Articles

Background. Integrity, as an initial characteristic of the personality is fundamental to psychological wellbeing. Nevertheless, despite the variety of existing approaches, there still remains a deficit of methodological tools in psychodiagnostics for researching personality integrity in its different aspects and manifestations.

Objective. The article represents an analytical review of research approaches, methodological solutions and existing empirical findings on personality integrity in contemporary foreign research.

Methods. The search for contemporary foreign theoretical and empirical studies using key words related to personality integrity, coherence and consistency, theoretical and methodological synthesis, systematization and analysis of identified research approaches, methodological solutions and empirical referents were applied. A total of 46 recent international publications indexed in the Scopus database were analyzed.

Results. The main directions of contemporary research on the empirical verification of personality integrity and coherence have been identified and characterized. Theoretical foundations and empirical data on the psychological manifestations of the studied phenomena have been systematized. Prospects for applying the obtained scientific results have been determined. This review demonstrates that a significant part of the works considered describes the consistency and interrelations of structural characteristics of integrity, identified from different methodological positions using standardized procedures. To access deeper layers of personality integrity, qualitative methods and narrative approaches are applied.

Conclusions. Among contemporary foreign studies promising areas are approaches that propose to consider personality integrity as a multi-level formation, and those that include in empirical research on integrity the study of the life context and meaning formation processes, which is close to the understanding of dynamic integrity in Russian psychology tradition. The use of mixed-methods, quantitative-qualitive research designs and diverse methodological approaches allow for the study of integrity not only in terms of static coherence but also of its capacity for constant change and self-development and for maintaining integrity in the face of life circumstances.

Background. The article is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945; it is devoted to the analysis of research conducted by Soviet scientists during the war years on the psychology of childhood. These studies contributed to both changes in the science of psychology itself and to the increase in trust in it in the society.

Objective. The article is focused on the task of showing with specific examples from the field of psychology (and partly pedagogy) of childhood, how the content of research has changed under the influence of the tasks of social practice.

Methods. The article uses theoretical methods of analyzing scientific literature on psychology and related disciplines. Additional reference to other sources — publications in newspapers, literary and artistic works, memoirs — allows us to talk about the interdisciplinary nature of the study. The scientific sources were materials from periodicals, which reflected data concerning the main areas of studying children by Soviet scientists in the period 1941–1945.

Results. The problems of studying the psychological characteristics of preschoolers and schoolchildren in the conditions of military life are outlined: psychologists reoriented themselves to studying the psyche and consciousness in the conditions of specific activities. Also, the theoretical position of S.L. Rubinstein on the unity of the processes of studying children, on the one hand, and their upbringing and education, on the other, is empirically illustrated. Psychologists' special attention to the issues of upbringing in wartime led to the accumulation of relevant data in educational psychology.

Conclusions. The main achievement of psychology, as follows from the works of Soviet psychologists during the Great Patriotic War, is a change in the position of psychology, which turned into a science organically included in practice.

Background. Creativity in human self-consciousness is represented in the form of self-esteem of creativity, and at a deeper level of implicit theories (or mindsets). It is relevant to establish the interrelationship of these levels. The first level includes domain-specific self-esteems of creativity and general self-esteem of creativity. The second reflects the individual's perceptions of people's creativity formed in individual experience.

Objective. The aim of the study was to establish relationships of direct self-esteem of creativity, domain-specific self-esteem of creativity and scales of implicit theories of creativity.

Study Participants. 434 university students aged 17 to 32 years. M = 19.75, SD = 2.24.

Methods. Domain-specific self-esteem of creativity questionnaire K-DOCS, Direct Self-Esteem of Creativity (SEC), and Questionnaire CIT for implicit theories of creativity were used.

Results. Positive correlations of domain-specific self-esteem of creativity and implicit theories of creativity, general self-esteem of creativity and domain-specific self-esteem of creativity, as well as positive correlations of general self-esteem of creativity and implicit theories of creativity were found. Convergent validity of direct self-assessment of creativity measurement in relation to the method of measuring domain-specific self-assessment of creativity was confirmed.

