Tikhomandrytskaya, O.A.

The results of the study concerning the image of Russia are presented in this article. Representations of students from three countries which have been perceived as centers of influence in the modern world — Russia, USA and China — were analyzed. The data of all samples indicates the ethnocentrism tendency in the choice of influential countries. The image of Russia in all three countries contains geopolitical connotations. The culture does not play a key role in the representations, but it is an important element of the emotional part of the image of Russia. The largest cross-cultural differences are found in the analysis of representations of Russia as an international conflicts participant. 

The article describes the results of the several years introduction of computerized testing in the outcome examinations for the final year students of psychological faculty of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The procedure of testing, the features and the structure of the test item bank, technological and organizational issues are discussed including the procedural rules for students and professors. The main focus of the article is statistical analyses of the obtained correlations between test scores, traditional oral exam scores and academic history scores for all years in the university. As a result of the systematic improvements of test item bank the correlation between test scores and academic history scores increased each year and is equal last year 0.72 (the Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient) and 0.86 (Gulford’s coefficient for extreme groups). At the same time the analogical correlation for oral exams remained at the same level (0.55—0.59 the Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient).