Articles

Background. The problem of students’ adaptation to a new educational level (normative educational crises, according to Slobodchikov, 2008) is considered. Unlike the literature (Barber & Olsen, 2004; Akçinar, 2013; Symanyuk & Pecherkina, 2016; Nisskaya, 2018), we explored this problem from the standpoint of human agency and studied all categories of students to determine the general patterns of overcoming normative educational crises.

Objective. The study aimed to explore the general criteria of agency — capacity to use psychological resources to solve problems and achieve goals — while overcoming normative educational crises (crises of adaptation to new learning conditions).

Design. The participants were 383 students aged 7–18 years (81 first graders, 84 fifth graders, 110 tenth graders, and 108 freshmen). Students’ agency and psychological resources were surveyed at the beginning of the first academic year at the new educational level. Adaptation criteria (informational, behavioral, and affective) were estimated at the end of the academic year. By using the k-means method of cluster analysis, each category of students was divided into clusters with similar agency indicators. We also compared agency indicators, abilities, and personal traits in these clusters by using U-tests and exploring correlation links between the psychological resources and adaptation criteria indicators in each cluster by Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient.

Results and Conclusion. In each age category of students, we observed many significant correlation links between the psychological resources and adaptation criteria indicators only in the cluster of students with a high agency level. We also found only isolated correlation links (or absence of links) between the psychological resources and adaptation criteria indicators in the clusters of students with a low agency level. This finding confirms our hypothesis that only students with a high level of agency use their psychological resources to successfully overcome normative educational crises. Students with a low agency level do not use their resources in full during normative educational crises: These students, despite their capacities, have a negative emotional state and problems in learning and behavior. This finding is also true for each age category of students. Thus, without human agency qualities, the intellectual and personal resources of students can remain unused during the period of adaptation and further training, as the results of the study demonstrated.

Background. In this article, we present the results of a study on the fathering characteristics of Russian men, in early and middle adulthood, brought up with and without a father. There is a theory that fathering practices are determined both by early childhood experiences, as well as by marital relationships in adulthood, because of the links between co-parenting and fathering. Thus, we hypothesize that the fathering characteristics of men in early and middle adulthood, brought up with and without a father, will be different.

Objective. We studied the characteristics of fathering and marital satisfaction in middle adulthood among Russian men brought up without a father, who suffered from paternal deprivation in childhood.

Design. Ninety married men (48 fathers who experienced paternal deprivation in childhood and 42 men brought up in two-parent families) were assessed on a number of measures.

Results. The statistical analysis of the data, including descriptive statistics, t-test and correlation analysis, let us distinguish between the two groups of fathers. Significant t-test differences between the two groups were found in caregiving identity, breadwinning identity, attitudes towards parenting, and marital satisfaction. Also, men brought up in paternally deprived homes, unlike the men from two-parent families, were more likely to indicate difficulties with father-child relationships and gender role conflict in parenting, and give greater relevance to their female partners’ attitudes and expectations towards their fathering.

Conclusion. The lack of a father’s influence on men in childhood strengthens the influence of marital relationships on fathering, in maturity.

Background. It has been demonstrated that preterm birth negatively affects the neurocognitive and socioemotional development of a child. It is therefore important to identify the factors that can decrease potential risks for atypical development in preterm infants. The social environment which surrounds a child is considered to be one such factor. We hypothesize that parent responsiveness positively influences the development of a preterm child.

Objective. The purpose of this research is to reveal differences in the development of two one-year-old preterm children whose parents have exhibited opposite types of parent responsiveness.

Design. Based on the analysis of video recordings of child-parent interactions, we identified two children whose parents registered opposite patterns of responsiveness. Parent responsiveness was measured based on Parent Respon- siveness Markers Protocol methodology. The Bayley-III was used to assess the children’s cognitive and socioemotional development.

