all aspects of human behavior in all spheres of life can be interpreted in the context of both the sense of security and actual security, and in most cases it is the need for security that guides man’s action. It has also been demonstrated that people’s perceptions and assessment of their state of security are psychological processes, and thus, they are exposed to individual and group differences.

Modern research has shown that, in the modern world, the link between a sense of wellbeing and sense of security is drawing increasing attention. Yet it should be noted that there is a tendency to interpret the concept of security restrictively as protection from harm and satisfaction of basic needs. In other words, the idea that psychological wellbeing and security are complementary and mutually conditioned concepts has not been dealt with so far.

About the authors:  Zotova, Olga Yu. ; Karapetyan, Larisa V.
Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  100-113
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0208
Keywords:  psychological security, psychological wellbeing, “ontological” security, “security theater,” need for security, perception of security.
38

Solovieva Yu., Quintanar L. (2018). Luria’s syndrome analysis for neuropsychologicalassessment and rehabilitation

Introduction. Neuropsychology, as a science, studies various possible relationships between psychological processes and the brain in cases of both normality and diverse pathologies. Such relationships might be established and understood in different manners. 

Background. A.R. Luria proposed a unique and specific approach by identifying different brain units. His conception is not completely understood, and is even less used in diagnosis and rehabilitation today. His conception of the systemic and dynamic representation of human actions in functional brain systems is the background for our study. Psychological conceptions of the stage-by-stage formation and orientation for action, and their use in rehabilitation, are taken into account.

Objective. The objective of our report is to share our application of Luria’s methodology of syndrome analysis through the presentation of the results of assessment and rehabilitation.

Design. Our study presents a unique case, along with data on the person’s assessment and rehabilitation, specifically, a qualitative assessment of an adolescent patient with severe brain injury.

Results. The assessment identified severe problems in the patient’s programming and self-control functions, together with spatial disorganization. The process of neuropsychological rehabilitation, as applied in two stages, showed positive effects on the activity and personality of the patient. Goals, stages, and examples of formation of actions in rehabilitation, with their results, are described.

Conclusion. We conclude that the systemic and dynamic approach in neuropsychology might be applied to assessment and rehabilitation. We discuss the necessity of establishing bridges between the psychological theory of actions (rather than functions) and the systemic representation of actions by functional brain systems.

About the authors:  Solovieva, Yulia; Quintanar, Luis Rojas
Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  81-99
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0207
Keywords:  neuropsychological rehabilitation, concepts of neuropsychology, functional diagnosis, qualitative neuropsychology, brain injury rehabilitation.
42

Nikolaeva E. I., Novikova A. V., Vergunov E. G. (2018). The correlation between intelligence, creativity and the parameters of sensorimotor integration in children of different ages

Introduction. Analysis of the literature suggests that the particular nature of the interplay between a person’s creativity and intelligence is determined not only by the conditions in which a person develops and their personality traits, but also their age.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to compare the interaction between the levels of creativity and intelligence of 7 to 8 year-old children and 12 to 13 yearold teenagers, by studying how 7–8 year-old children and young teenagers (12–13 years old) with different levels of intelligence and creativity assimilate stochastic signals.

Design. A total of 160 children took part in the study, 80 first- and secondgraders who were 7–8 years old (37 boys and 43 girls), and 80 fifth-graders, aged 12–13 (40 boys and 40 girls). We used the following procedures: Raven’s Progressive Matrices; a battery of creative thinking tests, amounting to a modification of the Guilford and Torrance’s tests in a Russian adaptation created by E. Tunik; and the computer reflexometric method.

Results. Our findings showed that the relationship between the level of intelligence and the level of creativity is different in the two age groups. With 7–8 year-olds, the two parameters are independent of each other, whereas with 12–13 year-olds, there is a weak but significant link between them. With the 7–8 year-old children, the level of creativity predetermines the child’s ability to detect the structure of a sensory stream that is organized in a complex way. At the ages of 12–13, neither the level of creativity nor the level of intelligence is correlated with the parameters of sensorimotor integration, but the two parameters are interconnected.

About the authors:  Nikolaeva Elena I.; Novikova, Anastasiya V.; Vergunov, Eugeny G.
Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  68-80
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0206
Keywords:  creativity, intelligence, children, teenagers, reaction time, simple and complex sensorimotor reactions
42

Prokopenko S. V., Bezdenezhnykh A. F., Mozheyko E. U., Petrova M. M. (2018). A comparative clinical study of the effectiveness of computer cognitive training in patients with post-stroke cognitive impairments without dementia

Introduction. A complex of computer neuropsychological programs was developed at KrasSMU, which in several pilot studies has shown effectiveness in cognitive training for patients with vascular cognitive impairments (VCI).

Objectives. The aim of the present study was to compare changes in cognitive status in those patients with post-stroke VCI who worked with neuropsychological computer programs, with those changes experienced by a group of similar patients who played entertaining computer games. 

Methods. Patients in the early recovery period after a hemispheric stroke with VCI without dementia (N=26, age 40-67) were randomized into three groups. All patients underwent conventional treatment in a rehabilitation hospital. Patients in the intervention group had ten daily 40-minute training sessions with neuropsychological computer programs. Participants in the active control group played entertaining computer games, and kept an identical regimen. Patients in the passive control group received only conventional treatment. Cognitive, neurological, affective, and functional states were assessed before and after the training periods. 

Results. Significant improvements were observed in the intervention group as compared to the passive control group on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA, p=0.0004), the Clock Drawing Test (CDT, p=0.001), and the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB, p=0.01). Differences between the groups of patients playing neuropsychological and entertaining games were statistically insignificant (Mann-Whitney U test, p>0.05), although in the intervention group there were improvements on every cognitive scale after the training period (Wilcoxon matched pairs test, p<0.05), while in the active control group, enhancements were evident only on some cognitive scales (p<0.05). No changes were observed in the passive control group.

Conclusions. Neuropsychological computer programs enhance cognitive status in patients with post-stroke VCI. It is possible that entertaining computer games can also improve cognitive functions. In all groups, no changes of functional state were observed before and after the training period.

