2018

Background. Psychological tension in the family, along with stress and mental and physical illness, are linked to the reproductive health of parents, as well as to the outcomes of infertility treatments and pregnancy overall. 

Objective. To compare stress and negative affect (depression, irritability, and anxiety) in families with induced pregnancies (in-vitro fertilization, IFV) vs. natural pregnancies. The relationship between negative affect and stress in pregnant women was explored in both groups. Finally, the study investigated links between negative affect and partner relationships.

Design. The sample included 308 women and 278 men from couples with natural conception, and 131 women and 102 men from couples with an IVF pregnancy. 

Results. Relatively low levels of negative affective states and stress were found in families with both natural and induced pregnancies. Moderate correlations were found between women’s negative affect and their stress level in both groups. Significant correlations were found in both groups between negative psychological states of the spouses, as well as between negative psychological states and warmth/hostility in marital relations.

Conclusion. The results suggest that psychological states, stress levels, and links between psychological states and quality of family relations are similar in families with IVF and those with natural pregnancies. Further longitudinal research is needed to explore the direction of causal links between the psychological states of the spouses, and between their psychological states and the quality of family relations.

Background. The need for psychological and pedagogical support for families in the upbringing of hearing-impaired children makes it imperative to develop innovative methods and an effective model of interaction between the family and a special needs educational institution, to improve parental competence. 

Objective. To study the psychological content of parental competence (its cognitive, value-motivational; emotional and behavioral components) and to evaluate parental competence through psychological and pedagogical support for families in the upbringing of hearing-impaired children. 

Design. Eighty-seven families with hearing-impaired children from a special needs educational institution in Kursk, Russian Federation, participated in the experimental study. e researchers took measurements at two time points, baseline and followup. At baseline, we made a diagnostic assessment of the psychological content of parental competence. At followup, we evaluated the development of pa- rental competence resulting from the psychological and pedagogical support for these families. 

Results. The cognitive component was characterized by predominant unanimity between the parents in the upbringing of hearing-impaired children, and a partnership relationship in communicating with them. 

The emotional component was represented by the absence of difficulties in understanding the causes of the children’s emotional state and an orientation towards the child’s emotional state during interactions or physical contact. 

Terminal values (such as health, happy family life) and instrumental values (such as responsibility, honesty) were predominant in the value-motivational component. 

The behavioral component displayed a predominance of the authoritative style in upbringing, whereby parents realized their important role in the development of a child’s personality and recognized the right of children to self-development. At the same time, the authoritarian style was still significant. 

Conclusion. A model for psychological and pedagogical support of families in the upbringing of hearing-impaired children was developed, tested, and found to be effective. 

Background. Gender differences exist in almost every aspect of our lives. Individuals have an array of different social expectations with regard to behaviors, communication, appearance, attitudes, and social roles, but these expectations tend to be based on whether the individual is male or female. Currently, many social studies have been done with the help of virtual reality technologies. They have been effectively applied to the study of many social phenomena such as nonverbal communication, social skills training, social anxiety rehabilitation, etc. Recently considerable attention has been paid to issue of gender differences during social interaction with the virtual partners, avatars. However, the question of gender differencesduring interactions with avatars of diverse ethnic appearances has seldom been studied. 

Objective. The goal of this study was to investigate the gender peculiarities of interaction with avatars of different ethnic appearances. We used the CAVE virtual reality system to study gender differences in interpersonal distances which were maintained with avatars. 

Design. We designed four three-dimensional virtual scenes with avatars of four different ethnic appearances. They were avatars of Slavic, Asian, North Caucasian, and African appearance. All the avatars were male. e participants (who all identified as Russians) were immersed in virtual environments with the help of the CAVE virtual reality system. Their task was to approach the avatar, present herself/himself in any way they wanted, and give instructions for the work. During the task the interpersonal distances between the participants and the avatars were measured. After leaving the CAVE, the participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire assessing the Presence effect. 

Results. The results showed gender differences in how much interpersonal distance was maintained: women preferred to keep shorter interpersonal distances with their virtual partners than men did. Moreover, the results showed the impact of ethnic appearance on interpersonal distances. Women approached the avatars of their own ethnic group more closely and kept further away from the avatars of other ethnic groups. Unlike the women, the men stayed the same distance away from the avatars of different ethnic groups. Both gender groups kept equally far away from the avatar of African appearance. Gender differences were also revealed in the participants’ estimates of the Presence effect. 

Background. Personality is not simply an end product, but rather, it is a process. Therefore, empirical work on personal meaning-building should examine the genesis of meaning and provide a content-based description of personality in terms of personality traits. Such a description suggests a systemic view of personality, where the meaning-based approach is supplemented with the definition of personality traits. The value and meaning potential of personality encompasses three dimensions: worldview, behavior, and cognition. 

Objective. The aim of this study is to identify the properties of personality, reflecting the features of polar strategies of meaning formation in acmeological terms by age, gender, and professional characteristics. 

Design. The present study considers the influence of various acmeological factors on meaning-building and concentrates on its two polar strategies: adaptive and developing strategies. We developed nine bipolar scales of personal traits with sublevels by applying the semantic differential technique. In total, there were 145 participants in the study. Participants were grouped according to three criteria: age, gender, and profession. 

