Lomonosov Psychology Journal, 2014, 4, 160.

The paper presents results of the neuropsychological assessment of processes involved in the maintenance of activation (Luria’s Unit I functions) in 64 firstgraders who demonstrated various levels of academic success. On the basis of this assessment, the children were divided into three groups: (i) the children without any deficit in the Unit I functions (CONTROL children), (ii) those predominantly showing slowness/fatigue (SLOW children), and (iii) those who can be considered as predominantly hyperactive-impulsive (HYPERACTIVE children). It is shown that, relative to controls, both SLOW and HYPERACTIVE children show reduced academic scores and the decrease of most indices that characterize functions of the Units II and III. The weaknesses of executive and visual-spatial functions are predominantly observed in HYPERACTIVE children, whereas SLOW children usually show some deficit in processing of kinesthetic (proprioceptive) and audio-verbal information. Children with functional weakness of the Unit I functions show an overall reduction in performance and its speed in the computerized versions of the “DOTS” and “SCHULTE—GORBOV tables” tests. In HYPERACTIVE children, deficits are observed in the most difficult tasks (those probing mostly into planning and control functions), and their performance is the most unstable. In SLOW children, the performance rate is noticeably decreased for the moderate-to-difficult tasks. Overall, the data reported contribute to the understanding of the diversity of Unit I functions deficits and their relation to the learning difficulties experienced by children in the primary school.

To the 60th anniversary of Nikolay Sergeevich Pryazhnikov.

To the 75th anniversary of Tatiana Vassilievna Gabay

The aim of the article is to give a brief overview of cognitive studies in computer games psychology. The researches of psychological specifics of computer gamers have become very important recently due to a great popularity of computer games among children, teenagers and adults all over the world. Numerous studies are made that show significant differences between cognitive characteristics of computer gamers and non-gamers. There are possible negative consequences (such as long-term memory decline) as well as positive ones. Computers games are shown to enhance attention, spatial cognition and cognitive control of computer gamers and participants of specially organized computer games sessions. Cognitive function can possibly be trained in computer games.Computer games experience affects processes of thinking, decision making as well as multitasking and task-switching capability. Studies of connection between cognitive styles and computer games are also reviewed.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the role of conscious self-regulation in reliability of actions of students in exam situation. Participants were 231 16—18 year old students. The results showed that reliability of regulation (stability of the basic regulatory characteristics in a stressful situation) is the basis of the reliability of action of students with different level of academic success. The study describes the characteristics of the reliability of learning actions of students. We compared personal and regulatory characteristics of high school students with different level of reliability of actions and academic success. We found that students with the highest score on the exam have a low level of anxiety and a high level of conscious self-regulation (especially regulatory reliability). The results of research suggest that individual system of self-regulation plays a significant role in reliability of actions of students in exam situation and provides new information about how we can ensure reliability of actions of students in exam situation.

The paper analyzes opportunities and limitations of stage models in health psychology (trans-theoretical model, precaution adoption process model) comparing to traditional continuum models and actively developing self-regulation models. Theoretical basis for stage models (orientation to practical problems, analysis of behavior dynamics and associated processes, descriptive approach, understanding of the model effectiveness as an accuracy of classification and description of the transitions between stages) and problematic spheres (discrete/continuous process of change, descriptive/explanatory nature of the basic constructs). Heuristic nature of stages models is proved in solving the original problem of behavior description while their vulnerability to criticism is demonstrated because of the implicit transition to the problem of his explanation.

The academic methodological rethinking of the actual educational process at a single higher education institution is considered as an important component of the institution’s inner research and identity. The sociological and, especially, educational psychological research, from author’s perspective, create the necessary informational background for the improvement of the educational process at the each higher education institution, as well as for the promotion of reforms at the level of the education system of the state. A short characteristic of the special branch of the international academic and applied research – an Institutional Research (the within-institutional studies at a university), and of the work at the Center of inner monitoring of the Higher School of Economics — National Research University are presented as an argument. It is concluded that such studies are underestimated in the context of improvement and development of the professional training of students at the department of psychology of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, and that there is a necessity of the creation of such kind of center.