About the authors:  Prokopenko, Semen V.; Bezdenezhnykh, Anna F.; Mozheyko, Elena U.; Petrova, Marina M.
Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  55-67
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0205
Keywords:  Cognitive training, computer cognitive training, stroke, cognitive rehabilitation, neuropsychological computer programs, vascular cognitive impairments, poststroke cognitive impairments.
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Moskaleva P. V., Shilkina O. S., Shnayder N. A. Individual neuropsychological characteristics in patients with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

Background. An association between juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) and nonpsychotic psychiatric and cognitive disorders has been described in recent years. Scientists are trying to link JME with certain personality traits marked by emotional instability.

Objective. The goal of our research was to assess the state of cognitive functions in young adult patients with JME–excluding the adverse side effects (ASEs) of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs)–and analyze the level of personality and situational anxiety, neuroticism, and depression in young adult patients with JME.

Design. We tested 26 patients with JME and 26 healthy adults with the computer program NS-PsychoTest (Neurosoft Company, RF), a program which is aimed at studying and evaluating neuropsychological characteristics. 

Results. Our study showed that the frequency of depressive symptoms, according to the cognitive-affective subscale (Beck’s Depression Inventory), in patients with JME was statistically significantly higher than among people without epilepsy. Comorbid personality and nonpsychotic psychiatric disorders are common interdisciplinary problems in JME management. Most practitioners pay attention only to the treatment of seizures caused by JME, and their patients, accordingly, do not receive adequate psychotherapeutic help.

Conclusion. Cognitive disorders are often associated with epilepsy, and are a result of a combination of factors. According to our study, in the presence of statistically significant differences in short-term memory and mental performance in patients with JME, compared to healthy young adults, the main indicators of cognitive function in patients with JME generally correspond to the norm. Our findings highlight the etiological heterogeneity of cognitive disorders in JME and the importance of early screening for them.

About the authors:  Moskaleva, Polina V.; Shilkina, Olga S.; Shnayder, Natalia A.
Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  42-54
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0204
Keywords:  juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), individual neuropsychological characteristics, cognitive functions, anxiety, depression.
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Cole M. Editorial.

It is now more than half a century since I spent a year in Moscow as a post-doctoral fellow working under the supervision of Alexander Romanovich Luria. That experience and the 15 years during which we corresponded and organized translations have fundamentally shaped my scientific career. Simultaneously the reach and influence of Luria’s ideas have continued to diffuse throughout modern scientific psychology. The following remarks are intended to suggest some of the recent accomplishments and current issues facing those who have adopted a Lurian approach, which traces its origins back to the 1920’s.

In my view, the development of a cultural-historical psychology will depend greatly on the degree to which it can guide efforts at life-generating, socially sanctioned, new forms of activity in health, in education, in preparation to confront the challenges to human existence posed by human beings themselves.

Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  2-6
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0200
Keywords:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
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Pronina E. E. The new media and the evolution of the human psyche

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.

About the authors:  Pronina, Elena E.
Themes:  Social psychology
Pages:  148-160
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.02011
Keywords:  identity of a communicator, media psychology, citizen journalism, self-determination, new media
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Dikiy I. S., Dikaya L. A., Karpova V. V., Lavreshina A. Y., Kagramanyan M. R. (2018). Psychological characteristics of art specialists with a highly productive creative imagination.

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.

About the authors:  Dikiy, Igor S.; Dikaya, Liudmila A.; Karpova, Viktorija V.; Lavreshina, Anastasiya Y.; Kagramanyan, Margarita R.
Themes:  Social psychology
Pages:  134-147
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.02010
Keywords:  artists, actors, creative imagination, monotype, volitional regulation, type of thinking, creativity
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Kornilova T. V., Chumakova M. A., Krasavtseva Yu. V. Emotional intelligence, patterns for coping with decisional conflict, and academic achievement in cross-cultural perspective (evidence from selective Russian and Azerbaijani student populations)

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.

About the authors:  Kornilova, Tatiana V. ; Chumakova, Maria A.; Krasavtseva, Yulia V.
Themes:  Social psychology
Pages:  114-133
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0209
Keywords:  uncertainty, emotional intelligence, vigilance, buck passing, procrastination, GPA, Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ)
47

Sultanova A. (2018). Neuropsychological analysis of the features of mental development in school age children with mild perinatal hypoxic damage of the nervous system in their anamnesis. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (2), 25-38.

Background. Perinatal pathology of the nervous system (PPNS) of hypoxic genesis is one of the most significant causes of deviations in mental development. It is necessary to investigate the impact of mild PPNS for the child’s mental ontogenesis, because coarser perinatal lesions, as a rule, lead to significant violations of development and should be analyzed separately. From our point of view, the qualitative neuropsychological syndromic analysis adopted in Russian child neuropsychology is the most productive way to study this problem.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to conduct neuropsychological analysis of the features of mental development of school-age children with mild hypoxic PPNS in their anamnesis.

Design. Our research involved 62 children 10-12.5 years old, who were studying in comprehensive schools in Moscow. The main group was comprised of 42 neurologically healthy children who had hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy of mild severity in their anamnesis. The control group was comprised of 20 neurologically healthy children without indication of pathology of pregnancy and labor in their anamnesis.

Methods. We used neuropsychological Luria tests that have been adapted for children, conducted an interview of parents and teachers about the peculiarities of children’s behavior, and analyzed electroencephalogram reports.

Results. Every child with PPNS exhibited similar features, such as neurodynamic disorders and a lack of voluntary control. We called this symptom complex “subcorticalfrontal” neuropsychological syndrome. In addition, each child in the main group had a failure of at least one neuropsychological factor. The following functions showed insufficiency most often: voluntary attention, speech development, verbal-auditory memory, kinetic and kinesthetic praxis, visual-spatial gnosis, and phonemic hearing. Left hemisphere functions and interhemispheric interaction suffered to a greater degree. The children with PPNS were divided into two subgroups, depending on the severity of the insufficiency of executive functions (EF). Children with severe insufficiency of EF more frequently demonstrated violation of development of verbal-logical thinking, difficulties in social adaptation, emotional disorders, and deviant behavior.

Conclusion. The mental development of school-age children with mild PPNS in their anamnesis differs from the development of their peers. We can talk about the longterm consequences of mild hypoxic perinatal damage of the nervous system.

Abbreviation: PPNS — perinatal pathology of the nervous system; CNS — central nervous system; EEG — electroencephalogram; EF — executive functions.

About the authors:  Sultanova, Alfiya
Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  25-38
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0203
Keywords:  perinatal hypoxic damage of the nervous system; child neuropsychology; cultural-historical concept; neuropsychological analysis; school-age children.
80

Maslova O.V. (2018). Value shifts in Vietnamese students studying in Russia. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (2), 14-24.