Results. The obtained indices of meaning-building strategies did not coincide in all the differentiated groups, which clearly speaks in favor of acmeological dynamics of the respondents’ personal profiles. We stratified the sample according to the mean score of the basic marker of “life meaningfulness,” which enabled us to establish differences in characteristics of actual polar strategies of meaning-building. e respondents who did not fall into either of the two groups are “between the poles.” They often have an under- developed meaning-building strategy as a result of poorly formed ways of organization and actualization of personal meanings or the presence of a transitional form of situational conceptual initiations. 

Conclusion. The personal profiles that were identified represent multifactor models of the personal value and meaning dimensions, which can predict actual meaning-building strategies using semantic differential scales and indicators (“life meaningfulness” from the Purpose-in-Life test) and help researchers to reduce the number of techniques employed in their studies.

Background. Exams such as the SAT, ACT, and GCSE are used to give an account of educational outcomes and provide a unified criterion for university admission. The Unified State Exam (USE) aims to fulfill these functions in Russia. All Russian students take two compulsory USE exams, mathematics and Russian, at the end of their school education. 

Objective. Variability in the mathematics and Russian USE scores is vast, both across and within schools. Our study investigated potential sources of this variability. 

Design. The sample included 196 students from regular schools (non-selected students) and 306 students from schools with advanced mathematical curriculum (selected students). The mathematical ability (numerical representation, mathematical fluency), intelligence, basic cognitive functions (working memory, reaction time), and mathematical self-efficacy of the students were assessed. We applied structural equation modeling to estimate the proportion of variability in the mathematics and Russian USE scores explained by cognitive predictors and mathematical self-efficacy. 

Results. In the whole sample, cognitive predictors and mathematical self-efficacy explained 54% of the variation in the mathematics USE scores and 30% of the variation in the Russian USE scores. These effects diminished after the data were analyzed in two groups separately, suggesting that the associations between predictors and exam scores were to a large extent accounted for by group differences (students from regular and specialized schools). 

Conclusion. The students from the schools with an advanced mathematical curriculum exhibited better cognitive performance, appraised their mathematical abilities higher, and achieved higher mathematics and Russian USE scores, compared to the students from regular schools. Within the groups, cognitive and non-cognitive predictors explained a small part of the variation of the mathematics and Russian USE scores. 

 Background. While various screening systems are used worldwide for early detection of developmental delay (DD), Russia still does not have such a screening system in place, even though a good prognosis for the cognitive development of a child with DD depend strongly on the time of the diagnosis. 

Objective. The objective of this study was to create a system to rapidly monitor the mental development of four- to five-year-old Russian children, a system that allows for the use of modern information technologies to obtain reliable results. 

Design. This study was carried out with a sample of 1,232 children. For data collection, the multifactor study of mental development tool was used as a part of a so ware complex for longitudinal research. This tool included a much more extensive set of tasks than in traditional tests of abilities, allowing for a wider variation of the factor structure. For the 4-year-olds, 236 tasks were used and 349 for the 5-year-olds. Factor and discriminant analysis were carried out to construct scales for each age group (6–7 points in each), which most accurately predict the diagnosis (Norm/DD). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to verify the prediction model. 

Results. Two scales were elaborated, which coincided with the type of variables combined in each of them regardless of age (for 4-years — simpler and for 5-years — more complex): logical reasoning, motor skills, and general awareness (listed in descending order of contribution to the prediction). SEM confirmed that the selected scales are indicators of the general ability factor, which is the main predictor of the diagnosis. 

Conclusions. Two short scales for the rapid diagnosis of DD in preschool children were constructed, allowing the use of computer technology to timely identify the risk group among 4- and 5-year-olds with high sensitivity and specificity of the forecast (not lower than 95%). 

Background. Behavioral genetic findings suggest that complex traits, such as mathematical ability, general cognitive ability (intelligence; g), and spatial ability, are influenced by many common genetic variants of very small effects that operate across the ability continuum. Common genetic variants may also be responsible for cognitive deficits associated with rare genetic syndromes, in which whole genomic regions may be affected. To date, relatively few common genetic variants involved in cognitive traits have been identified, and these only explain a small proportion of variance in these traits. 

Objective. The aim of the study was to find associations between mathematics-related traits and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within chromosomal regions involved in Williams and Prader-Willi disorders. Both disorders are characterized by patterns of weaknesses and strengths in cognitive abilities. Two types of analyses were performed (SNP-based and gene-based), using genotypic and phenotypic data available for 3000 participants from the UK. 

Results. SNP-based tests indicated that none of the SNPs passed the demanding multiple testing correction level for any of the phenotypes. Gene-based analysis suggested that 2 pseudo-genes (i.e., GOLGA8I and WHAMMP3) were significantly associated with intelligence, and 1 gene (i.e., TUBGCP5) was significantly associated with mathematics at 16 years of age. 

