2023

* We publish here the report by N.F. Talyzina to a Conference on Psychology in 1955 and released two years later in the proceedings of that conference (N.F. Talyzina [1957]. In B.G. Anan′yeva et al. [Eds.], Materialy soveshchaniia po psikhologii. July 1–6, 1955. Moscow: Publishing House of the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences of the RSFSR.) This report is of particular interest, since it describes some of the first formative experiments based on the theory of planned stage-by-stage formation of mental actions; the text does not yet discuss the formation of actions, but only the application of the attributes of concepts to solving problems. The text presents the results of a study of the formation of elementary geometric concepts according to the theory of planned stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts. Twenty-two subjects from grades 6–9 formed geometric concepts such as “line,” “angle,” “angle bisector,” “perpendicular,” “adjacent angles,” and “supplementary angles.” These attributes were formed in the process of their application to solving different types of problems. Observational and then formative (training) experiments were performed individually. The article contains excerpts from the subjects’ protocols as they solved the problems. It was shown that stage-by-stage development (identifying attributes from a definition, saying them aloud, and then applying them to solving problems) leads to mastery not only of the geometric concepts themselves, but also of the method of action with definitions in general, allowing students to transfer the method they have learned to concepts from another field of knowledge.

Background. This article is dedicated to the 100-year anniversary of the birth of N.F. Talyzina and contains an assessment of the prospects for developing ways to master a scientific concept, in theories of learning according to the activity approach. The assessment takes into account achievements following the approach of L.S. Vygotsky, the “conceptual changes” approach, and theories of the psychology of insightful problem solving.

Objective. To demonstrate the necessity and productivity of the activity approach to scientific concepts that students learn as forms of constructive criticism.

Method. A comparative analysis of the theories of the activity approach to learning, the approach of L.S. Vygotsky, the “conceptual changes” approach, and theories of the psychology of insightful problem solving, from the standpoint of identifying the most effective way of mastering scientific concepts.

Results. The main substantiated thesis of the article is that mastery of a scientific concept is most effective when it is presented as a form of constructive criticism of another concept.

Conclusion. Taking into account the conceptual forms of constructive criticism allows us to outline the actual paths of development of the activity approach to learning. These forms were developed, on the one hand, through the methodology of science, and on the other, in a less developed way, through the psychology of insightful problem solving, with reliance on certain forms of “critical” action. In particular, when using a special kind of obstacle to teach a task, it is proposed to use the analysis of “full insight” to reveal a special type of reason for an erroneous action.

Background. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) refer to a semantic field of negative childhood events that, in conjunction with insufficient personal, family, or contextual coping resources, have the potential of becoming traumatic.

Objective. To assess the prevalence of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and their association with sociodemographic variables and physical and mental illnesses in a Mexican sample.

  Design. A cross-sectional design was used. The sample included 917 Mexican adults who responded to the Adverse Childhood Experiences International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ). Most of the participants were female (79.3%) with an average age of 37 years, a monthly income between 500 and 2,500 USD (59.2%), had completed university education (45.6%) and were married or in a common-law marriage (53.1%). Data was collected through Google Forms, and the link to the form was shared through electronic social networks.

  Results. A total of 48.3% of the participants presented seven to nine types of ACEs. Among their responses, the most prevalent categories were emotional neglect (95.1%), family violence (83.3%), and emotional abuse (78.6%). A significant association was found between the number of ACEs and the mental illness diagnosis (x²(20) = 15.16; p < .001). Women were found to report more experiences of sexual abuse (z = -6.62, p < .001), whereas men reported more experiences of community violence (z = -4.27, p < .001) and collective violence (z = -3.94, p < .001).

  Conclusions. The prevalence of ACEs in the Mexican population is high. However, men and women reported differences in certain types of ACEs. It was found that people with a diagnosis and family history of mental illnesses presented a higher number of ACE categories.

Background. COVID-19 has adversely affected economies and individuals globally. To this day, countries are facing the economic effects of the pandemic directly, and individuals’ mental health is in danger as they are still indirectly dealing with the pandemic. It is imperative to understand how pandemic-related anxiety affected individuals’ mental health so that all stakeholders can take essential remedial steps.