Background. The extension of intercultural contacts in the present-day world calls for a thorough study of what effect these contacts produce on the human personality. When an individual is suddenly immersed in a different culture, his or her consciousness becomes a battlefield where new values conflict with the old. The person experiences an axiological shock, a ``value clash,” which urges him or her to undertake a re-examination of his/ her value system as a whole.

Objective. The objective of this study was to determine the changes occurring in the value system of Vietnamese students obtaining their higher education in Russia.

Design. A longitudinal study was performed involving 100 Vietnamese students in Russian universities. The measurement methods used in the study were: 1) the modified M. Rokeach Value Survey (Rokeach, 1973; Kudrjashov, 1992), in which the original set of values was expanded by 20 additional values typical of the Vietnamese people; and 2) the technique for assessing acculturation strategies developed by J.W. Berry (Strategii mezhkul’turnogo vzaimodejstvija..., 2009).

Results. In the course of a year of residence in Russia, specific changes (or “shifts”) occurred in the value systems of the Vietnamese students which proved to be statistically significant. Among the goal values (the same as terminal values, in the terms of M. Rokeach) which took on more weight were Productive Life and Materially Prosperous Life, while among instrumental values, Tidiness and Frugality became more prominent. A difference between the value dynamics in male and female students was also established, with the value pattern of male students proving to be more dynamic. The next finding was the difference in value dynamics between students coming from urban and rural settlements. There was one more quite unexpected finding: The value pattern changed more noticeably in respondents with an acculturation profile of “Integration and Separation,” than in those with profiles of “Integration and Assimilation” and “Pure Integration.”

Conclusion. Therefore we see that factors such as gender, type of environment (rural/urban) the individual comes from, and the strategy of acculturation used by the individual, act as mediators exerting their own influence upon the dynamics of his/her value patterns.

Abbreviation: PF = Preliminary Faculty

About the authors:  Maslova, Olga V.
Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  14-24
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0202
Keywords:  acculturation, value pattern, value dynamics, Vietnamese students, acculturation strategies, acculturation profile.
96

Glozman J.M. (2018). A reproduction of Luria’ s expedition to Central Asia. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (2), 4-13.

Background. About 40 years ago, Alexander Luria published in 1974 his world known book “On the historical development of cognitive processes”. It describes the data of an experimental study of mental functions in illiterate people living in the peripheral parts of Uzbekistan (Central Asia). A.R. Luria together with L.S. Vygotsky worked out the design of this study, performed in 1931-1933. The study proved a significant influence of social life and literacy on the structure of logical reasoning. In the conclusion to this book Luria indicates, that his colleagues often advised him to repeat this study in 40 years, but the author did not considered it reasonable, as radical changes in cultural and educational level of Asia population must equalize the differences in cognitive processes with people from central regions. Is it so?

Study design. A group of psychologists from Moscow, Belgorod and Petropavlovsk Kamchatsky performed an integrated study of endogenous populations of the north of Kamchatka peninsula living in regional centers or nomadic herdsmen in tundra. Thirty subjects (17 men and 13 females) all with primary education in Russian schools were assessed using the same tests on classification and generalization, as Luria did, together with Luria neuropsychological battery, and projective drawing on life attitudes.

Conclusion. Life values of endogenous peoples are more nature centered than in Russians from central regions. Nomadic and settled subgroups with the same level of education differed in some neuropsychological tests, revealing the influence of social life conditions. It confirms Luria’s idea about cultural determination of cognitive processes but also shows that life conditions are as important cultural factors as literacy.

About the authors:  Glozman, Janna M.
Themes:  Luria’s Legacy in Cultural-Historical Psychology
Pages:  4-13
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0201
Keywords:  cultural-historical psychology; social life; cognitive processes; life values.
103

Zizevskaia E., Shchukina M. (2018). Gender schemas in perception of gender neutral images. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 151-163.

Background: Gender stereotypes are still a social problem. They display themselves in the process of perception by activating a gender schema as well as androcentrism and gender polarization lenses. 

Objective: This paper addresses the dependence of perception on social stereotypes and schemas. e research aimed at understanding how a gender-neutral image of a cat is perceived, and checking such factors as gender schema, gender-stereotyped context, the animal’s weight, the identification of participants with an animal on basis of their own gender. 

Design: A Female Cat or Male Cat Test, consisting of 12 pictures, was constructed for this research. We also used the Masculinity, Femininity and Gender Type of Personality Inventory, the Russian version of the Male Attitude Norms Inventory. Tests were conducted on 197 students in Saint-Petersburg and Moscow. 

Results: A cat was perceived as male 6.4 times more often than as a female, when each case of perception was counted. It was seen as male 7.2 times more often than as a female when we analyzed how the cat was seen in general by each participant. A gender-stereotyped context influenced perception for some participants. There was no influence of the animal’s weight or identification of participants with an animal on basis of their own gender. 

Conclusions: The research supports the hypotheses that perception of a picture of a gender-neutral animal can be explained mainly by gender schema and the interplay between “lenses” of gender polarization and androcentrism. When the last one was activated, the cat was seen as male. Most of cases when the animal was seen as a female can be explained by the influence of polarization lenses (through gender-stereotyped context in the pictures). 

About the authors:  Zizevskaia Ekaterina; Shchukina Mariia
Themes:  Psychology and culture
Pages:  151-163
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0112
Keywords:  gender neutral image, gender schema, androcentrism, polarization lens, male, female, perception
160

Solovieva Yu., Quintanar L. (2018). Rehabilitation of semantic aphasia in spanish speaking patient. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 137-150.

Background. Aphasia is defined as a language disorder resulting from brain damage. The establishment of the relationship between the assessment and the procedures for rehabilitation is one of fundamental aspects of clinical neuropsychology. 

Objective. The objective of this study is to describe the case of a Spanish-speaking patient with semantic aphasia, along with the strategies used in her neuropsychological assessment, and the procedures and results of her rehabilitation. 

Design. The study method consisted of a clinical “Case Study” through qualitative neuropsychological syndrome analysis during pre- and post-assessment. The program for rehabilitation was designed especially for this case, and applied in individual therapeutic sessions with the patient. The inclusion of different kinds of material, perceptual, and verbal tasks permitted the patient to follow the levels of formation of actions with spatial orientation, starting from the most concrete level, and passing on to a more general, abstract level. The process of rehabilitation was carried out as a joint activity, taking into account the patient’s motivation and personality. 