Conclusion. The results are consistent with other findings demonstrating that cognitive traits are influenced by many common genetic variants with very small effects. The results also suggest that a small number of these variants may be located in the chromosomal regions affected in Prader-Willi and Williams syndrome regions. 

Background. Academic success in a higher education institution requires the ability to process large amounts of information in a relatively short period of time, including having proficiency at a high level of basic knowledge, and an ability to cope with stress. Continual study overload, a competitive environment, and ethical dilemmas (e.g. “How should I deal with human suffering?”, “How should I convey the diagnosis?”, “How should I tell someone that palliative treatment is the only option?”, “What if I make a mistake?”) can all result in anxiety and depression. Research has shown that students who show signs of anxiety and depression may have maladaptive cognitive strategies for processing their emotional experiences. In the medical community, the rules concerning one’s own emotions are, on one hand, determined by specific ethical standards (e.g., the idea that physicians should not show their emotions), and on the other, by the stressful situation itself, which requires taking responsibility for another person’s life. The additional stress point is the need for constant study, which requires a pro-active attitude and learning more and more skills. A significant number of physicians tend to ignore their own emotional experiences, or suppress them. The present study deals with indications of anxiety and depression on the basis of such emotional schemas, which we suggest play the key role in the development of emotional maladaptation in medical students. 

Objective. In this study we observe signs of anxiety and depression in medical students and their dependence upon the intensity of dysfunctional emotional schemas. 

Design. The number of participants was 400, comprised of students from general medicine (n = 300) and dentistry (n = 100) at the Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry. 

Methods. We took from the Symptom Check List-90-Revised (Russian version, N.V. Tarabrina N.V.) the subscales related to affective and anxiety disorders: anxiety, depression, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsiveness, somatization, and phobic anxiety. We also used 28 items from the Leahy Emotional Schema Scale II (the Russian version, adapted by the authors and Y.A. Kochetkov). 

Results. The medical students fell into two groups: those with low and those with high intensity of the dysfunctional schemas. The groups were distinguished by which of Leahy’s basic emotional regulation strategies, either normalizing or pathologizing, they used. The pathologizing students followed strict, maladaptive rules concerning their emotional experiences. Students with intense dysfunctional schemas also demonstrated signs of anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsiveness, and somatization. The students who saw their emotions as normal demonstrated lower levels of dysfunctional emotional schemas. As stated in Leahy’s emotional schemas theory, such students tend to see their emotions as a normal, important, and meaningful part of their daily lives. Analysis has shown that these types of students exhibit lower levels of anxiety, depression, obsessive- compulsiveness, somatization, and interpersonal sensitivity. Regression analysis demonstrated that emotional schemas are significantly related to emotional maladaptation in students. The analysis also allowed us to determine the association of different emotional schemas with the development of anxiety, obsessive-compulsiveness, somatization, and interpersonal sensitivity. Adoption of emotional schemas correlated with the symptoms of depressive and anxiety disorders. 

Background. According to numerous studies, people’s development of executive function is a predictor of their successful acquisition of literacy skills. However, the data on the relationship between the development of verbal language and executive function in preschool aged children are insufficient and contradictory. 

Objective. The goal of our research was to study the connection between the three main EF components (working memory, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility) and various spoken language skills in children of senior preschool age. It is the first stage of a longitudinal study aimed at understanding the relationship between executive function and language development starting from ages 5–6, and proceeding through elementary school. 

Design. Our study sample included 279 children aged 5–6 years (M = 5.6 years) attending a senior group in Moscow kindergartens (139 boys and 140 girls). e study used NEPSY-II diagnostic complex subtests and the Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) test to measure the level of executive functions (working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibition). Language development (vocabulary, phonemic awareness, and word generation) was measured by neuropsychological methods (Akhutina, Pylaeva, 2015). 

Results. The results of the study showed significant associations between all EF components and language skills development in preschool children. Oral language skills were more closely related to the level of development of verbal working memory and cognitive flexibility than they were to inhibition or visual working memory. Children with low levels of EF development were significantly less able to cope with tasks such as understanding prepositional structures, understanding similar sounding words, and showing verbal fluency, than children with a high EF level. Furthermore, children with normal and high levels of EF development displayed no significant differences in language development. Thus, the study showed that children with a low level of EF have difficulties with language development. 

Conclusion. Our results provide important details about understanding the relationship between executive functioning and language development in children of senior preschool age. 

Background. Mental fatigue is a state of tiredness, decreased motivation, and increased aversion to performing a task. Mental fatigue is associated with the length of engagement in an activity (time-on-task) and the degree of cognitive e ort required. In addition, mental fatigue can be affected by personality characteristics, such as trait or domain-specific anxiety. ere is a lack of research into associations between mental fatigue and trait anxiety, as well as specific types of anxiety such as math anxiety. 

Objective. This study investigates whether the level of mental fatigue manifested in an EEG taken during the performance of a mixed problem-solving task, is associated with math and trait anxiety. 

Design. An EEG recording was performed on participants in a resting state with their eyes closed in two runs, both before and after they performed a task. e task consisted of three types of stimuli: arithmetic, algebraic, and lexical. 

