Editorial

Zinchenko, Yu. P. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia Federal Scientific Center of Psychological and Multidisciplinary Research, Moscow, Russia

The first issue of 2014 opens with the special section “The Second Russian-JapaneseForum of Social Sciences and Humanities”. This forum was welcomed byLomonosov Moscow State University in Ooctober 2013 and included a seminar onpsychology. A team of researchers from the Graduate School of Arts and Letters ofTohoku University led by Dr. Tsuneyuki Abe, the head of Psychology Chair, and theLomonosov Moscow State University Faculty of Psychology professors discussedcurrent advances in psychological science in Russia and Japan with an emphasis onpsychophysiology and social psychology. The corresponding section of the journalpresents articles based on the seminar papers.

Tsuneyuki Abe, Juthatip Wiwattanapantuwong and Akio Honda explore theexperience of a survivor in a great natural disaster. In the article “Dark, cold, andhungry, but full of mutual trust: Manners among the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquakevictims” they deconstruct simplified “urban legends” about extremely highlevels of helpfulness among Japanese earthquake victims, and present valuable insightsinto actual resources promoting solidarity and support.

The issue of extremism is analyzed in two articles: Yury P. Zinchenko suggests asystem approach perspective as the methodological basis for research on this phenomenon,and Aleksandr E. Raevskiy reflects on psychological aspects of the “AumShinrikyo” affair. The article by Yury P. Zinchenko and Olga Y. Zotova “Securityin the worldview of Russians” helps to develop a positive agenda for maintainingsecurity in a culturally sensitive way. Certain aspects of psychological security andwell-being are addressed in the article “Interpersonal confidence as a factor in theprevention of disorganized interaction” by Aleksandr I. Dontsov and Elena B. Perelygina.The article by Nobuyuki Sakai “The psychology of eating: from the experimental,the social and the applied psychological points of view” bridges some gapsbetween psychophysiology and social psychological research on cultural diversity.

This collaborative work produced significant results. During May 21–25 2014the delegation of the Russian Psychological Society visited the Japanese PsychologicalAssociation. In Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding between the RussianPsychological Society and the Japanese Psychological Association was signed bythe president of the Russian Psychological Society, Professor Yury Zinchenko andthe president of the Japanese Psychological Association, Professor Takao Sato.

The “Developmental psychology” section provides two articles dealing with issuesof children’s social development. They discuss psychological boundaries of “I”in the role play of peer-unaccepted children (Elena V. Filippova and Tatyana V.Pivnenko) and social anxiety in children, comparing orphans and children in birthfamilies (Tamara V. Avakyan and Svetlana S. Volikova). Kokurina Irina G. and SolinaElena I., on the other hand, discuss representations of happiness and life satisfactionin the group of educated and socially active young people.

The “Psychological diagnostics” section presents discussions on psychometricproperties of the Russian version of the Empathy Quotient (Vladimit Kosonogov)and F. B. Berezin’s version of the Minnesota multiphase personal questionnaire(Maria A. Dzherelievskaya, Anna V. Vizgina, Sergey R. Pantileev and Ludmila L.Yashina). In the work by Olga A. Mikhailova, stimulus determinants of the changeblindness phenomenon are described.

The “Clinical psychology” section provides a diverse range of articles dealingwith internet addiction in teenagers and its impact on the development of theirhigher mental functions (Anna V. Katasonova, Sergey V. Perkovsky and Natalya A.Kravtsova), sense of humor disorders in patients with schizophrenia and affectivedisorders (Alyona N. Ivanova, Sergey N. Enikolopov and Olga V.), and the multidisciplinaryissue of social representations of drugs explored in a wide sample ofRussian youths by Irina B. Bovina and her colleagues.