Conclusions. The generalization of a person's ideas about their creativity and differentiated connections between the general direct self-assessment of creativity and different types of its representation at the levels of implicit theories and self-reports of domain-specific creativity are demonstrated.

Background. Children of primary school age with a high level of intellectual development (gifted) develop their intellectual creative potential primarily in educational activities. Therefore, it is fundamentally important to establish intrinsic motivation within the framework of the system of academic motives — cognition and self-development, but there is lack of information about the academic motivation of modern younger schoolchildren in the psychological literature devoted to the problems of giftedness and the factors of its development.

Objective. The goal is to determine the specifics of the academic motivation of children with a high level of intellectual development, studying at a school with an enriched curriculum.

Study Participants. 155 students, 3–4 graders, participated in the study: 75 children (35 boys, 40 girls, average age 8.7 years) with a high level of intellectual development (measured using Raven’s SPM in terms of IQ, the average IQ score is ≥130, the range is 115–150); 80 children (40 boys, 40 girls, average age 8.8 years) with normative intellectual development.

Methods. The questionnaire of academic motivation SRQ-A by T.O. Gordeeva, O.A. Sychev, M.F. Lynch, the methodology for assessing social and emotional skills by E.A. Orel and A.A. Kulikova, the questionnaire of life satisfaction of schoolchildren by T.N. Kanonir, I.L. Uglanova, D.A. Federyakina were used. The Mann-Whitney U criteria, Spearman correlation coefficient p, and Fisher’s Z-transformation were applied.

Results. The differences in the motivational profiles of younger schoolchildren with different levels of intellectual development are shown. At a high level of intellectual development, self-development motivation is more expressed; external and related types of motivation are less pronounced. Reverse connection is revealed between external motivation and goal achievement skills as well as with school satisfaction.

Conclusions. In the second phase of primary school age, external motivation weakens in children with a high level of intellectual development, studying according to an enriched programme. Internal academic motivation develops intensively, which plays a leading role in ensuring subjective well-being and the formation of goal achievement skills. The main direction of further research is to compare the motivational indicators of younger schoolchildren with a high level of intellectual development, studying in different conditions and at different levels of schooling.

Background. The issue of formalism in science education, which refers to the substitution of concept assimilation with the reproduction of scientific terms regardless of their actual functions as a thinking tool, continues to impact the effectiveness of secondary schooling. As an educational outcome, formalism is a significant obstacle to the development of functional scientific literacy.

Objective. The aim of the study was to assess the ability of seventh-grade students to consider the application of familiar household devices, based on the explanations of lever mechanics from the prior physics lesson.

Study Participants. A sample of 133 seventh graders (13–14 years old, 68 boys, 65 girls) from four Moscow schools who had begun learning physics but were unfamiliar with the topic “Lever” took part in the research.

Methods. For research purposes, we modeled a physics lesson. It included familiarizing students with an instructional video and the textbook material on the topic. The written work consisted of 9 tasks with the images of simple everyday devices. Students were required to write their reasoning about whether the operation of these devices could be explained using the principle of leverage. The results of the expert evaluation of these reasons were analyzed.

Results. The study allowed us to outline the “picture” of formalism, expressed in the predominance of everyday considerations in explanations of the work of the devices alongside a formalistic mentioning of particular attributes of a lever, often without taking those attributes into account in their decision. Only 14.7% of responses contained an attempt to interpret the educational material meaningfully.

Conclusions. The predominance of seventh graders’ “formalistic” explanations using textbook terms about the functions of well-known devices omitting the “conceptual” understanding of the “law of the lever” upon the initial exposure to the topic will undoubtedly have a significant impact on their future mastery of physics. Identification of these phenomena allows us to focus on the relevant educational design to improve scientific literacy among students.