Objective. The current research aimed to investigate the relationship between Perceived Infectability, Coronavirus Anxiety, and Psychological Well-being. It also sought to explore the role of coronavirus anxiety in mediating between perceived infectability and psychological well-being.

Design. A cross-sectional correlational study design and non-probability convenience sampling technique were used to collect the data. The data were collected from 321 Pakistani adults, who filled out Google forms on the Perceived Infectability subscale of the Perceived Vulnerability to Disease Scale; the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale; and the Psychological Well-being Scale.

Results. Correlation analysis indicated that both perceived infectability and coronavirus anxiety were negatively related to psychological well-being. However, a significant positive relationship was observed between perceived infectability and coronavirus anxiety. Our findings further proved the mediating role of coronavirus anxiety between perceived infectability and the psychological well-being of adults.

Conclusion. Understanding perceived infectability and its association with COVID-19 anxiety and psychological well-being is pertinent in this post-pandemic period in both developing and developed nations. The post-pandemic world is still being jolted with the aftereffects of the pandemic. An in-depth understanding of how individuals coped with the pandemic, might help in designing better intervention and community health programs after the pandemic, and it could also help in preparing for the crises attending future pandemics (if any). 

Background. Today’s common typologies and categories of children’s toys are mainly decided by the manufacturers and retailers of children's products. Such categorizations are not based on a theoretical understanding of child development and therefore cannot provide information about the opportunities that toys provide for the young.

Objective. This study proposed three criteria for categorizing toys based on the cultural-historical approach: their degree of realism; their degree of anthropomorphism; and their degree of detail. These criteria were chosen as a result of an analysis of theoretical works carried out in the framework of cultural-historical approach.

Design. The proposed criteria were tested through an experiment measuring children's toy preferences. The participants were 129 children of ages 3-4 years. Experimental data confirmed that most children do prefer realistic and detailed toys rather than those with fewer of these properties. The contribution of socio-demographic factors and the children’s individual developmental indicators to their toy preference was also analyzed.

Results. The study revealed that among various socio-demographic factors, only the child’s gender and the number of siblings in the family acted as significant predictors for the toy preferences. None of child's developmental characteristics (non-verbal intelligence, executive functions, and emotional understanding) were found to be significant predictors of preference for particular toys.

Conclusions. The assumption that toys can be assessed in terms of their realism and degree of detail found empirical support. The results of this study may be useful in designing further research and in the practical issue of toy selection for children age 3-4 years.

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic is a multifaceted stressor. Its impact suggests long-term psychological effects. Self-determination promotes flexibility of goals and actions and helps to overcome the difficulties caused by stress.

Objective. To analyze coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic presented in Russian scientific studies (RQ1), and their relationship with self-determination (RQ2).

Design. Relevant studies (2020–2022) were selected from the Russian citation index (RSCI) database. Strict selection criteria were used. Twenty-four articles were selected for the final review. For dynamic analysis, four stages of the pandemic were identified.

Results. Prevailing coping strategies have changed over time. At the beginning of the pandemic, respondents used familiar coping mechanisms. Six months later, active coping strategies were more often used, but deprivation and avoidance strategies increased. A year later, there was an increase in denial and avoidance strategies. Using non-constructive coping strategies may indicate that, due to the long course of the pandemic, meeting basic psychological needs became increasingly frustrated, leading to helplessness, alienation, and lack of control. Later dynamics reflect the growth of effective coping strategies and confirm that when basic needs are blocked for a long time, people seek alternative ways to satisfy them.

Conclusion. The dynamics of coping strategies during the pandemic reflected their close relationship with basic psychological needs, as described in the theory of self-determination. The results confirmed the importance of self-determination as a dispositional variable in predicting coping mechanisms.

Background. The assertion of sex differences in verbal abilities is a highly controversial subject. Some studies have demonstrated a female advantage; other studies have found higher rates in males. The results depended on the type of verbal ability that was studied, the cultural context, and the ages of the subjects. There are two types of theories that have been developed to explain the existence of sex differences in cognitive abilities. Social theories explain the differences as caused by social determinants. Biological theories consider biological factors such as prenatal development conditions and hormone levels, among others, as the cause of sex differences.