The paper presents an overview of research aimed at understanding of the executive functions in childhood. The article shows that in studies focused on the role of the adult, and in the studies that pay attention to the interaction between peers and the impact of these processes on executive functions, it is clearly shown that executive functions are investigated in the line of the logic of cultural-historical theory (Vygotsky, Luria, Leontiev, Zaporozhets). It is shown that the importance of social interaction postulated by Vygotsky was experimentally justified in modern research. In these studies age dynamics in the formation of executive functions and the specific role of the adult in different stages of development are described. The communicative aspect of the interaction is emphasized, but role of an adult role as a carrier of cultural resources is not considered.

The article suggests a classification of parenting styles found in the families of psychological consultation clients, who have asked for the help in the decision of the parent-child problems. This classification is created as a result of investigation 176 families. Based on interview with clients there were identified and described two main parenting style — overprotection and overexactingness. Their descriptions are given in three dimensions of the relationship of parents with their children’s: cognitive, emotional and behavioral. There were identified and described the various variants of overprotection and overexactingness: local and total, moderate and strong, “hospital”, anxious and loving overprotection; local and total, moderate and strong, soft, hard and cruel overexactingness. Content characteristics of all these variants were also given by separate dimensions of the relationship of parents with their children. This classification, in comparison with the known, gives the opportunity to more clearly define meaningful similarities and differences of different parenting styles on each of the selected dimensions.

Correlations between various classes of working memory tasks (working memory span tasks, updating tasks) were analyzed. Tasks that share processing and storage requirements correlated with each other. A three factor structure was extracted compatible with the existence of three components within working memory: focus of attention, region of direct access, and activated memory. The data shows that processing and storage are independent in working memory and that storage in working memory is based on two storage systems — one that uses short-term memory mechanisms and one that uses long-term memory mechanisms.

Based on the ideas of E.N. Sokolov about the mechanisms of the “vector encoding” information in the brain the spherical connectionist model of visual cognitive action was constructed. This model takes into account and expressed in mathematical form some neurophysiological data on the structure and functioning of the real neural networks of the brain. In this model, using the general principles of “vector coding”, all the main stage cognitive action have been described in a mathematical form, including the step of exposing the object on the retina and the step of evaluating the correctness of the response to a stimulus. Psychophysiological problem has also been considered. The transition of the perceived object from his physiological state F at the output of pre-detectors to unconsciously perceived (psychological) state D at the output of the ensemble detectors and the model awareness of sensations of the object properties has been described. The developed spherical connectionist model of cognitive actions allowed uniting in the activity psychology the ideas of E.N. Sokolov about the “vector coding” of the object properties in the brain and the A.N. Leontiev’s ideas about the mechanisms of “active psychic reflection of the object by the subject”.

The paper presents test questionnaire, developed by the author based on methodology K. Yang and allows the quantification of the severity of the degree of enthusiasm of younger teenagers playing computer games — CG). The questionnaire contains 22 questions, defining five 5 major scales: emotional attitude to the CG; self-monitoring in clinical trials; goal orientation on the CG; parental relation to the CG; preference for virtual communication real. A study conducted on a sample of 304 students of Nizhny Novgorod aged 11-12 years, showed that the developed test questionnaire allows to quantify the extent of computer abuse younger teenager; allows mathematical treatment; is relatively expeditious means evaluation of a large number of respondents; contributes to the objectivity of assessments that do not depend on the subjective attitudes of the person conducting the study; ensures comparability of the information obtained by different researchers in different subjects.

The article is devoted to considering of the interrelation of level of emotional burning out and life-meaning orientations of teachers and psychologists. During empirical research it was shown that workers with the expressed level of emotional burning out statistically mismatches in the system the life-meaning orientations observed more often, than at workers with not expressed syndrome of emotional burning out for whom internal harmony, acceptance of the past, the present and the future are more characteristic. It is the paradox designate in the article: stressful situations provoking emotional burning out, under certain circumstances can be considered as conditions of development of teachers and psychologists. Thus, prospects of new researches of a syndrome of emotional burning out contact us with the identification of these conditions and development on this basis of more modern medico-hygienic standards of work of teachers and psychologists, which while, unfortunately, is not present.