Results. Important positive changes were obtained by the time of the final assessment. The patient became able to understand complex grammatical structures in sentences and texts, in order to fulfill construction tasks and to express herself correctly both orally and in writing.

Conclusion. The authors conclude that an effective assessment leads directly to the effectiveness of the whole process of elaborating and realizing rehabilitation. Semantic aphasia can be studied in Spanish-speaking patients by using the qualitative methodology of neuropsychological assessment proposed in the works of A.R. Luria. 

About the authors:  Solovieva, Yulia; Quintanar, Luis Rojas
Themes:  Psychology and culture
Pages:  137-150
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0111
Keywords:  aphasia, semantic aphasia, diagnosis of aphasia, neuropsychological rehabilitation, brain injury
157

Collings N.Y. (2018). Rudimentary functions: Important reminders of history and relationship. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 125-136.

Background. When Vygotsky suggested the term rudimentary functions for psychological phenomena, he drew a parallel with organismic rudiments that existed and continue to exist in a number of biological species. These rudiments used to play an important role in the life of an organism and allow us to study that life in the process of its development. Vygotsky originally gave three explicit examples of psychological rudimentary functions: 1) attributing an important decision to the result of a solitaire card game, 2) tying a knot in a handkerchief in order to remember and do something later, and 3) counting on one’s fingers. 

Objective. The purpose of this article is to offer a contemporary overview and paths for development of L.S. Vygotsky’s notion of rudimentary function. 

Design. This paper, in the genre of a theoretical article, drew on existing research and theoretical literature to advance a theory. I analyzed Vygotsky’s original example of a solitaire game and similar actions (for example, flipping a coin), arguing that these actions represent key events mediating choice and exercising human will over affect. I then focused on three more psychological functions that fit Vygotsky’s definition of rudiments: 1) photographic memory and déjà vu as instances of historically primitive eidetic memory, 2) talking to one-self aloud as a rudiment of a key event forming the self-regulatory mechanism of inner speech in childhood, and 3) fantasizing, which could remind us of our young age, when imagination readily created what was lacking in external world. 

Results. This analysis allowed me to vividly illustrate the historical and relational focus of Vygotsky’s theories. 

Conclusions. Rudimentary functions, often perceived as mysterious, in their simplicity can be powerful reminders that historically primitive functions do not disappear, but enter complex relationships with other psychological functions, and that many relationships are possible within different cultural-historical formations, with Western civilization being just one example.

About the authors:  Collings Natalia Y.
Themes:  Psychology and culture
Pages:  125-136
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0110
Keywords:  cultural-historical theory, higher and lower-order psychological functions, doub- le stimulation
132

Akifyeva R., Alieva A. (2018). The influence of student ethnicity on teacher expectations and teacher 
perceptions of warmth and competence. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 106-124.

Background. Previous research shows that incorrect teacher expectations about students can affect students’ academic success. Moreover, students’ ethnicity was found to be one of the most influential characteristics affecting teacher expectations, which can be based on ethnic stereotypes. Most studies test this relationship by comparing teacher expectations of multiple ethnic groups; however, we propose here another perspective, assuming that the connection between ethnic stereotypes and expectations may be determined by the content of the stereotypes.

Objective. This study examines the influence of students’ ethnicity on teacher expectations and stereotypes, as well as the relationship of teacher expectations and stereotypes toward ethnic minority students, by including the stereotype content model in the analysis.

Design. Thirty-four primary school teachers participated in the experiment in which they analyzed six fictional profiles of students, two of which were experimental. The experimental profiles contained identical information (annual school grade, a teacher testimonial, gender), but differed in names of the students and their parents, and in their migration background. Thus, we manipulated only the information related to ethnicity and migration history of two students.

Results. Teacher expectations about the performance of minority students were al- ways unfavorable compared with expectations about the performance of the majority students, but their expectations about the abilities of minority and majority students, which include teachers’ beliefs about students’ educational skills, attitudes and motivation, and capacity for school work, were mixed. We also discovered that the teacher expectations were positively related to perceptions of competence and not to perceptions of warmth. However, the minority student was evaluated by teachers as just as warm and competent as the majority.

About the authors:  Akifyeva Raisa; Alisa Alieva
Themes:  Educational psychology
Pages:  106-124
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0109
Keywords:  teacher expectations, stereotypes, stereotype content model, warmth, competence, ethnic minority students
234

Kudinov S.I., Kudinov S.S., Kudinova I.B., Belousova S.S. (2018). The axiological orientation of students’ personality. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 95-105.

Background. Our empirical research and analysis revealed characteristics of the axiological orientation of students’ personalities.

Objective. We identified the principal types of orientation, dominant values, and attitudes of the personality in the motivational-needs sphere through a variety of validated and reliable techniques and methods.

Design We understand the axiological orientation of the personality as a relatively stable set of values, motivations, needs, and moral structures produced through the lens of actions, in and through various spheres of social life, which describes complex system of a person’s perception of him-/herself, his or her perceptions of others, and his or her attitude towards work and other activities.

Results. The results of the empirical research demonstrate that a set of axiological, motivational, and need characteristics form pragmatic-professional, social-communicative, or individual-egoistic types of axiological orientation of the personality, which in turn describe the subject’s attitude to the surrounding external reality and to him/herself. e pragmatic-professional type of person is dominated by values such as work, results, money, and process. e least attractive value to this type appears to be power. Respondents with a social-communicative type of axiological orientation have altruism, result and money as their main personal values. Values such as egocentrism, power, money, and freedom are a distinguishing mark of those with the individual-egoistic axiological orientation.

Conclusion. This study also addresses how and through what patterns and mechanisms the axiological orientation of students’ personalities is expressed, which could enable professionals to develop educational programs aimed at harmonizing and aligning societal values and the individual’s attitudes. 

About the authors:  Kudinov Sergey I.; Kudinov Stanislav S.; Kudinova Irina B.; Belousova Sofia S.
Themes:  Educational psychology
Pages:  95-105
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0108
Keywords:  values, axiological orientation, students, personality, attitudes
143

Podolskaya T.A., Utenkov A.V. (2018). Detecting and overcoming infantilism in students at teachers colleges. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 84-94.