Objective. To investigate sex differences in verbal abilities in children of different ages.

Design. Two different editions of Wechsler tests were used. For children age 2.5 to 5 years, the Wechsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-IV) was used. For children age 6 and older, we administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V). The total sample included 313 children.

Results. The study found significant sex differences in performance on the Verbal Comprehension Scale in children of different ages. At the age of 2 to 4 years, the girls performed better than the boys. In the group of boys, there was a significant increase in verbal abilities at the age of 8–9 years. By the age of 10–11 years, boys began outperforming girls on the Verbal Comprehension Index. Scores on the Verbal Comprehension and Visual Spatial subtests for the boy sample showed stronger correlations than in the girl sample in all age groups.

Conclusion. Sex differences in verbal abilities varied depending on the age of the children. The boys showed a stronger integration of their verbal abilities into the structure of their intelligence than the girls.

Background. The Patient Health Questionnaire-15 (PHQ-15) is one of the most frequently used instruments to measure medically unexplained symptoms in the general population as well as in groups of patients with mental and physical health problems.

Objective. This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the PHQ-15 in assessing a Russian community sample.

Design. A total of 1153 Russian adults age 18 or older participated in this cross-sectional study. They completed the Russian versions of the PHQ-15 and Symptom Check List-90-Revised, SCL-90-R (SCL-90-R). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the factor structure of the Russian PHQ-15, and multi-group confirmatory factor analyses were used to test measurement invariance across sex and age. Cronbach’s alpha coefficients and Pearson’s correlation coefficients were used to evaluate the internal reliability and convergent validity of the Russian PHQ-15.

Results. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a three-factor solution highlighting pain-fatigue, gastrointestinal, and cardiopulmonary symptoms. Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed a bifactor structure for the Russian PHQ-15 merging general and specific somatic symptoms. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed partial invariance across sex and age. The Russian PHQ-15 demonstrated acceptable Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from 0.72 to 0.75 for specific factors and a good Cronbach’s alpha for the total score (α = 0.85), proving the questionnaire’s internal reliability. Finally, positive correlations between the PHQ-15 and SCL-90-R dimensions, and positive intercorrelations between PHQ-15 specific factors, suggested convergent validity.

Conclusion. The Russian PHQ-15 is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing medically unexplained symptoms in the general population. This instrument can be used in diagnostic and counseling settings.

Background. Perceived discrimination is an acculturative stressor that negatively predicts psychological and socio-cultural adaptation, partially mediated by the individual’s acculturation attitudes. However, despite being under similar conditions of high perceived discrimination, some African immigrants in Russia appear to adapt more successfully than others. Why the individual differences? Neuroticism is a trait that intensifies the experience of negative emotions and sensitivity to stress. Perhaps it amplifies the reaction to acculturative stressors (e.g., perceived discrimination) in terms of acculturation attitudes, with significant implications on adaptation.

Objective. This study sought to determine whether the personality trait of neuroticism influences how African immigrants in Russia react to perceived discrimination in terms of their acculturation attitudes and how this may relate to adaptation.

Design. A moderated mediation analysis was carried out, investigating neuroticism as a moderator in the relationship between perceived discrimination, acculturation attitudes, and adaptation of African immigrants in Russia (N=157).

Results. Perceived discrimination was found to be strongly associated with poor psychological and sociocultural adaptation, which was partially mediated by the integration attitude; neuroticism strengthened this indirect negative association.

Conclusion. When highly neurotic African immigrants perceived elevated levels of discrimination, they were more averse to adopting a positive attitude toward integration, and as a result, were more maladapted. This result suggests that the differences in the levels of adaptation among African immigrants in Russia under similar conditions of high perceived discrimination may be partially due to their levels of neuroticism. 

Background. The development of environmental consciousness is a necessary part of the full development of society. The pandemic caused by COVID-19 has increased attention to the problems of man's relationship with nature, green behavior of both the consumer and the producer. Attitudes towards a green economy are especially important to study in countries rich in natural resources, as there are more opportunities to overcome the contradictions between economic growth and green innovation.