Results. The results showed that the EEG correlates of fatigue changed be- tween the first and second runs. These changes were not linked with mathematics anxiety. Some significant EEG effects were found for trait anxiety: people with high trait anxiety appeared more aroused and showed less fatigue effects. However, these results did not reach the level of significance after correction for multiple comparisons. 

Conclusion. Overall, our results are in line with the motivational control theory, according to which mental fatigue “resets” when a person switches from one task to another. In our study, the experimental paradigm consisted of three types of tasks, a format which might have prevented fatigue. We discuss the implications of the study for further research into the links between anxiety and mental fatigue. 

Background. Recent research has suggested a unifactorial structure of spatial ability (SA). However, further studies are needed to replicate this finding in different populations. 

Objective. is study aims to explore the factorial structure of SA in samples of 921 Russian and 229 Chinese university students. 

Design. A gamified spatial abilities battery was administered to all participants. e battery consists of 10 different domains of SA, including 2D and 3D visualization, mental rotation, spatial pattern assembly, spatial relations, spatial planning, mechanical reasoning, spatial orientation, and spatial decision-making speed and flexibility. 

Results. The results of the factor analysis showed a somewhat different pattern for different samples. In the Russian sample, the unifactorial structure, shown previously in a large UK sample (Rimfeld et al., 2017), was replicated. A single factor explained 40% of the variance. In the Chinese sample two factors emerged: the first factor explained 26% of the variance and the second factor, including only mechanical reasoning and cross-sections tests, explained 14%. e results also showed that the Chinese sample significantly outperformed the Russian sample in five out of the 10 tests. Russian students showed better performance in only two of the tests. The effects of all group comparisons were small. 

Conclusion. Overall, a similar amount of variance in the 10 tests was explained in the two samples, replicating results from the UK sample. Future research is needed to explain the observed differences in the structure of SA. 

Background. Genetic conditions and susceptibilities dier from other diseases and health-related risks. Genetic information is shared between blood relatives, and therefore a genetic nding can have implications for the wider family.

Objective. The present study investigates people’s views on issues related to disclosing genetic information to relatives. Specically, the study assesses opinions in relation to two issues: 1) whether people have a moral obligation to share their genetic data with family members; and 2) whether healthcare providers should have a legal obligation to share such data when consent is withheld.

Design. A public engagement event was held based on the real-life court case ofABC vs the UK National Health Service (NHS). Participants were provided with information in three phases: first, about the case; then, with progressively more details of the case; and finally, with other relevant information. After being given each portion of information, the participants were asked to disclose their views on the rights and responsibilities related to the sharing of this information.

Results. The results clearly demonstrate that people hold strong and polarized views regarding condentiality, and the moral and legal duties to disclose genetic information to family members. Even when withholding information could have an adverse impact on the health and life choices of relatives, participants disagreed about the legal obligations for healthcare providers to disclose a person’s genetic information to those relatives.

Conclusion. The results suggest that the issues of privacy and disclosure of genetic information are complex and divisive.

Background. Spatial ability (SA) has long been the focus of research in psychology, because it is associated with performance in science, technologies, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Research has shown that males consistently outperform females in most aspects of SA, which may partially explain the observed overrepresentation of male students seeking STEM degrees.

Objective. This study examines sex and field of study (degree) differences in different aspects of spatial ability and its structure.

Design. We assessed SA by using an on-line gamified battery, which included 10 spatial tests capturing 10 dimensions of spatial ability, among which were mental rotation, spatial visualization, spatial scanning, spatial reasoning, perspective-taking, and mechanical reasoning. The sample consisted of 882 STEM (55% males) and Humanities (20% males) university students in Russia.

Results. Males outperformed females on all assessed components of SA with a small effect size (1–11%). We also found that students from STEM fields outperformed Humanities students on all SA subtests (effect size ranged from 0.2 to 7%). These differences by study choice were not fully explained by the observed over-representation of males in the STEM group. The results of the study suggested no interaction between sex and degree. In other words, on average, males outperformed females, irrespective of whether they were STEM or humanities students; and the STEM advantage was observed for both males and females. The same unifactorial structure of SA was observed in the STEM and Humanities groups.

Conclusion. Our results are consistent with previous research, suggesting sex and study field differences in SA. Longitudinal research is needed to explore the causal mechanisms underscoring these differences.

Background. While the current literature provides valuable insight into how school climate perceptions and student motivation impact academic achievement, research examining the mediating effects of motivation in the linking of an innovative educational system, school climate, and achievement is limited. This study considers the potential of the El’konin–Davydov system of developmental education as a basis for educational innovation. Self-determination theory is applied as a useful theoretical framework that allows for consideration of both the intensity and the quality of academic motivation.

Objective. The study examines a model that illustrates the role of intrinsic and different types of extrinsic motivation in linking the El’konin–Davydov system of developmental education (DE) and school climate to the academic achievement of elementary schoolchildren.

Design. Participants were 345 third and fourth graders drawn from four public schools in Moscow, with some (N = 192, 2 schools) educated in the traditional system and others (N = 153, 2 schools) in one that follows the DE system. A cross-sectional design was implemented.