Background. The variety of preschools is one of the primary issues of contemporary early education in Russia. The traditional approach focuses on the transmission of knowledge, patterns of social behavior, and assumes teacher-centered interaction between child and teacher. The developmental approach focuses on developing the child’s abilities and using cultural tools, rather than just transmitting educational content. A comparison of different preschool approaches and outcomes may help in choosing the most suitable one for each child.

Objective. The aim of this study is to identify the connection between approaches in preschool and children’s school readiness.

Our hypothesis is that the traditional approach and the developmental approach provide different school readiness outcomes.

Design. Ninety-two preschool students (51 boys and 41 girls) aged six to seven were involved in this study. These children attended preschools in the western and southwestern districts of Moscow. Six preschool psychologists and teachers were interviewed. The research was conducted between 2011 and 2013.

Results: An empirical study proved that most children achieve a high level of cognitive readiness, can interact with successfully peers, and can control aggression; however, they also have difficulties with cooperative relations with their teacher and with expressing their opinion. A comparison of school readiness outcomes of the traditional and developmental approaches showed that the children who attended a preschool with the developmental approach demonstrated a higher level of school readiness: they are able to ask for help, to coordinate their creative intentions with peers, and to empathize with them. Their self-consciousness is greater than that of their peers who are educated under the traditional approach. Also, they demonstrate a greater voluntary readiness for school. Meanwhile, children who attended preschools with the traditional approach demonstrated а higher level of verbal-logical reasoning. 

About the authors:  Podolskaya Tatiana A.
Themes:  Educational psychology
Pages:  84-94
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0107
Keywords:  infantilism, overcoming academic and professional infantilism, self-actualization, internality, structural components of infantilism, conditions to overcome infantilism
165

Orlov A.A., Pazukhina S.V., Yakushin A.V., Ponomareva T.M. (2018). A study of first-year students’ adaptation difficulties as the basis to promote
their personal development in university education. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 71-84.

Background. The relevance of the paper is determined by the study of types, structure of adaptive difficulties and their impact on the student’s personal development in the process of professionalization in the university.

Objective. To examine the psychological characteristics of difficulties that arise in the process of students’ adaptation to university instruction.

Design. The authors divide the difficulty in adaptation into four categories: motivational, communicational, cognitive, and regulatory. For each category, the authors offer pedagogical technologies that promote the personal development of students on the basis of their prevailing difficulties.

Results. Motivational difficulties are related to poor cognitive motivation, poor motivation to master a profession. Communication difficulties are attributed by the authors to poor communication skills. Cognitive difficulties are defined by insufficient general learning skills and a poor capacity for reflection and self-esteem. The source of regulatory difficulties is a lack of self-organization skills and poor self-control.

Conclusion. Correlation analysis confirmed that there are significant connections between, on the one hand, students’ adaptability to the educational process and to their study group, and on the other, the investigated parameters that show their motivational, communicative, cognitive, and regulatory difficulties. Using cluster analysis of the empirical data, the authors identified four main student subgroups with different graphic profiles reflecting their personal difficulties in adaptation to university education; their psychological characteristics are given. Analysis of these difficulties has allowed the authors to offer an optimal psychological and educational strategy for the interactions of each of the subgroups, to optimize their personal development in the educational process.

About the authors:  Orlov Aleksandr A.; Pazukhina Svetlana V.; Yakushin Aleksey V.; Ponomareva Tat’yana M.
Themes:  Educational psychology
Pages:  71-84
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0106
Keywords:  adaptation, personal development, adaptational difficulties
193

Bayanova L.F., Chulyukin K.S. (2018). The impact of cultural congruence on the creative thinking of primary school children. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 61-70.

Background. There have been many psychological studies, which show what factors enhance creative thinking in childhood, including studies on the impact of intelligence, personality, self-esteem, and other characteristics. But little is known of the impact of cultural congruence on the enhancement of creative thinking in childhood. In that regard, it would be interesting to explore whether cultural congruence influences the enhancement of the creative thinking of primary school students.

Objective. This study is aimed at examining the impact of cultural congruence on enhancing the creative thinking of primary school students. Cultural congruence can be described as a personality trait based on compliance with the rules which a society determines appropriate according to age and culture. 303 respondents participated in this study, of which 293 were primary school students aged 8-10 years (M=9, σ±0.5), and 10 were primary school teachers who worked with these children.

Results. The results of this study indicate that children’s compliance with the rules of age-specific normative situations — i.e. the level of cultural congruence– correlate, albeit negatively, with expressions of creative thinking.

Conclusion. The findings in this study provide further evidence of reasons for enhancing creative thinking in childhood, where cultural congruence and its factors defining the preschool child’s compliance with the rules in a normative situation influence the enhancement of the creative thinking of primary school students. This paper is aimed at identifying the impact of cultural congruence and its factors on the creative thinking of primary school students. The previously highlighted fact that cultural congruence has an impact on creative thinking of primary school students may be ascribed to various causes. First of all, it is noteworthy that there are no typical invariable rules within the factors making up cultural congruence which would enhance a child’s creative thinking. This provision defines the essence of the cultural context and the culturally shaped rules regulating the child’s behavior. Thus, the impact of cultural congruence is that it limits creative thinking. This tendency is noticeable in elementary school. The impact of cultural congruence on creative thinking also deals with the fact that socially accepted conventions limit children’s spontaneous activity, since the rules impose particular behavioral patterns on them. Therefore, children focus more on imitation than on finding their own solutions. Not coincidentally, cultural congruence had an impact on subtests, which measured creative thinking through non-verbal materials. These materials dealt with the child’s ability to find unusual ways to use everyday objects, to forecast different consequences of a hypothetical situation, to make specific objects with a set of shapes, to create new drawings from identical figures, and to find figures hidden in poorly structured images.

About the authors:  Bayanova, Larisa F.; Chulyukin, Kirill S.
Themes:  Educational psychology
Pages:  61-70
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0105
Keywords:  creative thinking, cultural congruence, normative situations, rules, norms, behavior, primary school student
239

Nisskaya A.K. (2018). School readiness outcomes of different preschool educational approaches. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 43-60.

Background. The variety of preschools is one of the primary issues of contemporary early education in Russia. The traditional approach focuses on the transmission of knowledge, patterns of social behavior, and assumes teacher-centered interaction between child and teacher. The developmental approach focuses on developing the child’s abilities and using cultural tools, rather than just transmitting educational content. A comparison of different preschool approaches and outcomes may help in choosing the most suitable one for each child.