Objective. The purpose of this study was to identify the determinants of Russian attitudes toward a green economy during the COVID-19 pandemic. The main hypothesis was that demographic factors determine attitudes toward a green economy in different ways, including the willingness to take actions in support of it, and acknowledgement of the connection of the need for green transformations with the pandemic.

Design. Subjects were given the questionnaire "Green Economy" which contains 19 statements with which they needed to express their degree of agreement on a 5-point Likert scale. Potential determinants of their attitudes toward a green economy were collected using an additional questionnaire, which included indicators of gender, age, family and professional status, religiosity, income level, education level, and place of residence (locality). The study involved 874 respondents from the Russian Federation (62.4% female; 37.6% male; the average age was 37.34 years).

Results. The results of a regression analysis showed that women, people with increased religiosity (but not too religious), younger people, and students and employees of public organizations (as opposed to employees of state and commercial organizations), as well as people from small towns or rural areas,were more positive about the idea of transition to a green economy.

Conclusion.The belief that the pandemic situation has reinforced the need for a transition to a green economy was influenced by gender, degree of religiosity, and place of residence. Women, to a greater extent than men, as well as people who were more religious and lived in small towns and rural areas, were more acutely aware of the impact of the pandemic on the actualization of environmental problems.

Background. System justification theory asserts that people’s motivation to defend, justify, and maintain the status quo depends on their socio-economic status. At the same time practically nothing is known about the mediators for the relationship between a person’s income and his adherence to system justification.

Objective. The aim of this study was to clarify the role of income in motivating an individual to justify the system, taking into account as potential mediators of this relationship his sense of control over life and level of life satisfaction.

Design. In an online study (N = 410), a double sequential mediation model was tested, with an individual’s income as an independent variable, his/her system justification as a dependent variable, and his/her perceived control over life and level of life satisfaction as mediators. The impact of education was controlled by inserting it into the model as a covariate.

Results. The results demonstrated that people with low incomes justify the system more than people with high incomes do. At the same time, there was a positive indirect effect of income on system justification, indicating that, compared to people with low incomes, those with high incomes had a more pronounced sense of control over their lives, which contributed to an increase in their level of life satisfaction, and was positively associated with justification of the status quo.

Conclusion. The results are discussed in terms of differences in the palliative function of system justification for individuals of different socio-economic status.

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a world health crisis, but also an ordeal for people’s mental health and psychological well-being. The period of the COVID-19 lockdown has changed everyday life and increased anxiety, fears, and stress from habitual activities such as meetings, shopping, and the use of public transport. As the worry and nervousness increase, they threaten the cognitive (Life-satisfaction) and emotional (Happiness) components of well-being. Emotional regulation strategies are a mechanism to cope with the threat.

Objective. This study assessed the impact of anxiety, perceived stress from COVID-19, and emotional regulation strategies on well-being during the first weeks of the lockdown in Russia.

Design. Questionnaire-based surveys were conducted online from March 31 to April 30, 2020. A total of 589 participants (18 to 73 years of age) were recruited. The Subjective Happiness Scale, Satisfaction with Life Scale, Zung's Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and Perceived Source of Stress from COVID-19 scales were used.

Results. Among the various sources of stress, only that from restrictions on everyday life impacted well-being. High anxiety, but not perceived stress, decreased the feelings of Happiness and Life-satisfaction. Additionally, otional regulation strategies played different roles in their impact on well-being: Cognitive reappraisal lowered negative emotions, but emotional suppression increased dissatisfaction with life.

Conclusion. These findings suggest that people’s effective and relevant regulation of their emotions during public health emergencies and ability to avoid losses caused by crisis events, have become urgent needs, requiring the development of psychological interventions to support well-being.

Background. Effective prevention of psychological trauma by fear of COVID-19 requires the study of the relationships between the psychological and contextual factors that can influence the level of this fear. The social axioms, individual values, and government strategies for managing the pandemic have not yet been studied as a system of psychological and contextual factors contributing to COVID-19 fear.

Objective. The aim of this study was to assess the level of COVID-19 fear and the characteristics of the relationships between the social axioms, individual values, and fear of COVID-19 among university students from countries with different government strategies for managing the pandemic.