Background. Theatrical activity as a collective form of interaction and as a variant of “communication with art” can help adolescents develop the need to communicate with their peers, form novel cognitive and personality traits of the aesthetic sphere, promote creativity and self-awareness, meeting the needs of modern society.

Objective. The goal is to reveal the relationship between the adolescent’s preferences in forms of communication with “engagement with beauty” (of nature, art, moral behaviour), creative potential and the peculiarities of the self-awareness development among students in theatrical institutions.

Study Participants. The study involved 50 teenagers aged 13 to 16 years (M_age = 14.6; SD = 1.6), students of grades 7–9 of the Moscow school with theatrical training. Two contrasting groups of school students, engaged and not engaged in theatrical activities, were organized.

Methods. The research applied the “Questionnaire to determine the profile of participation in extracurricular activities”, “Assessment of a teenager’s relationship with the class”, the Russian version of “the Engagement with Beauty Scale”. Methods of activity products analysis included the modified and adapted version of “the Creativity Assessment Packet” and “Free self-description” on the topic “Who am I, what am I”.

Results. The study revealed facts indicating that adolescents involved in theatrical activities prefer collectivistic and pragmatic forms of communication with peers, come up with creative ideas more often, and have more pronounced structural characteristics of self-awareness. “Engagement with beauty” is better expressed at the level of the final scale score as compared to the results of the adolescents who are not engaged in theatrical activities, preferring collectivistic and individualistic forms of communication. Significant negative relationships were obtained between the individualistic form of communication and the subscales of “emotional engagement” and the beauty of moral actions, as well as with such characteristics of self-awareness as “social relations” and “time perspective”.

Conclusions. The study revealed significant relationships between forms of communication and indicators of cognitive and personality spheres: participation in beauty, creativity development, and structural characteristics of self-awareness for “theatrical” adolescents. The prospects of the study are related to increasing the reliability of the results obtained and expanding the research methods.

Background. An analysis of foreign literature covering the models of aesthetic experience (AE) revealed a number of limitations: the absence of nonlinear dynamics, multi-level processes and integration of personality traits; to overcome these limitations, we developed a System-Dynamic Model of AE (SDM-AE).

Objective. The aim is to conduct an empirical verification of the predictions of the SDM-AE, based on the material of new media art and non-academic erotic paintings.

Study Participants. The study involved 750 respondents aged from 16 to 38 years (MAge = 23.86; SD = 6.53), about 84% of them are women — students of Stroganov's University, Moscow Institute of Psychoanalysis and school students from Moscow.

Methods. The study engaged the structural equation modeling, as well as psychodiagnostics tools to measure the following constructs: aesthetic emotions, aesthetic judgments, art interest, aesthetic experience, engagement with beauty, attitudes towards technology, implicit theories of creativity and attitudes towards sex. Linear regression and mediation analyses were used to process the data.

Results. The mediation analysis showed that aesthetic judgments are mediating variables between attitudes towards sex, attitudes towards technology and aesthetic emotions, the integration of flow dispositions into SDM-AE is shown. Universal personal variables that are actualized regardless of the content of the material are revealed. It is shown that the AE of new media art directly predicts a positive attitude towards technology, aesthetic responsiveness and contributes to the development of implicit theories of creativity.

Conclusions. Empirical verification of the SDM-EO allows us to conclude that the model is valid, and the results obtained contribute to the development of Russian psychology of art.

Background. The involvement of the motor component in the perception of musical intonation is emphasised by leading researchers in this field of music psychology and musicology. However, these theoretical positions require empirical research and confirmation.

Objective. The aim of the study was to hypothesise the role of motor similarity in the formation of musical perception. It is presupposed that the emotional and personal involvement of the listener is increased due to the motor experience of music.

Study Participants. Seventy-six people took part in the study (10 men and 66 women with an average age of 30). 35 participants were involved in the main group and the other 41 respondents constituted the control group.