Results. Students in the DE system showed significantly lower external motivation for all three subscales (Parents, Teachers, General) and perceived school climate more favorably. Structural equation modeling showed that the hypothesized model fit the data well, supporting the hypothesis that student external motivation plays a mediating role in linking educational system (innovative vs. traditional) with academic achievement. Students’ autonomous motivation was shown to play a mediating role in linking positive perceptions of school climate with academic achievement.

Conclusion. The elementary school students from developmental education classes compared to their peers from traditional education classes demonstrate more positive profile of academic motivation including lower external motivation, more positive attitude towards school and study; however, the two groups do not differ in the level of intrinsic, identified, and introjected motivations.

Background: Effortful control is a core aspect of self-regulation and refers to the ability to voluntarily regulate behaviour and attention, measured by temperament questionnaires. Although the Temperament in Middle Childhood Questionnaire is widely used in different countries, this measure has not been fully explored. Most research on the links of effortful control with personality and important outcomes has been carried out in Western nations; the possibility of extending these findings to other cultures requires study.

Objective: To examine effortful control and its relations to personality and wellbeing in a community sample of primary schoolchildren in Russia.

Design: Parents of 7–10-year-olds (N = 614) completed the abbreviated Effortful Control scale of the TMCQ, the Inventory of Child Individual Differences–Short version, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); teachers provided SDQ data and school grades; children completed the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale.

Results: The findings supported a four-factor structure of Effortful Control, including Attention Focusing, Inhibitory Control, Activation Control, and Low-Intensity Pleasure. Effortful Control was associated with the personality traits of Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Openness, and also with Positive Emotions and low Neuroticism. Effortful Control was also associated with academic achievement, subjective well-being, and lower levels of externalising and internalising problems. Structural modelling showed that Attentional Control contributed to problem behaviour and subjective wellbeing; Inhibitory Control contributed to externalising problems; and Activation Control contributed to academic achievement.

Conclusion: Effortful Control and its components were strongly related to higherand lower-order personality traits. The findings confirmed the important role of effortful control in the academic success and well-being of Russian primary schoolchildren.

Background. e actual motive may be experimentally diagnosed through study of the system of perceived motivations. However, since perceived motivations are always expressed in terms that are not unambiguous (for a number of reasons, including age, gender, context, etc.), the experimental reconstruction of the actual motive is always as- sociated with an ambiguity in interpretation of the respondents’ perceived motivations. We need to use a method of diagnosing motivations that would allow us to identify, for the groups of students studied, not only the contribution of a particular perceived moti- vation, but also the substantive features of the designated motives, through the pattern of correlations of these perceived motivations.

Objective. This article presents the results of research on the age and gender specifics of learning motivations of high school students.

Design. Experimental identication of their motivational proles was made by means of factor analysis, separately for each of four groups of pupils (in Moscow schools with a traditional learning paradigm): two junior groups (8th-9th grades, 14-15 years old) of boys (62) and girls (59); and two senior groups (10th-11th grades, 16-17 years old) of boys (63) and girls (54).

Results. As a result, a motivational structure specic for the corresponding gender and age was identied and described.

Conclusion. We showed that as a child grows up, the orientation in learning becomes more and more generalized, with a stronger expression for boys than for girls. In the junior group, girls have a motivation that is oriented to the future, whereas boys do not; such motivations in boys are seen only in the senior group and are inextricably linked to the parents’ approval. Both for boys and girls, the content of their motivation for cognitive achievement in the older age group is based on two motives, which are independent at the younger age: curiosity and prestige. However, with girls, apart from a desire to learn new things, the aspiration to differ notably from others and to demonstrate their achievements to others is significantly greater than with boys

Background. Today’s research on human executive functioning (EF) demonstrates a deepening understanding of this psychological concept as a mental process, as it has been assessed in testing contexts. But little effort has been made to approach the executive function from an ecological viewpoint, one which allows its study in the context of real life, and treats this function as simultaneously mental and behavioral. 

Objective and Design. The purpose of the present research was to explore how 37 Colombian children, aged four, six, and eight years old, with typical psychological development, used their executive functions in a daily context, such as school classes. 

Results. Observational analysis revealed that only 40% of the participants could control and regulate their behavior to achieve class goals. In the few cases where executive regulation was observed, socio-economic status and executive performance marked the behavioral patterns used by children to control and regulate their tasks in class. 

Conclusion. Participants in this study showed that, independent of their EF performance level, their ability to use EF to control and regulate a daily activity, such as their behavior in class, depends on their ability to understand the advantages of acting executively. Most importantly, this skill differs among children by variables such as socio-economic status. 

Background. To build modern effective programs for the development of preschoolers’ logical thinking, it is necessary to study the specifics of the operational structures functioning within their thought systems. According to Piaget, two operational groups of thought develop in parallel and synchrony: 1) logical-mathematical (classification, seriation, and invariant construction — the conservation principle); and 2) spatial-temporal — the structuring of space (linear ordering [LO], transformation of geometric forms [TGS], reconstruction of sensorimotor space at the level of representations [RSMS]) and time. However, there has been no empirical verification of the significant links between the levels of development of an individual’s logical-mathematical and spatial-temporal operations in his/her system of thought. 