Objective. The aim of this study is to identify the connection between approaches in preschool and children’s school readiness.

Our hypothesis is that the traditional approach and the developmental approach provide different school readiness outcomes.

Design. Ninety-two preschool students (51 boys and 41 girls) aged six to seven were involved in this study. These children attended preschools in the western and southwestern districts of Moscow. Six preschool psychologists and teachers were interviewed. The research was conducted between 2011 and 2013.

Results: An empirical study proved that most children achieve a high level of cognitive readiness, can interact with successfully peers, and can control aggression; however, they also have difficulties with cooperative relations with their teacher and with expressing their opinion. A comparison of school readiness outcomes of the traditional and developmental approaches showed that the children who attended a preschool with the developmental approach demonstrated a higher level of school readiness: they are able to ask for help, to coordinate their creative intentions with peers, and to empathize with them. Their self-consciousness is greater than that of their peers who are educated under the traditional approach. Also, they demonstrate a greater voluntary readiness for school. Meanwhile, children who attended preschools with the traditional approach demonstrated а higher level of verbal-logical reasoning. 

About the authors:  Nisskaya, Anastasia K.
Themes:  Educational psychology
Pages:  43-60
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0104
Keywords:  school readiness, traditional preschool approach, developmental preschool approach
324

Ermakov P.N., Abakumova I.V., Kovsh E.M. (2018). Psychophysiological traits of men with several genotypes in polymorphic locus Val158Met COMT and different levels of aggressiveness. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 32-44.

Background. The catechol-O-methyl transferase gene influences the reuptake of monoamines (dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline) from the synaptic space. The structural peculiarities of this gene are linked with the duration of stay of neurotransmitters in the synaptic gap and the emergence and duration of emotional reactions, which may considerably affect a person’s level of aggressiveness; these peculiarities may manifest as psychophysiological characteristics.

Objective and design. This study investigated the amplitude, spatio-temporal traits and sources of evoked brain activity in men with several genotypes in the polymorphic locus Val158Met in the COMT (Catechol-O-methyl transferase) gene, levels of aggressiveness using the Buss-Darkee inventory, proneness to various types of deviant and addictive behaviors in accordance with the methods of A.N. Oryol and the preferred strategies of behavior during conflict in accordance with the methods of Kenneth Thomas. Statistical processing of psychodiagnostic data included dispersive (ANOVA) and discriminative analyses.

Results. This study found significant differences in the parameters of evoked brain activity components in responses to emotionally charged stimuli (“aggression”, “positive”, “tolerance”, “extremism, terrorism”) compared with neutral images. Student’s t-test (Holms- corrected for multiple comparisons) was used to analyze the EEG-VEP data.

Conclusion. This study confirmed the hypothesis of differences in spatio-temporal and amplitude parameters of evoked brain potentials in young men exhibiting differing levels of aggressiveness. The sources of evoked brain activity determined using sLORETA (Standardized Low-resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography) were different between carriers of different genotypes.

About the authors:  Ermakov, Pavel N. ; Abakumova, Irina V.; Kovsh Ekaterina M.
Pages:  32-44
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0103
Keywords:  aggressiveness, visual-evoked potentials, COMT, neurotransmitters, emotionally charged stimuli
262

Menshikova G.Ya., Saveleva O.A., Zinchenko Yu.P. (2018). The study of ethnic attitudes during interactions with avatars in virtual environments. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 20-31.

Background. Modern technologies provide a wide range of opportunities for studying different types of social processes and phenomena. Currently many original social studies have been done with the use of virtual reality technologies. The effectiveness of their application has been shown for the study of verbal and nonverbal communication; the processes of ethno-cultural identity; and for teaching social skills, as well as correcting social anxiety and ethnic attitudes. One of the very real question concerning spatial behavior during communication with partners from other ethnic groups, however, has not been studied very much.

Objective. In our study we explored proxemic behavior in subjects’ face-to-face interactions with avatars of in-group and out-group ethnic appearance. Using the CAVE virtual reality system, we studied preferred interpersonal distances in carrying out memory tasks during interaction with the avatars.

Design. Three virtual environments with avatars of different ethnic appearance were developed. Each virtual scene represented a room where three avatars of the same ethnicity were standing. Their appearance was associable with one of three ethnic groups– the Slavic, North Caucasian, or the Central Asian. The participants (all of whom identified themselves as Russians) were immersed in the virtual scenes with the help of the CAVE virtual reality system. They were instructed to keep in mind as many details of the avatars’ appearance as they could. 

During the task’s execution the interpersonal distances between the participants and the avatars were registered. After leaving the CAVE, the participants were asked to answer questions about the details of avatars’ appearance, and to fill out a questionnaire assessing the Presence Effect in virtual environments. The identification accuracy of the avatars’ appearance details and the Presence effect were measured. The interpersonal distances were analyzed for the area around the direction of mutual gaze.

Results. The results showed that participants preferred to keep closer interpersonal distances from the avatars of the same ethnic group as their own. During interaction with avatars belonging to another ethnic group, significantly larger interpersonal distances were preferred. A significant correlation between the interpersonal distance and the Presence Effect was also revealed.

Conclusion. Virtual reality technology provides a unique and valuable tool for social researchers, including in ethnic attitude studies. A complex method of measuring interpersonal distances and the Presence Effect allows us to assess the main variables during social interaction with high accuracy. The virtual environments designed for this study can be applied successfully not only for studying proxemic behavior, but also for accomplishing other tasks, such as developing communication skills and forming positive attitudes towards ethnic out-groups.

About the authors:  Menshikova, G.Ya.; Zinchenko, Yury P. ; Saveleva Olga A.
Pages:  20-31
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0102
Keywords:  interethnic attitudes, proxemics, nonverbal communication, compensation effect, mutual gaze, CAVE virtual reality technology, avatar, Presence Effect
312

Isaichev S.A., Chernorizov A.M., Adamovich T.V., Isaichev E.S (2018). Psychophysiological indicators of the human functional state in the process of socio-psychological testing ethnic and religious... Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 11 (1), 4-19.

Background. To assess the structure of inter-ethnic attitudes and the risks of ethnoreligious tension, psychologists mostly use questionnaires, interviews, subjective scaling, content analysis, and special tests. One possible approach to increasing the validity and reliability of these explicit methods is the use of the registration of psychophysiological indicators while a recipient completes the questionnaire or test forms.