Design. University students from countries with different government strategies for managing the pandemic (208 Belarusians, 200 Kazakhstanis, and 250 Russians ages 18 to 25) participated in an anonymous online survey. The respondents filled in questionnaires that assessed their manifestations of COVID-19 fear (COVID-19 Fear Scale: FCV-19S) as the dependent variable; the “Social Axiom Questionnaire” (QSA-31) and the “Portrait Value Questionnaire” (ESS-21) measured the social axioms and individual values as the independent variables.

Results. Fear of COVID-19 reached a higher level among the students from the countries with the weakest (Belarus) and the strongest (Kazakhstan) restrictive measures during the pandemic. Dysfunctional fear of COVID-19 was manifest among those Belarusian students who attached the greatest importance to self-enhancement values and the fate control axiom, and the least importance to the social complexity axiom, as well as among those Russian students for whom the religiosity social axiom was significant and the social complexity axiom was not. For Kazakhstani students, social axioms and values were not predictors of dysfunctional fear of COVID-19.

Conclusion. The greatest contribution of social axioms and individual values to the experience of COVID-19 fear among the students was observed under conditions where the actions of the authorities were incompatible with the existing pandemic risks (in Belarus), as well as under conditions where a variable assessment of threat level was possible (in Russia).

Background. The importance of biliteracy in bilingual children’s development has been widely investigated and discussed for the last several decades, suggesting beneficial effects of writing and reading in two languages for bilingual children as well as for adult second language learners.

Objective. To analyze research on the link between bilingualism and literacy development in two or more languages and the factors that may influence a successful or problematic biliteracy acquisition. RQ (1): What is the relationship between bilingualism and literacy of bilingual children? RQ (2): What strategies are used to develop biliteracy?

Design. The review analyzes 50 studies of literacy development in bilingual children. The selected articles have been separated based on their methodology: 25 articles gave a critical analysis of more than 1,100 studies on the topic, strengthening the theoretical basis of existing research, and 25 other articles were empirical research articles demonstrating practical evidence for the former.

Results. Our analysis revealed that literacy in bilinguals, or biliteracy, can be seen as a necessary condition for fluent development of bilingualism, though it is not a necessary condition (which is explained by the difference between structures of specific languages and writing systems, instruction in literacy, and cognitive baggage invoked by the task used to measure the skill) (Bialystok, 2002). Research suggests that bilingualism impacts children's ultimate acquisition of literacy via the beneficial effects of bilingualism overall: advanced biliteracy boosts the development of phonological and phonemic awareness and metacognitive abilities. Thus, biliteracy can be considered as an advantage in terms of maintaining bilingual acquisition in general and developing writing skills in particular.

Conclusion. There is a lack of studies on the development of writing skills in different educational contexts, across countries and cultures, which must be addressed and complemented by new empirical research. Research will enable policymakers to improve educational programs in accordance with the needs of bilingual children, who are the majority in the current global population.

Background. Emotion Regulation (ER) involves any explicit or implicit process that may alter the emotion felt, its duration and expression, and is a transdiagnostic factor of vulnerability involved in the etiology and maintenance of different emotional disorders. The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) assesses nine cognitive strategies involved in ER and is a valuable tool. Its popularity and wide use led to the development of two abbreviated versions: a version with 18 items (two items per factor) and a 27-item version (three items per factor).

Objective. To analyze the psychometric properties of both versions in the Argentinean population.

Design. The research design was instrumental. The factor structure of the CERQ-18 and CERQ-27 as well as the reliability of the scores and the construct of each dimension were evaluated. In addition, we gathered validity evidence for its relationship with other variables by associating the CERQ scores with Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) scores.

Results. The CERQ-18 presented more consistent evidence regarding its internal structure (adequate fit indices and factor loadings of moderate magnitude) and reliability. Given that the association of the two versions with the DERS is similar, we recommend that the 18-item version be used.

Conclusion. The CERQ-18 has quite similar psychometric properties to the CERQ-27 in the general population of Argentina and the findings contribute to an understanding of its internal structure.