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of the links between the elements of the logical-mathematical and spatial-operational structures in preschoolers’ systems of thought. 

Design. The study involved the following steps: 1) Individual diagnosis of the developmental level of logical-mathematical and spatial operations in 52 preschool children (5,8 – 7,1 years) using classica Piaget techniques and the Bender-Gestalt test; 2) identification of the operational developmental stage of each examinee; and 3) identification of the nature of the links between the logical-mathematical and spatial operational structures within each child’s thinking system, using statistical tools for data analysis (ρ Spearman; regression analysis). 

Results. Statistically significant differences between the developmental levels of spatial and logical-mathematical operations were revealed, as well as between the levels of development of spatial operations LO, TGS, and RSMS as measured by the Bender-Gestalt test. It was found that all the spatial operations (LO, TGS, RSMS) were conceived at a higher level than logical-mathematical operations (classification, seriation, and the conservation principle). Significant predictors of the development of logical-mathematical/spatial operations were identified. 

Conclusions. Piaget’s hypothesis that the development of the logical-mathematical and spatial operations within a child’s thinking system is an interconnected process has received statistical justification in this study. The data we obtained suggest that both operational structures have similar sets of features. As proof that an internal causal nexus between the logical- mathematical and spatial structures exists, it is necessary to conduct formative experiments in which some thought operations (predictors) will be formed by training, while previously missing operations are induced to appear in the child’s thinking system indirectly.

Background. While the phenomena of intentional destroying and damaging of private property have been known since ancient times, the term “vandalism” appears only in 19th century. In the 20th century, much research devoted to vandalism was conducted in the spheres of criminology, sociology, psychology, and education. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to investigating the correlation between a child’s propensity for vandalism and the child-parent relationship. 

Objective and Method. The main purpose of our research was to investigate the correlation between the styles of family upbringing and adolescents’ propensity for vandalism. For this purpose, we analyzed the main predictors of adolescents’ propensity for vandalism on the basis of the psychological diagnostics of 60 Russian families from Ekaterinburg. We investigated whether the fact that a child was brought up in a one-parent or disadvantaged family is significant for forming an adolescent propensity for vandalism. We also clarified the influence of various styles of family upbringing on an adolescent’s propensity for vandalism of different types. 

Results. Based on statistical analysis, we concluded that an atmosphere of violence within the family plays a key role in forming adolescents’ propensity for vandalism. The style of maternal upbringing has a greater influence on determining adolescent destructive behavior than the paternal, especially when the father’s parenting style is “non-interference.” 

Conclusion. Based on our research results, we suggest that preventive the efforts against vandalism should be directed toward the prevention of family violence, and that there should be a differential approach toward parental education directed toward correcting individual parental styles of upbringing. 

Background. Studies of children raised in institutions have shown that they are at substantial risk in various domains of functioning, but these studies have not examined the children’s developmental change at the very early period of institutionalization. 

Objective. The main aim of this study was to examine the behavioral development of institutionalized infants between three and nine months of life as a function of their birth circumstances and the nature of their institutional care. 

Design. General behavioral development was studied in 58 (34 males) infants from two St. Petersburg (Russian Federation) institutions (Baby Homes, BH). The infants were divided into four groups according to 1) their gestational age—full-term children (FCh) of 37-41 weeks gestational age, or preterm children (PCh) of 30-36 weeks gestational age; and 2) the type of institutional care environment—either the typical socio-emotionally depriving, non-intervention Baby Home (NoI BH), or an institution that had undergone a program of training plus structural changes intervention (T+SC BH). All the children were assessed at approximately three and nine months of age with the Battelle Development Inventory (BDI; LINK Associates, 1988). 

Results. Both the FCh and PCh children from the NoI BH displayed significant declines in their BDI Total scores between three and nine months, whereas only the FCh children in T+SC BH improved over this period of time. In general, the FCh group had higher mean BDI Total developmental quotients (DQs) than the PCh group, and children from the T+SCh BH displayed higher scores than children from the NoI institution. 

Conclusion. Thus, the current study showed that the impact of spending their early months in an institution on infants’ development depends on the gestational age of children and the type of institutional care environment.

Background. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative illness, which occurs with increasing frequency as people age. While progressive memory impairment is the upfront element associated with the disease, other neurocognitive troubles are also associated with it, such as language impairment which can degenerate into aphasia. Language disorders interfere and worsen the functioning of memory. 

Aim of the study. To evaluate semantic and textual impairment in AD patients. 

Methods. The current study involved 151 AD patients undergong consultation at Brest University Hospital. Certain socio-demographic data (sex, age, cultural levels) were collected, as well as results from the following neuropsychological tests: Folstein (MMSE); Dubois’s 5-word test; Dubois’s frontal assessment test battery (fluencies); Cornell’s scale for depression; and Barbizet’s test ( “The Lion’s tale”). All were subject to textual analysis. Our sample of demented patients included 102 females and 49 males of average age 80.3 ± 6.91. 