Results. We identified that the preterm child whose parent showed a high level of parental responsiveness had normative levels of neurocognitive development, socioemotional skills and adaptive behavior. The preterm child, whose parent showed a low level of parental responsiveness, scored lower on the Bayley-III.

Conclusion. Preterm birth not only affects infant development, but also has a psychological impact on parents, evoking fear and anxiety for their child. This affects parental behavior and their responsiveness towards their child. This study showed that parent responsiveness has a positive effect on the neurocognitive and socioemotional development of a preterm child. Further research should focus on assessing the role of parent responsiveness in child development using a larger sample.

Background: Cancer incidence and mortality in young Latin American women has increased over the last few decades. In Mexico, breast self-examination (BSE) is recommended from 20 years of age to create awareness of breast cancer and detect body changes. The health belief model (HBM) allows us to identify young women’s beliefs about cancer and BSE, which could help us to design more appropriate strategies to promote BSE in the fight against breast cancer.

Objective: To assess the knowledge, practice, and beliefs about cancer and BSE in female college students; examine the differences between those who practice BSE and those who do not; and determine the most influential variable for performing BSE. 

Design: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used; the Health Belief Model scale for BSE was applied to 949 female college students from a public university.

Results: Major health study field suffered benign breast disease and having a family history of breast cancer was associated with BSE performance; also the dimensions of the health beliefs model such as barriers, benefits, self-efficacy and health motivation were different between women who perform an BSE in. The predicting variables for BSE practice were self-efficacy, the barriers perceived, benign breast disease, and the major subject of  study.

Conclusion: Reports of BSE practice in female students from Latin American countries are similar; however, the predictive variables differ from those found in the general population. Perceived barriers and self-efficacy are factors capable of  modification, and must be addressed by BSE promotion strategies aimed at female college students.

Background. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong pervasive developmental disorder affecting subjects’ emotions, will, and cognition, and inhibiting their social adaptation.

Objective. To define directions and methods for psychological assistance to autistic people that would let them achieve higher self-actualization and independence, and avoid social maladaptation.

Design. The following methods were used: analysis of the life histories and catamneses of autistic individuals; participant observation of their behavior; analysis of materials (text summaries) of psychological consulting with families who have autistic members; analysis of materials from remedial sessions with people with autism and developmental disorders.

Research participants were autistic individuals age 12 years or more at the beginning and up to 38–40 years at the end.

Results. The long-term manifestations of autistic development in emotions, will, and cognition are described. These manifestations affect subjects’ adaptation and independence negatively, even in cases of remarkable progress.

Two important aspects of psychological assistance are: a) mastering of skills; b) improving comprehension of social relationships, one’s own psychological world, and other people’s minds. The author proposes some methods of psychological remedial work and insists that rules for social interaction should not be learned mechanically.

Conclusions. The general principles of psychological assistance to autistic individuals are: (a) encouraging their long-term activity jointly with others; (b) providing a well-organized and thoughtful social environment where the activity takes place. Autistic persons often need special assistance to become successfully engaged in a more active and more complex social environment. The present work may be useful for professionals working with people with special needs.

Background. Despite the global tendency toward multidisciplinary research, there is still an abysm between some areas of human science. For example, in the motor control area, psychology should contribute to a better comprehension of human movement, and vice versa, the motor control in the psychological branch should also be considered more. Comparative studies on individual and personality differences in the representatives of various cultures are less biased if studied with the use of motor control or graphical methods because these methods do not require any linguistic or cultural adaptation.

Objective & Methods. In this study, which aims to observe the individual characteristics of the participants (170 in total) from different cultures (by countries of birth and residence), we used the graphomotor method, the Proprioceptive Diagnostics of Temperament and Character (Tous et al, 2012) that evolved within the traditional Miokinetical Psychodiagnosis of Mira y Lopez (1958). 