Objective. The results of a pilot psychophysiological research are presented, which focus on the study of human psycho-emotional states during socio-psychological testing to identify attitudes in the field of interethnic and interfaith relations.

Design. The essence of the applied experimental approach is to control the functional (psycho-emotional) state of a respondent using the registration of complex psychophysiological (physiological and behavioral) responses in the process of completing the socio-psychological questionnaire.

Results. It was shown that the rhythmic brain activity (ratio of the power indexes of alpha and beta rhythms), the amplitude of the systolic wave (photoplethysmogram) (ASW PhPG) and the magnitude (length) of the ‘circumflex line of the Galvanic Skin Response’ (GSR-L) may be the complex of indicators that possess sufficiently high selective sensitivity to differentiate nonspecific reactions of the human nervous system to personally important (emotiogenic, stressful) questions in the questionnaire.

Conclusion. The proposed approach may help to identify stressful (emotiogenic) issues (questions) in socio-psychological tests and questionnaires that are of the greatest interest to the subject and, as a result, most adequately reflect individual and population attitudes in the field of social relations.

About the authors:  Isaychev, Sergey A. ; Chernorizov, Alexsander M. ; Isaychev, Evgenij S. ; Adamovich, Timofei V.
Pages:  4-19
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2018.0101
Keywords:  socio-psychological testing, ethnic and religious attitudes, psycho-emotional states, psychophysiological diagnostics
399

Morosanova V.I., Gaidamashko I.V., Chistyakova S.N., Кondratyuk, A.V. Burmistrova-Sa (2017). Regulatory and personality predictors of the reliability of professional actions. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 10 (4), 195-208

Background. The present research is carried out in the context of the conscious self-regulation of professional activity.

Objective. It investigates the regulatory and personality predictors of reliability in rescue operations under stressful conditions.

Design. The research sample includes 87 rescuers (72 men and 15 women aged from 25 to 50 years). Respondents were asked to complete the Morosanova’s Self-Regulation Profile Questionnaire – SRPQM, the Eysenck Personality Profile - Short (EPP-S), and the expert questionnaire “Professional Reliability of Rescue Operation” designed for this particular study.

Results. On the basis of a correlation analysis, the structural model of the predictors of action reliability was constructed using the maximum likelihood method. Consistency indices showed a good agreement between the model and empirical data. The model contains three latent factors: “Self-regulation”, “Neuroticism” and “Reliability of actions”. As the model displays, the “Self-regulation” factor is a significant predictor of professional action reliability. There are two indicator variables for the factor “Self-regulation”: the self-regulation reliability considered as its stability in the stressful situations, and the rescuers’ levels of development of professionally critical regulatory features - modeling of conditions significant for the achievement of goals and the programming of actions. The study results also show that personality dispositions (by Eysenck) have only indirect influence on action reliability. As the structural model reveals, the conscious self-regulation is a mediator in the relationship of neuroticism traits and action reliability.

Conclusion. The conscious self-regulation is a significant predictor of professional action reliability under stressful conditions. It is also the mediator of the effects of personality dispositions on the reliability of action.

About the authors:  Morosanova, Varvara I. ; Gaidamashko, Igor V.; Chistyakova Svetlana N.; Burmistrova-Savenkova Angelika V.; Кondratyuk Nailia G.
Pages:  195-208
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2017.0417
Keywords:  professional activity, reliability, conscious self-regulation, personality traits, structural model
322

Perelygina E.B., Rikel A.M., Dontsov A.I. (2017). The subjective well-being of a person as a prism of personal and socio-psychological characteristics. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 10 (4), 185-194

Objective. This article examines the concept of subjective well-being and the approaches to researching it and its qualities; it also attempts to create a reticulated personal and socio-psychological portrait of a person who sustains a certain level of subjective wellbeing.

Design. To accomplish this objective, we conducted a meta-analysis of modern empirical studies of those personal traits and socio-psychological aspects of a person’s existence which are “responsible” for the person’s interaction with a complex changing world. They included: personal self-perception, including issues of identity; the person’s defense mechanisms and reactions to stress, including the stress of others (characteristics of empathy); self-attitudes; will power; conscious setting of goals; interpersonal relationships; and ability to deliberately regulate one’s personality.

Results. The results of different Russian and international empirical studies are analyzed. We concluded that subjective well-being is the result of the interaction of internal powers (conventionally, personal factors) with social context (conventionally, objective external aspects).

Conclusion. Based on this finding, the most insightful and timely method for studying subjective well-being can be the creation of models which involve the double correlation of “internal” and “external” sides of the process of achieving subjective well-being.

About the authors:  Perelygina, Elena B. ; Dontsov, Aleksander I. ; Rikel Alexander M.
Pages:  185-194
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2017.0416
Keywords:  subjective well-being, objective well-being, social problems
321

Nikolaeva E.I., Merenkova V.S. (2017). An inner picture of health as a factor in changing a child’s behavior to health-promoting behavior. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 10 (4), 162-171

Background. An inner health picture (IPH) includes a person’s image of him- or herself as healthy, and knowledge of the methods needed to achieve the behavior necessary to maintain his (her) health. The IPH of a preschooler is formed by his (her) parents, and the high level of physical activity which is needed for supporting his (her) IPH could change a child’s capacity to orient in sensory flow.

Objectives. The objectives of this study were twofold: 1) to compare the children’s IPH with that of their parents, and 2) to study the connection between a child’s IPH with his (her) capacity to recognize consistent patterns in the structure of a stream of sensory signals.

Design. 82 primary school children and their mothers participated in the study. The study was conducted in two stages. During the first stage, the internal picture of health (IPH) of the children and their parents was evaluated by means of a questionnaire. To describe a child’s ability to discern some kind of order in a stream of sensory signals, the models of simple and complex sensorimotor reactions were used.

Results. Parents whose children have a well-developed IPH steer their children toward a healthy lifestyle, whereas they themselves do not do what is necessary to maintain their own health. The process of developing an IPH is accompanied by an increase in control during performance of a serial reaction task, which is reflected in a decrease in the number of lapses or missed stimuli.

Conclusion. An IPH is an internal mental model that not only predetermines a child’s notion of themselves as a healthy person; it also has a psychological basis in the form of a system that strengthens the child’s control over his (her) own actions.