Results. All the tests, including the number of items recalled much later in the Barbizet’s test, showed impairment, all the more by Folstein’s test being altered. The demented patients’ formal fluency was less impaired than their semantical lexical fluency (scored respectively 5.74 ± 1.09 versus 4.41 ± 2.19; t = 5.60, p < 0.01). The demented cohort exhibited more intrusions (n = 36) than inversions in the delayed recollection of the Lion’s Tale, both for items and the episodes in which they occurred (n = 19). The regressive PLS analysis showed that, to explain the overall scores relating to “ e Lion’s Tale”, calculated later, only attainment of lexical fluency had any notable influence (Regression coefficient CR=0.224) or, more accessorily, the cultural level (CR = 0.12). 

Conclusion. AD patients’ proficiency in tests of category fluency and their cultural levels have effects on narrativity.

Background: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), also known as domestic violence, spousal abuse, and relationship violence, among other names, is becoming a widely recognized social and public health problem. Theory and practice suggest it is vital that the issue be addressed comprehensively in both the healthcare and socio-legal contexts. The theoretical perspectives underlying inquiries into the nature and etiology of the IPV phenomenon are of fundamental importance in promoting our understanding of how to prevent, reduce, or eliminate the problem. In order to integrate various aspects of knowledge about the phenomenon, it is important to consider and evaluate the approaches to IPV currently prevalent in the field. 

Objectives: The present article aims to provide a critical overview of the existing theories, methodological frameworks, typologies, and definitions of Intimate Partner Violence. 

Design: The present paper reviews the international literature on the conceptual frameworks and definitions of IPV. First, it draws on the conceptual frameworks of violence; it then reviews relevant theories and definitions of IPV considered from sociocultural, individual, and integrative perspectives. The disparities, limitations, and explanatory powers of these theories, as well as their clinical and research applications, are discussed in an attempt to bring more clarity into the current state of understanding in the field. 

Results and Conclusions: Our review suggests that there is no universally accepted definition of IPV, nor a conceptual framework that would encompass the complexity of the phenomenon. Some of the theoretical frameworks for studying IPV appear to provide potential advantages over others, but their empirical viability has yet to be determined. We argue that, due to the complex multifaceted nature of IPV, a narrow theoretical stance might exclude a variety of exploratory factors and limit understanding of the phenomenon. 

Background. Special features of communicative development in children with Down Syndrome are reported to correlate with intellectual disability, while their mothers’ communication with them is considered to be a reaction to difficulties in building rapport with the child. The cultural-historical approach to human psychological and mental development (Vygotsky, 1982) supports research into the contribution of maternal behavior to the development of communication in children with Down Syndrome. 

Objective. To analyze the relationship between the development of responsive and initiative communicative actions in children with Down Syndrome and features of maternal communicative behavior. 

Design. The subjects were 15 pairs of mothers and their children diagnosed with “trisomy 21, Down Syndrome, full (or complete) type of trisomy” and 18 pairs of mothers and their typically developing children. The children in the experimental group are from 18 to 36 months old, the age of mothers is from 24 to 41 years. e children in the control group are from 18 to 36 months old; the mothers’ age is from 20 to 44 years. The research included collection of video data and expert video recording analysis. Communication was recorded of mothers and their children without a toy, and then with a toy. Videos were made three times, every 1.5 or 2 weeks, and each session lasted 20 minutes; two videos were analyzed, excluding the first one. The analysis was performed by three experts — researchers at the Federal State Budget Scientific Institution “Institute of Special Education of the Russian Academy of Education” — calculating the frequency of the children’s responsive and initiative communicative actions. A qualitative analysis of the mothers’ communicative behavior was conducted: Repeated patterns of the mothers’ communicative behavior in both groups were identified, and the number of mothers with these communicative actions was calculated. 

Results. Mothers’ actions that correlated with the development of responsive and initiative communicative actions in typically developing children were identified, including: the adult caregiver addresses her child directly and personally; she pays attention to the child’s actions and supports them; she plays with the child as with an equal. The communicative behavior of mothers of children with Down Syndrome did not differ from that of the mothers of typically developing children in terms of the behavioral characteristics listed above. Thedevelopment of responsive and initiative communicative actions in children with Down Syndrome correlates with a greater number of characteristics of maternal communicative behavior, such as: continuing the communication despite approximate, uncertain, or contradictory signals from the child; creating vivid and positive emotional support for interactions; and keeping in mind the child’s language and motor limitations. 

Conclusion. Our research suggests that for the development of communication in children with Down Syndrome, maternal communicative actions that correlate with the development of communication in typically developing children are not sufficient. 

Background. Contemporary rehabilitation of memory impairments relies on the use of external compensatory strategies. In Russian neuropsychological tradition, rehabilitation is understood as a transformation of a higher mental function, based on intact elements of that function and on use of external and internal means. Such a restructuration approach may be applied to memory. 

Objective. This article describes the basic principles underlying memory rehabilitation and gives an example of their successful implementation in a clinical case. 