Design. Individual cultural differences (participants by origin or residence from Spain, Morocco, East Europe and Latin America) in graphical test performance (fine motor precision) were measured in the proprioceptive sensory condition (without visual guidance) for both hands (dominant and non-dominant) in three movement types (Frontal, Transversal and Sagittal). Sex differences were also observed and discussed. The related psychological meaning of these individual differences are also discussed.

Results. The results of this study are discussed in the article. They included not only the description of the specific test conditions (hand use, movement, and bias types) but also the explanation of the psychological meaning of differences (personality dimensions) compared with the cultural groups or sex subgroups levels. Moreover, the differences between men and women within each cultural subgroup are also analyzed. Better comprehension of cultural differences would help to obtain more qualified therapeutic, educational and judicial help, by reducing of the derived possible negative biases or misinterpretations in human behavior. This can result in such benefits, for example, as better adaptation of immigrants in other cultures.

Conclusion. The majority of significant differences between representatives of various cultural subgroups in this study were obtained in the non-dominant hand meaning that such differences were more at the basis level. Further adaptive behavior to the environmental changes in their lives led to disappearance of such differences, especially in those who were residing in the same country.

Background: The high interest in short scales to measure personality traits has created a need for psychometric studies to validate such scales in different languages and cultures. There has recently been increasing interest in the study of personality in late life.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the Persian version of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) among older Iranians.

Design: In this cross-sectional, psychometric study, 160 individuals older than 60 years were selected usingmulti-stage and convenience sampling methods. Data were collected using the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI) and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO.FFI). The face, content, and convergent validity of the TIPI were examined, and its reliability was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and test-retest reliability.

Results: In general, the Persian version of the TIPI had acceptable psychometric properties for measuring the Big Five personality traits in older adults in terms of test-retest reliability (ICC = .92, p = .000) and convergent validity (r = .411, p ˂ .00). 

Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that the TIPI is a valid and reliable tool for measuring the Big Five personality traits.

Background. Previous studies of depression in social networks examined the public discourse to look more closely at how users talk about their depressive symptoms. One of these studies, published in JMIR Mental Health journal, was devoted to the trending hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike on Twitter. The data were collected from an English-language sample; in turn, no similar studies were conducted on a Russian-speaking audience. The appearance of the #faceofdepression hashtag in Russia allowed for a comparative study.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to analyze the thematic structure of the Russian-language posts under #faceofdepression on the social networks Facebook and VKontakte (VK) in 2017 and to compare the results obtained to the analysis of the English-language posts under #MyDepressionLooksLike. First, we suggested that the themes of the Russian-language posts under the hashtag #faceofdepression on Facebook and VK are similar to the themes of the English-language posts under the hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike on Twitter. Second, there will be a significant difference in the frequency of the themes’ representation in different social networks. Third, the unique characteristic of the public discussion in Russia is a topic about antistigma of depression. 

Design. To test these hypotheses, we exported the data from Facebook and VK (1527 Facebook and 496 VK publications) by keywords and hashtags using the TargetHunter and YouScan analytical programs. We analyzed a group of posts describing the authors' personal experience (159 original posts on VK and 231 original posts on Facebook). In those posts, users mentioned their depression symptoms, the way they combat the disease, and difficulties encountered throughout the course of the disorder.

Results. Through the thematic analysis of the posts, we identified seven topics that fit into the initial categorical grid used to analyze #MyDepressionLooksLike on Twitter by Lachmar, E. M., Wittenborn, A. K., Bogen, K. W., and McCauley, H. L. (2017). We also discovered an eighth topic, which was missing in Lachmar’s study. This topic was called “antistigma” and it proved the Russian-language discourse to be more socially oriented. We also found that Twitter users reported much more often on changes in thinking and perception (25% of all posts) compared to VK (6%) and Facebook users (15%). At the same time, VK users noted changes in their emotional sphere (19%) more often than Twitter users (8%). Facebook users more frequently described ways of coping with depression (22%) than VK (13%) and Twitter users (5%).

Conclusion. We conclude that our hypotheses are generally confirmed.