Methods. A between-groups comparison design was used: the control group listened to a lecture or conference papers on psychological topics between the first and second music listening sessions, while the core group participated in a musical movement masterclass. Participants in the experimental group were asked to respond to the music with a movement. Free descriptions were used and qualitatively evaluated by experts according to categories.

Results. The effect of the inter-factorial interaction (group factor and number of listening sessions) on the categories of emotional and personal involvement and perception of intonational development in music is shown. Pairwise comparisons of each participant's descriptions revealed that the main group had significantly more changes related to the change in perceptual position (from external to internal), the manner in which the music was described, and the transformation of the visual image were significantly more frequent in the main group.

Conclusions. The perception of music in improvisation with motor imitation is characterised by a greater emotional and personal involvement: the listener's attitude to music changes, as does their connection with and personal significance of the music they experience. The role of motor likeness in enabling the perception of intonational development in music is demonstrated. When participants who listened to music without movement listened to it again, the changes in their descriptions were mainly related to the transformation of visual images.

Background. The relevance of the subject is expressed in the analysis of the phenomenon of counter-emotion from the perspective of plot (actor's action) and storyline (its psychology) "short circuit". The biblical scene "Kiss of Judas", known for the moral transformation of one of the apostles, was selected to represent this phenomenon.

Objective. To detect Judas' counter-emotion in his be(haviour)trayal as depicted in European painting and sculpture.

Study Materials. For this study, European artifacts dating back to the period from late 13th to 16th centuries were selected, a time when the discussed subject was developing and reaching its classical stage. Additionally, works of the second half of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century were analyzed, where the fact of Judas' betrayal acquired a renewed tragic dimension.

Methods. In analyzing the Judas' personality, the method of Lev S. Vygotsky was applied, which the author initially defined as an aesthetic and psychological approach. However, it was later concluded that the most concise and comprehensive term would be the method of plot and storyline "short circuit". By problematizing the antagonist's connection to his actions, the author formulated a hypothesis regarding the differentiation of possible aspects of his emotional experience.

Results. Based on the analysis of visual archetypes established within the New Testament biblical topos "Kiss of Judas", the principles specific to its psychological component were identified: 1) accusatory and caricatural— "the cowardly turncoat"; 2) accusatory and tragic — the traitor-provoker; 3) accusatory and grotesque — the traitor characterized by greed or sadism.

Conclusions. The analysis of Judas' image in painting provides grounds to discuss a stable paradigm of understanding evil, which, in interaction with good, becomes a moral criterion in the individualization of author concepts as modeling one's own vision of the world. In the Judas' kissing, evil serves as a unique psychological index anticipating the growing tragedy of society.

Background. The article studies the relationship between Y.L. Moreno's psychodrama and post-dramatic theater in the context of modern sociocultural demands. A synthesis of therapeutic and artistic practices gains special importance with the growth of individualization, digitalization and emotional alienation. Both psychodrama and post-dramatic theater offer alternative ways of understanding human experience — through action, spontaneity and deep emotional engagement, making them powerful tools in an era of crisis in traditional forms of communication.Based on the analysis of modern theatrical forms, the points of intersection with psychodrama are identified, which expands its toolkit due to the integration of visual, spatial and technological elements. Psychodrama, created by Y.L. Moreno, and post-dramatic theater, described by H.-T. Lehman, represent complementary directions, combining dramatic action, emotional reflection and experiments with reality.

Objective. The purpose of the study is to identify the theoretical and practical intersections of psychodrama and post-dramatic theater, as well as to assess their potential for creating new therapeutic and artistic forms.

Methods. Theoretical analysis of works on psychodrama and post-dramatic theater.

Results. Theoretical analysis of psychodrama and post-dramatic theatre has identified significant points of intersection that create space for the creation of new interdisciplinary practices. These methods reinforce each other, opening up pathways for personal transformation and artistic expression, and create the conditions for deep emotional work in both therapeutic and theatrical contexts.

Conclusions. Post-drama theater enriches psychodrama with visual, spatial and technological tools, enhancing its therapeutic potential.