Design. A 62-year-old patient was admitted 6 months after severe traumatic brain injury with primary damage to his le frontal and temporal lobes. He faced difficulties in social living and activities of daily life, mainly due to memory impairment. Neuropsychological assessment revealed moderate impairment of different memory types: modal nonspecific impairment with mild but persistent impairments in autobiographic and semantic memories. During a 3-week rehabilitation program, an algorithm involving the use of text was developed in consideration of the structure of memory impairment (impaired selectiveness, excessive inhibition and pathologic inertness of memory traces). 

Results. After multiple trials and modifications, the resulting algorithm (written retelling with the use of keywords, self-correction with writing correct variants instead of errors), allowed reproduction of the presented text with 100% recall of significant information and no false memories. The use of the developed memorization technique in everyday life allowed the patient to effectively memorize relevant information.

Conclusion. The described approach—restructuration of memory on the basis of preserved chains—is a feasible strategy of memory rehabilitation. 

Background. This article reports on the results of an empirical study of interrelationships between indicators of decision-making strategies (indexed by the Iowa Gambling Task, IGT) and traits of tolerance and intolerance for uncertainty that capture the unity of cognitive and personality components of situational representations. 

Objective. Our study tested the hypothesis that overcoming uncertainty in decision making goes beyond cognitive representations of the task but instead is rooted in the construction of the amodal image of an uncertain situation that captures the meaning regulation of perception and action. We hypothesized that when a person is faced with multi-stage decisions, their strategies reflect the contribution of individual differences in attitudes towards uncertainty. 

Design. Using data obtained from n=60 typically developing adults (68% men; Mage = 30.58), we examined the contribution of tolerance/intolerance for uncertainty to a variety of IGT dependent variables at five different stages of the game. 

Results. The data was analyzed using the mixed linear model method as implemented in the lme4 package for R. The results indicated that tolerance for uncertainty significantly contributes to the initial level of behavioral risk, ensuring readiness for decision making under uncertainty. 

Conclusion. Tolerance for uncertainty plays an important role in early stages of orientation in an uncertain modeled game situation, and contributes to the productive development of probabilistic expectations. Intolerance for uncertainty, on the other hand, was shown to contribute to risk in decision making after trial failure, potentially limiting learning in uncertain conditions through risk aversion. 

Background. This article addresses the influence of personal, professional, and organizational factors on procrastination in employees of a modern Russian industrial enterprise. Procrastination has been studied extensively since the 1970s, producing great research material and diagnostic tools that remain relevant to this day. Yet despite the large number of studies, no single point of view has emerged on the causes of this phenomenon. 

Aim. To investigate how personal, professional, and organizational factors influence procrastination in employees of a modern Russian industrial enterprise. 

Design. 120 employees of a Russian industrial enterprise participated in the study, including 70 women and 50 men, mean age 35 years, mean work experience in this enterprise 4.3 years. We used four diagnostic methods to characterize work activity and organizational culture, personal characteristics, and specificity of an occupational stress syndrome. We used correlation and regression analysis to analyze the results. 

Results. The data identified significant personal, professional, and organizational predictors of procrastination in the modern professional, such as being outgoing (the quality of sociability), innovative, detail-conscious, and conscientious. Equally significant are characteristics of the work situation such as its content and the significance of tasks. A significant weight in the predictive value of the regression model lies in the robust consequences of professional stress (anxiety and depression), openness toward change in the organization, and social desirability. 

Conclusion. The level of procrastination among the employees of this enterprise predicts typical behavior patterns in performing professional tasks, subjective appraisal of the job situation, the experience of stress and its consequences, and perception of the organizational culture. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Background. Discussion of the social origins of personality formation, based on the biological individual, is a characteristic feature of modern interdisciplinary researches at the junction of natural science and the humanities. At the same time, evolutionary aspects of the relationship between the biological (innate) and the social (acquired) — i.e., the problem of the origin of sociality — come to the forefront. 

Objective. This article presents and discusses the hypothesis that the evolutionary origins of sociality are processes of evolutionary divergence (increasing individual diversity) and convergence (symbiosis) that define two oppositely directed vectors of the development of life from its simplest forms. 

Method and Results. The theoretical and experimental data used to discuss the hypothesis are considered here from the standpoint of the historical evolutionary approach to the processes of formation (evolution) of the uniqueness of the personality and of social interpersonal relations. The approach is based on an understanding of these processes as a special case of the evolution of interacting systems on the basis of two opposing trends — towards preserving and towards changing the system. The hypothesis allows us to answer two questions about the ambivalence of human existence in society: (a) Why do all people, regardless of their social status, find it so difficult to endure loneliness, which is incompatible with both the mental and even physical health of each of us? (b) Why at the same time do all of us involuntarily protect the “boundaries” of our own physical, mental, and social “Me”, the violation of which is as destructive (unacceptable) to us as is loneliness? 

Conclusion. Systematic historical-evolutionary analysis of the sciences of nature, society, and humankind allows us to isolate general patterns of development of complex systems, leading to a more accurate understanding of the phenomenon of personality. Such an interdisciplinary approach was used in this work on the biological roots of sociality and the particular features of individual existence in the external and to some extent social environment that generates unique individuals. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Background. 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.

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

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.

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). 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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.

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.