Objective: The goal of this research was to examine the effect of stigma on employing a job candidate with a known mental illness, such as depression.

Background: Prior research established that negative stigmatizing attitudes towards mental illness affected employment discrimination. We hypothesized that participants would be less likely to hire a person with depression than someone without a mental illness.

Design:. A total of 162 undergraduate students from Glendon College were randomly assigned to one of two conditions where they were asked to read a short scenario listing qualifications and characteristics of a job candidate and answer a series of questions. The two questionnaires were identical except that one mentioned a diagnosis of depression and the other did not. We measured the likelihood that the participant would hire the candidate.

Results: The findings obtained were consistent with prior research and our hypothesis; the participants were significantly less likely to hire the candidate with a diagnosis of depression.

Conclusion: It appears that even in populations of highly educated people, we find instances of stigma towards mental illness. As these findings are not generalizable to the population at large, more research is required using a broader range and real-life situations.

Background. In psychology, analyzing the problem of personality is closely connected with the search for a methodology to describe personality in all its diversity. The dispositional approach, which is based on identifying stable personality traits, has resulted today in the dominance of a structural-functional approach. It has the advantage that it allows comparative analysis and the juxtaposition of specific personality characteristics inherent in the underlying construct, but it also has the limitation that it is inadequate for the study of personality as a dynamic structure, one capable of changing as the world around it changes.

Objective. To analyze and systematize the empirical studies of recent years in the field of personality psychology in order to identify and describe the principal trends in the study of the phenomenology of personality, reflecting distinctive features of human existence in the modern world.

Design. The method of research included a meta-analysis of reports (N = 1,149) from three European conferences on personality: the 17th European Conference on Personality (2014), Lausanne, Switzerland; the 18th European Conference on Personality (2016), Romania; the 19th European Conference on Personality (2018), Zadar, Croatia. We also describe the changeability of personality characteristics in the context of the individual’s life, on the basis of meta-analytical databases compiled by Roberts et al. (2006) and Wrzus et al. (2016).

Results. The results demonstrate the continuing domination of structural methodology in empirical studies of personality, despite the criticism to which it has been subjected. However, the number of studies of various aspects of dynamic personality processes is growing. Research reflecting the phenomenology of everyday life is expanding, as studies of daily human behavior, life events, and life situations are increasing proportionally. Researchers’ attention is being drawn to diverse contexts of life: the environment, culture, relationships. Data collection technologies are changing: Digital devices enable information about personality to be obtained online, tracking all the diversity of personality in different situations, its changeability and dynamism. Metadata indicate the changeability of personality traits that have long been considered stable: extraversion, emotional stability, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness. The dynamics of personality traits are essentially determined by the context of a person’s life and vary depending on changes in that life. The continuity of these changes is processual and does not fit into the structural approach.

Conclusion. Modern personality psychology has contradictory trends. On the one hand, especially in empirical research, the traditional structural-functional paradigm for describing the personality remains influential, while attempts are made to improve it in response to criticism. On the other hand, an increasing number of studies are devoted to the study of real people in the real world, confronting the challenges of a changing world. A growing amount of empirical data describing the dynamic personality, changing in time and space, necessitates theoretical understanding and the search for a methodology relevant to the study of the changing personality.

Background. Researchers have started to demonstrate that verbal cues to deceit can be elicited through specific interview protocols. One that has yielded success is the Model Statement technique, which works as a social comparison and raises interviewees’ expectations about how much information they are required to report. This technique has been developed and tested in the United Kingdom, and is used in the field. A tool used in the field should be thoroughly examined in different settings, including in different cultures.

Objective. We examined the effect of the Model Statement tool on eliciting information and cues to deceit in Russian and South Korean participants.

