Irina V. Blinnikova

Background. Professional experience is one of the most discussed problems in modern labor psychology. Researchers are trying to expose and describe the system of cognitive and metacognitive skills and abilities, which gives an advantage to experienced professionals. However, there is still a sufficient number of contradictions and unexplored aspects.

The aim of the study is to identify specific features of problem solving by chemists at different levels of professional experience by analyzing performance indicators and eye movements.

Techniques and sampling.The pilot study involved 35 experts and novices in the field of chemistry. They were asked to read descriptions, find errors and fill in gaps in chemical process diagrams. The tasks were based on technological regulations for the production of chemical products. We recorded the run time, errors and indicators of eye movements with the SMI Hi-Speed contactless video recording system with a 1200 Hz frequency.

The results showed that the run time and the number of errors were significantly lower for experts than for novices. In addition, the two groups featured significant differences in the average duration of blinking, indicating a higher emotional stress among novices. Other eye movement differences demonstrated that experts tend to favor focal type of cognitive processing. This is revealed in longer fixations, short and slow saccades. Also, the experts were characterized by an uneven distribution of attention and cognitive efforts relative to different parts of the task and by a smaller number of transitions between them. The general analysis showed that experts, solving problems, rely more on mental representations and previous knowledge, while novices are guided by the information presented on the slides.

Conclusions. The data demonstrate the superiority of experts in solving chemical problems and reveal the cognitive structure of professional experience.

Relevance. The problem of change in cognitive performance under more complicated activity conditions is of interest to psychologists and scholars in neuro- and informational sciences. Without its solution it’s impossible to model cognitive activity and predict its efficiency in different situations. Tasks that access attention and working memory resources are of particular interest. The level of emotional tension is often considered a factor hampering the task solution. Previously, authors showed that emotional tension leads to change in spatial distribution of attention and in cognitive strategies that provide solutions to more complex tasks.

Objective. To determine how test anxiety influences the mental rotation task performance. 

Methods and sampling. Two groups of subjects were asked to solve the mental rotation task either under emotionally neutral conditions or under the conditions when task performance was significant to the subject. The emotional state of subjects was controlled with questionnaires. In addition, the individual level of stress resistance was measured.

Results. We obtained a linear effect of test-stimulus orientation on reaction time (that was Shepard and Metzler’s discovery). In the situation of emotional tension the average solving time slightly increased and the number of correct answers slightly decreased. Any significant change in task solving strategies was related to the level of stress resistance in subjects.

Conclusion. The cognitive strategies are transformed under impact of emotional tension and whether the subject would choose a constructive strategy or a non-constructive one depends on the subject’s stress resistance. Subjects with lower stress resistance have difficulty distributing cognitive resources, rotating figures in the mental space. 

Relevance. The paper is devoted to an extremely relevant in theoretical and practical terms problem of cultural differences in memory organization, which is considered on the example of memorizing plot material by representatives of Russian and Azerbaijani culture.

Methodology and sample. The study involved 60 people, 30 people in each cultural subsample. A specially developed technique of verbal video plot reproduction was used. The narrative was presented without speech and sound accompaniment, which allowed to use identical stimulus material for different cultures.

Results. The results obtained indicate the cultural specificity in memorizing and reproducing plot material. It is shown that significance of social and individual-psychological factors of memory organization changes depending on affiliation to collectivistic or individualistic culture. The representatives of Azerbaijani culture are more likely to include a moral conclusion in the plot, whilst those of Russian culture are more inclined to analyze the motivation of characters.

Conclusion

1.               The representatives of Russian culture are more likely to demonstrate the subjectivity of the reconstructed plot and greater projective freedom of interpretation regarding events and details. This can be explained by the activity of individual cognitive factors in relation to memorization.

2.               The tendency to moral assessments and moralizing in reproduction of a plot is more specific to the representatives of Azerbaijani culture. This trend indicates an active role of social norms and rules in mnemonic processes determination as compared to individual factors (e.g., motivation).

3.               The motivation of characters as the basis of storyline is more peculiar to the representatives of Russian culture compared to the Azerbaijanis. This finding testifies to the greater importance of the individual personal determinants of mnemonic processes for Russians.