Background. The theoretical significance of the work is determined by the lack of research on small project groups. The practical significance is determined by the need to identify factors of effective interaction in conditions of intense creative activity in the context of the modern film production system. Studying the specifics of intra-group relations in a film crew can contribute to more effective interaction between team members, reduce conflicts and increase overall productivity on the set.

Objective. The goal is to study the peculiarities of intragroup relations in film crews, as well as to identify personal qualities characteristic of leaders in these groups.

Study Participants. 60 members of creative film crews from five different projects took part in the study.

Methods. To study intragroup relations, we used the technique "Sociometry", which included 12 questions concerning professional cooperation, interpersonal relations, and organizational abilities. The Kettell 16 PF questionnaire was used to diagnose personality traits.

Results. The specifics of the choice of leaders and outsiders in film groups, as well as the main personal characteristics of group members who are referred to these categories, are revealed. It is shown that in the sphere of professional relations and organizational abilities the leaders were the actual group leaders, while the outsiders were the representatives of different status and professional workshops. The personal profile of leaders is characterized by marked emotional sensitivity. The main difference between leaders and outsiders is related to the level of empathy development. The situations in which one and the same participant became both a leader and an outsider in different projects are considered with the instability of sociometric status in the conditions of temporary teams being outlined.

Conclusions. The findings emphasize the importance of personality factors in maintaining a productive climate in the film crew and can be used when forming teams and selecting key personnel in similar project teams.

Background. The article covers the problem of psychological content of theatrical pedagogy. The authors note that as theatrical pedagogy is widely used as a method, it is important to clarify the goals it can be aimed at.

Objective. The purpose of the article is a scientific discussion of the psychological effects that can be achieved with the help of theatrical pedagogy. The authors highlight at least six blocks of analysis.

Results. The article analyzes the results of using theatrical pedagogy in practical activities when working with children, as well as some studies devoted to the evaluation of this method of work. The authors consider the discussed results from the point of view of the cultural-historical approach proposed by L.S. Vygotsky.

Conclusions. As a result of the analysis, the authors come to the conclusion that theatrical pedagogy has enormous potential for the general mental and personal development of a person. Theatre pedagogy allows developing the cognitive sphere of the student, emotional processes, influencing the behavioral sphere, influencing the development of communication. In addition, theatre pedagogy allows developing skills of joint activity and reflection. Moreover, all these pedagogical results do not contradict each other, but can be achieved in parallel and simultaneously. At the same time, theatre pedagogy as a way of work has a very wide variability and flexibility. Depending on the goals set, this pedagogy can be implemented in different ways. However, with an incorrect goal setting and use of the method, theatrical pedagogy can be not only useless, but even harmful.

Background. Despite the interest of the scientific community in the phenomenon of self-presentation, the relationship between ideas about the profession and strategies of self-presentation of the individual remains insufficiently studied.

Objective. The study is aimed at identifying the relationship between ideas about the profession and self-presentation of street theater figures, with an emphasis on the specifics of the image of the profession of a street theater actor.

Study Participants. The study was conducted based on the analysis of 156 Internet self-presentations of contemporary Russian street theatre figures, posted on websites and official theatre pages in social networks; in public channels, theatre company chats and online communities of street theatre figures.

Methods. The main empirical methods of the study are content analysis, observation. When assessing the relationship between ideas about the profession and self-presentation, the method of classification of strategic self-presentation tactics by E. Jones and T. Pittman was used. The relationship between non-strategic self-presentation and ideas about the profession was assessed based on the dramaturgical approach to social interaction by E. Goffman and the concepts of "auto-involvement", "spoiled identity", "role-free behavior" developed by him. The method of metasemantic analysis by A.G. Kozintsev was used as a diagnostics of comic narratives of self-presentations. The basis for constructing a diagram of the relationship between ideas about the profession and self-presentation was the model of schismogenesis by G. Bateson.

Results. In numerical terms, strategic self-presentations significantly exceed non-strategic ones. Auto-parodic self-presentations are the least common form of communication among street theatre actors and the most popular form of creative business card for street theatre actors. Restrained reactions of members of the professional community to auto-parodic self-presentation signal a violation of the presenter's "communicative postulates", giving grounds to classify it as a type of auto-involvement that goes beyond strategic self-presentation.

Conclusions. The presence of self-parody, roleless or open behavior in the self-presentations of contemporary Russian street theater actors indicates a significant impact of comic roles of street theater actors in the formation of the image of the profession. The results of this study may be useful for street theater actors, theater company managers, and specialists studying the problems of self-presentation and professional identity.

Background. Despite growing interest in the psychological aspects of art perception, empirical studies on this subject remain scarce in both Russian and international psychology. This is particularly true regarding theatrical perception.

Objective. This study examines the emotional-semantic score of audience perception through an analysis of P.N. Fomenko’s theatrical play “An Absolutely Happy Village”.

Study Participants. The study involved 50 audience members (74% female, aged 16–60: 46% 19–25 y.o.; 30% 26–45 y.o.; 18% 46–60 y.o.). Over half of the respondents (54%) held higher education degrees, while 30% had incomplete higher education. Participants demonstrated high theater engagement: 72% had attended performances more than twice in the preceding six months.

Methods. The research is grounded in L.S. Vygotsky’s conceptual approach to aesthetic response analysis and the distinctive nature of cathartic art experiences. The study employed: (1) comparative analysis of literary text and its theatrical interpretation; (2) an original anonymous questionnaire assessing theater engagement and play-specific perceptions; (3) a custom semantic differential-based tool measuring emotional responses to performance episodes.

Results. Findings reveal how stage interpretation facilitates audience engagement with existential themes. The audience’s emotional score emerges from a dialectic conflict between two affective dimensions: wellbeing vs. distress (reflecting the classical tragic “transition from happiness to misfortune”) and social acceptance vs. rejection of narrative events. Shifts in these “emotional-semantic melodies” stem from the director’s use of dual narrative sequencing in episode construction, enabling viewers to experience the complex emotional score of tragic catastrophe and catharsis.

Conclusions. The study findings contribute to understanding the psychological mechanisms of theatrical impact by revealing patterns in the formation of emotional-semantic perception of stage performances.

Background. The article discusses the current socio-psychological problems of our time: some parallels in the images of love; the confrontation between the city, with its all-consuming civilization, and nature, reviving man; the theme of the creation (transformation) of a new world, initiated by a beloved beautiful woman; the values that save a modern man in a falling world) in the novels of Meir Shalev "Fontanella" and Anna Gavalda "Consolation Game of Petanque".

Objective. The goal is to identify the features of the life world concepts and of the mutual understanding in art. The author wonders why many readers do not understand Shalev and Gavalda. In order to understand this, an analysis of communication in art, presented in the "artistic communication scheme", is proposed.

Methods. To solve the problems posed, a comparative analysis, reconstruction of the positions and life world of the novels' characters, comprehension of situations and problems, as well as their solutions, are carried out.

Results. A scheme of artistic communication is outlined, containing four projections (plans): semiotic, artistic reality, socio-psychological and spiritual (speech), which are considered sequentially. Depending on the type of the work being studied, as well as the specifics of the research task, certain projections come to the fore, and the others are manifested in the structure of the content of these works. The interest of writers in the unusual love under consideration is discussed, as well as the reasons for the negative assessment of the analysed works.

Conclusions. The author suggests that in modern culture there is a search for a new concept of love that would, on the one hand, meet the realities and challenges of modernity, and on the other, overcome the shortcomings of romantic love and the ordinariness of family life. One of the scenarios (naturally for a certain audience) is a boy's love for an adult woman, which lasts throughout his life. The difficulties in understanding many works of art and their characters are connected with the experiments of writers who are in search of a new artistic form.