Design. A total of 160 Russian and South Korean participants were recruited via an advert on the university intranets and advertisement leaflets. The advert explained that the experiment would require participants to tell the truth or lie about a trip away that they may (or may not) have taken within the last year. Truth tellers described a trip they made during the last twelve months, whereas liars made up a story about such a trip. Half of the participants listened to a Model Statement at the beginning of the interview. The dependent variables were “detail”, “complications”, “common knowledge details”, “self-handicapping strategies”, and “ratio of complications”.

Results. The Model Statement elicited more details from both Russian and South Korean participants and strengthened “complications” and “ratio of complications” as cues to deceit in both samples. The effects were the strongest amongst South Korean participants.

Conclusion. The Model Statement technique seems to work across different cultures, but more research is required to determine why it worked better amongst South Korean than Russian participants.

Background. During the last decade, life calling has become an areas of dynamically developing research in psychology, management, and counseling. However, it has not been empirically investigated in Russia, despite Russia’s rich intellectual and spiritual tradition, and abundant research on related constructs, such as personal meaning.

Objective. The aim of the present study is an initial qualitative exploration of the concept of calling in Russian culture.

Design. We employed qualitative document analysis to examine openended responses from 104 college students regarding their definition of calling, and the actions they undertook to discern and implement that calling.

Results. We found that the students saw a calling as something more than a mere job; were intrinsically motivated to find and dedicate themselves to it; associated a calling with the use of their abilities; and at the same time expected it to make them more energized and successful without considerable effort. While some participants felt called to a specific domain, the majority indicated abstract other or self-oriented callings. Regarding the implementation of their calling, the participants fell into two groups: those who did something specific, such as study and practice, and those who did something vague, such as “everything” or “nothing”.

Conclusion. These results are largely in line with similar findings in other cultures. The results can be used in career guidance in educational institutions, as well as in private counseling. Specific recommendations for practice, as well as directions for future research, are explored.

Objective. The aim of this study is to consider the new challenges facing psychological science today, the chief of which are the modern transitive society and network virtual space.

Design. The study consisted of two series of tests. In the first part, 150 students (ages 19-21; 80 female, 70 male) were tested on their structure of social identity and attitudes toward people of both their own and different cultures, with the questionnaires “Structure of social identity)’ “Level of personal anxiety)’ and “Attitude to native and alien cultures.” In the second part, 100 people were divided into two groups, one of persons 18 to 25 years old, and another of persons 30 to 45 years old. They were asked about their attitudes toward the new technological space with the questionnaire “Attitude to new technological space,” which was developed by the author in 2017.

Results. The study showed that transitional space puts people in a difficult life situation, which increases their anxiety and reduces their socialization potential, especially in a multicultural space. The data showed that under these conditions, the family turns out to be the most important group for most people, regardless of their ages or where they live.

Conclusion. A transitive society is determined by its variability, and the uncertainty and multiplicity of social and personal spaces and contexts. This situation raises the status of the family in the structure of sociocultural identity. The experience of working with new technologies is the main determinant of people having a positive attitude toward them.

Background. According to the theory of MindTime, as a consequence of the subjective perception of time and the ability to engage in mental time travel, three patterns of perceptual and cognitive mental activity exist: Past, Present, and Future thinking. How individuals utilize these three thinking perspectives, in combination, influences how they perceive and process information and interact with the world and with others. An English version of the MindTime Profile Inventory (MTPI), which measures Past, Present, and Future thinking, has been developed.

Objective. To develop a Russian version of the MTPI.students.

Design. Utilizing a non-experimental design, a Russian translation of the MTPI was administered online. Two hundred and twenty-nine Russian undergraduate students provided usable data, which was then factor analyzed to produce a viable set of items.

Results. Principal component analysis yielded a set of 38 items (14 Past; 10 Present; 14 Future) that appeared to work with a Russian population. Russian students’ scores were highest on Past thinking (M = 72.75), followed by Present thinking (M = 67.69), and lowest on Future thinking (M = 60.86).

Conclusion. This study was the first step in developing a three-dimensional measure of thinking perspective for use with Russian samples. Because only 38 of the 45 translated items appeared to work well with a Russian sample, future research is needed with both larger sample sizes and working adults. Predictive validity and cross-cultural studies are also recommended.

Background. Homesickness is a common experience among students who live in dormitories. Its symptoms may vary and influence students’ academic performance, social involvement, and ability to adapt to a new environment.

Objective. To investigate homesickness, locus of control, and social support among first-year boarding-school students.

Design. This study was conducted to first-year students of boardingschool and involved two hundred and twenty-six students, ages 11-13. A quantitative research design was implemented.

Results. There was a significant influence of locus of control and social support on homesickness among first-year students of boarding school. Social support contributed more to reducing homesickness.

Conclusion. This study can help expand the understanding of homesickness among first-year students, which may lead to improved social support from peers and develop students’ locus of control.

Background. The social activity of young people is the driving force behind socio-economic and socio-political processes in society. It is due to their social activity that positive changes are taking place in different spheres of life.

Objective. We set out to analyze the preferences and predictors of the directions of young peoples social activity. Design. Our study involved 251 people from the Saratov region, Russia, of median age (M) 20.11, SD = 1.2 (41% male). To measure their basic assumptions, we used the Janoff-Bulmann World Assumptions Scale (WAS); their identity characteristics were measured with the Kuhn and McPartland Twenty Statements Test (TST) “Who am I?” To evaluate their social behavior preferences, we used 11 unique proprietary scales which we developed on the basis of a pilot study with relevant theoretical validity.

Results. Our study found that youth preferences for various forms of social activity can be divided into two main clusters: organizational-social and individual-personal. Our results revealed that individual-personal activity had a more complex structure, with well-expressed intensity, than the organizational-social form of social activity Young people’s assumptions most strongly condition variations in their preferences for educational-developmental, socio-political, recreational-cognitive, and self-developmentrelated spheres of activity. The most influential predictors of social activity in young people are their assumptions regarding their own significance, their ability to manage events, and their luckiness. We established that an individual’s basic beliefs do not influence variations in their preferences for mass cultural, religious, creative, and informal activities in a group. Young people’s sense of identity influences variations in their preferred types of social activity. The most influential predictors of social activity preferences were negative personal, personal, and family-related identities. Preferences for social activity are less influenced by gender, religious, and ethnic identity, as well as by identity based on activity and appearance.

Conclusion. We present some conclusions regarding the strong determination of the first cluster (political, religious and voluntary types of activity) by identity, and the second cluster (ranging from educational to recreational cognitive activity) by assumptions about the world.

Background. Perfectionism is a multidimensional personality trait related to an individuals desire to achieve optimal performance. From this perspective, perfectionism plays an important role in students’ motivation and their interpretation of the contexts for achievement. However, perfectionism which is encouraged by the views of others may result in increased performance levels of undergraduate university students.

Objective. This study sought to identify the level of multidimensional perfectionism and motivational orientation among a group of undergraduate students in Jordan, while also investigating the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and motivational orientation.

Design. To collect the data, questionnaires measuring multidimensional perfectionism and motivational orientation, were administered to a sample of406 male and female undergraduate students at Hashemite University and Al-Hussein Bin Talal University during the academic year 2016/2017.

Results. It was shown that the level of multidimensional perfectionism and motivational orientation was moderate, with no significant differences between the dimensions of multidimensional perfectionism and motivational orientation attributable to gender. Moreover, the results showed a positive and statistically significant relationship between the multidimensional perfectionism and motivational orientation subscales.

Conclusion. Our study provides valuable insight into perfectionist trends and their relationship to motivational orientation in Arab countries. It contributes to the literature by demonstrating that perfectionism contributes to performance and achievement through its relationship to motivational orientation.

Background. Internet psychology has changed its research focus from describing the Internet as a separate space, with continuous interaction between offline and online communication, to exploring socialization in the world of mixed online/offline reality. This paper deals with the psychological and user activity factors of communication on the Internet in comparison with offline communication.