About the authors:  Nikolaeva Elena I.; Merenkova Vera S.
Pages:  162-171
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2017.0414
Keywords:  an internal picture of health, simple and complex sensorimotor reactions, primary school children
302

Solovieva Yu., Rojas L.Q. (2017). Syndromic analysis in child neuropsychology: A case study. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 10 (4), 172-184

Background. Neuropsychology is a science with its own specific concepts, terms, and methods of analysis of disturbances in psychological development. One of the essential concepts of neuropsychological methodology, according to A.R. Luria, is that of a neuropsychological syndrome, which takes into account both the functional organization of the brain and the behavioral system. However, this concept isn’t mentioned in the majority of his publications, and thus is not well known by neuropsychologists. There is no clear understanding of this concept within the works of modern neuropsychologists. This omission has a strong influence on the way analysis and interpretation of developmental difficulties is carried out today.

Objective. The objective of this study is to present an example of the successful application of qualitative syndromic analysis to the case of a Mexican preschool child with developmental problems and learning disabilities.

Design. The clinical analysis was applied to the case of a 6 year old girl with learning disabilities, whose difficulties had been attributed primarily to a low level of general brain activation.

Results. The authors assert that the advantages of A.R. Luria’s syndromic approach to clinical cases of difficulties in development and learning disabilities, are that it opens up the potential for finding the general causes on different levels: neuronal maturation, brain mechanisms, activity and personality.

Conclusion. The authors conclude that the topic of syndromic analysis in child neuropsychology requires further scientific discussion. The necessity for revising levels of analysis of clinical cases should be taken in account.

About the authors:  Solovieva, Yulia; Quintanar, Luis Rojas
Pages:  172-184
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2017.0415
Keywords:  neuropsychological syndrome, child neuropsychology, assessment of development, qualitative assessment, Luria’s approach, developmental problems, subcortical levels
278

Voiskounsky A.E., Yermolova T.D., Yagolkovskiy S.R., Khromova V.M. (2017). Creativity in online gaming: Individual and dyadic performance in Minecraft. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 10 (4), 144-161

Objective: This study was designed to examine possible new aspects of creative activity related to virtual environments.

Design: The online gaming interface Minecraft was used to construct (on computer screens) complex structures such as buildings from ready-made blocks. Two modes were used: individual and dyadic. Participants (N=49, 29 males and 20 females, 18 to 29 years old, recruited on a snow-ball basis) were required to build staying at a distance two complex structures — a ship and a house; each structure was required to be highly creative, i.e. unusual and never seen before. Creativity was evaluated not by the final structure but by the number of ideas generated by the participants and produced either in practice or verbally. Each participant participated once in an individual and once in a dyadic session; the partners were selected randomly. The participants’ verbal activity and digital operations with the Minecraft interface were recorded using the FastStone Capture software package. All the ideas produced by participants were classified in accordance with the following criteria: type (conceptual, functional, selective, corrective, and intentional); level of the structure which the ideas referred to (the whole structure, a particular component of the structure, or an element of the structure); and the status of the verbalized ideas (implemented or unimplemented).

Results and Conclusion: The results show that participants produced significantly more ideas and took significantly less time to build the prescribed structure (a house or a ship) within the individual session compared to the dyadic session. The originality of their ideas was measured by two psychologists independently: the two measures turned out to be close (r=0.876); the number of original ideas produced during individual and dyadic sessions do not differ significantly. Analysis of the implementation of the ideas showed that, within the dyadic sessions, participants produced significantly fewer ideas which were subsequently implemented. For the most part they frequently dropped and left unimplemented ideas referring to the levels of either components or elements of the structure. The results also showed that intentions were the only type of ideas which, after being generated equally often in the individual and dyadic sessions, were more often left unimplemented in the group sessions, compared to the individual sessions.

About the authors:  Voiskounsky, Alexander E. ; Yermolova Tatiana D.; Yagolkovskiy Sergey R.; Khromova Valeria M.
Pages:  144-161
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2017.0413
Keywords:  creativity, online gaming, dyadic vs. individual activity, idea generation, Minecraft
386

Puchkova E.B., Sukhovershina Yu.V., Temnova L.V. (2017). A study of Generation Z’s involvement in virtual reality. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 10 (4), 134-143

Background. This study analyzes the characteristics of modern teenagers’ involvement in virtual reality (VR). It also examines various approaches to VR in Russian science. In the current study the concept of virtual reality is defined as a particular informational environment in which a person can exist and develop. It is created by a special class of technical systems, formed on the basis of computer hypertext technology, and has a number of social and psychological characteristics. We pay special attention to the significance of virtual space for generation Z (according to the William Strauss and Neil Howe generational theory). The main factor determining the unique psychological features of the generation Z is its active involvement in virtual reality from the moment of birth. Involvement in a virtual reality is measurable by a teenager’s activity on the Internet.

Objective. Our study set out to determine the level of Russian generation Z’s involvement in virtual reality.

Design. We analyzed the results of a survey conducted among Moscow adolescents using multivariate profiles. Two hundred fifty-four teenagers 12-14 years old were interviewed during the study.

Results and conclusion. Analysis of the data revealed the following: Modern teenagers are involved in VR with varying degrees of depth; their main type of activity on the Internet is searching for educational information and news; and no significant differences by gender in the purposes of using the Internet were found. However, it was also determined that girls’ activity in VR is more related to communication and interpersonal interaction, even though it’s indirect via the Internet, while boys prefer the “gaming” possibilities of VR; that teenagers are rather critical of the information they obtain by the Internet, and that their level of trust in the online information is low. The same trend is evident in the fact that students prefer not to make new friends in virtual reality.

About the authors:  Puchkova Elena B.; Sukhovershina Yulia V.; Temnova Larisa V.
Pages:  134-143
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2017.0412
Keywords:  virtual reality (VR), generation Z, involvement, Internet, socialization
482

Eritsyan K.Yu., Kolpakova O.I. (2017). Runaway behavior among children in residential care in St. Petersburg: A qualitative study. Psychology in Russia: State of the Art, 10 (4), 124-133

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.

About the authors:  Eritsyan, Ksenia Y.; Kolpakova Olga I.
Themes:  Social psychology
Pages:  124-133
DOI:  10.11621/pir.2017.0411
Keywords:  runaway, residential care, children, orphanage, focus group, motives
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