Objective. To differentiate the role of user activity, difficulties with regulating and expressing aggression, empathy and tolerance in compliance with online communication rules.

Design. The study included 1,029 adolescents aged 14-17, 525 adolescents aged 12-13, 736 young adults aged 17-30, and 1,105 parents of adolescents aged 12-17. Participants assessed how likely they are to follow communication rules online and offline, and reported their user activity level; they filled out the Chen Internet Addiction Scale, Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, Davis Multidimensional Empathy Questionnaire, and Tolerance Index.

Results. It was shown that adolescents in general are a “risk group” for noncompliance with communication rules (“Internet etiquette”), but this is due to their general propensity not to follow any rules. Both in adults and in adolescents, failure to follow online communication rules is related to difficulties with aggression regulation, tolerance, empathy, and a low level of propensity for Internet addiction.

Conclusion. A difference between online and offline communication is related not to difficulties with regulation of aggression (anger and hostility), but to a lack of empathy and tolerance, and signs of Internet addiction.

Background. The study of personality, particularly the investigation of individual personality, remains a thorny issue in psychological science. Many personality studies utilize aggregated data to make comparative statements about groups of persons. Though important for group comparisons, this body of research neglects a careful examination of individual personality.

Objective. To enhance psychologists’ understanding of individual personality process and variation.

Results and conclusion. This theoretical article suggests two strategies to augment the exploration of individual personality. First, our understanding of individual personality will be enhanced if personality psychologists broaden their research activities to include strategies that lead to a better understanding of individuals rather than groups. These efforts include both qualitative approaches and person-specific quantitative analyses that target individual process and variation. Second, personality psychologists should actively seek greater cultural sensitivity via interdisciplinary collaborations. In particular, the conceptual resources of comparative philosophy and the study of cultural ontological traditions will enhance the ability of personality psychologists to scientifically track the process and variation of individual personality. To this end, the article examines the structural ontology of the West and contrasts it with the process (event based) ontology of the East, showing how these ontological traditions continue to shape the discourse of personality psychology. The article also considers the oneness hypothesis, the world view that all persons (and personalities), creatures, and things are relationally bound together, a viewpoint distinct from the Western value of autonomy and self-sufficiency. As a conceptual resource, the oneness hypothesis derives from a process ontology and has important implications for understanding individual personalities and their place in the social world.

Background. Personality psychology in academia reached its peak in Western psychology in the 1960s and 1970s. Its history usually starts with Freud and ends up with the Big Five. Yet its roots go much deeper, and can be traced back to the early use of the term “psychology” primarily among Protestant scholastics in the late sixteenth century. This was related to the Christian Reformation, which highlighted the sacrament of penance and emphasized self-examination of the true believer. The background for this study is to bring in a historical perspective on personality. Max Weber, for example, demonstrated that this led to a morality of faithfulness to one’s deeds. This duty, he says, explains the prosperity of the Protestants in Europe and the US in the seventeenth century. Michel Foucault showed in the first volume of The History of Sexuality how the sacrament of penance led to a certain interest in human nature and sexuality. Human nature was at the core of the very early use of psychology.

Objective. The objective of this paper is to focus on how these aspects were treated in early psychology by following a design that examines the person, human nature, individual differences, and intellectual abilities.

Results. One of the results is that there is a direct connection between the use of the term “personality” in psychology, and the use of the term “psychology” from the very beginning based on the following findings: (a) “Psychology” appears in the wake of the interest in the individual, and (b) “Personality” appears as a specified term with the aim of achieving a scientific understanding of individuality.

Conclusion. Thus, one conclusion is that we have definitely not solved the dilemma that Gordon Allport pointed to: that traditional scientific ideals deal with general laws, whereas personality psychology deals with individuality. Another important conclusion is that this dilemma and conflict are not possible to solve within psychology.