Articles

Editorial Board of the scientific journal "Bulletin of Moscow University. Series 14. Psychology" expresses its gratitude to all expert reviewers who assisted in the analysis, evaluation and selection of the publication of manuscripts received in 2020.

Relevance. Professional reliability is a complex multidimensional construct that is used to predict the professional success of specialists working in extreme conditions. Such forecasting is possible in large-scale studies using complex multi-stage modeling, but the forecast will be abstract, not applicable to individual cases. An alternative is to predict certain aspects of success. At the same time, the components of “personal reliability” have the greatest predictive value, since with the development of civilization and changes in the “man-machine” relationship, the internal content of professional reliability shifted from a predominantly functional component to motivational, moral and socio-psychological, including the phenomenon of self-regulation. 

The purpose of the research is to study the components of personal reliability as possible predictors of certain aspects of professional success of rescuers. 

Sample:31 specialists (men), rescuers of one of the Subdivision Ministry of Emergency Situations AQUASPASS, aged 24 to 45 years. 

Research methods: expert assessment of professional success; self-assessment of the level of professionalism; case method; test questionnaire A.V. Zverkova and E.V. Eydman “Research of volitional self-regulation”; “11 personality factors”; test “Motivational Profile” by Ritchie S., Martin P.; Rosenzweig frustration test; “Express methodology” for studying the social and psychological climate in a team (OS Mikhalyuk and A.Yu. Shalyto); diagnostics of the attractiveness of labor (V.M. Snetkov). 

Conclusions (briefly): a) it is possible to use the indicator of success in a training situation as a predictor of professional success; b) the influence of each of the components of personal reliability on different aspects of professional success is differentiated, therefore, forecasting is more optimal also in differentiated options; c) the effectiveness of socio-psychological interaction makes an important contribution to professional success, and the components of the socio-psychological climate play different roles in this. 

Acknowledgments: The study was carried out with funding from grant 19-013-00799 A “Predictive model of adaptability and reliability of professionals in extreme working conditions”.

Relevance. Timely comprehensive diagnostics of psycho-social factors involved in the formation of cerebral palsy in children, their influence on the formation of child-parent relationships is relevant and practically significant. Inharmonious upbringing, emotional disorders and personal characteristics of the parent can affect the child's mental development, contribute to violations of psycho-social adaptation. 

Objective of the study: to reveal the psychological characteristics of children with cerebral palsy and those of their mothers, to determine the characteristics of upbringing and parent-child relationships, to conduct clinical and psychological support of children with this disabling disease and their parents with elements of cognitive-behavioral correction of the identified disorders. 

Methods of research. Clinical conversation and experimental psychological method including: “Assembling Figures” method according to the 4th Wechsler subtest; method of drawing associations by S. Rosenzweig (children's version) modified by N.V. Tarabrina(1978); René Gilles method, 1950; test “SMOL” ( V.P. Zaitsev, 1981); “PARI” method by E.S. Schaefer and R.K. Bell, adapted by T. V. Neshcheret (1984). Methods of statistical analysis were used as well. 

The sample consisted of: Group1 (n1) – 37 pre-school children with cerebral palsy aged 5–6 years (17 girls and 20 boys) and their mothers in the MCU of Samara RC “Zhuravushka”; Group 2 (n2) – 37 conditionally healthy children of the same age and gender in the SBU SAMARA city children's polyclinic No. 9. 

Research results. It was found that in children with cerebral palsy, emotional response in a situation of frustration is accompanied by high self-accusatory reactions, low socio-psychological adaptation and low self-esteem. Child-parent relationships are in the suboptimal emotional range. An effective program of clinical and psychological cognitive-behavioral psychological correction of emotional and behavioral cerebral palsy disorders in the parent-child group was carried out. 

Conclusions. Psychosocial factors affecting the adaptation processes of preschool children with cerebral palsy were identified. Families with children with chronic disabling diseases such as cerebral palsy, need to organize training and education, including psycho-corrective and correction-developmental classes. 

Relevance. Categorization, being one of the main cognitive processes, is involved in the perception and comprehension of objects with meaning, depending on the personal significance. Exceptional subjectivity of bodily experience makes it important to explore its structuring and mediating with sign through the analysis of bodily sensations categorisation in patients with complaints of pathological bodily sensations. 

Objective: description of specific characteristic features of categorization of bodily sensations in patients with excoriation disorder with impulsive actions.

Methods and Sample. 15 patients with excoriation disorder with impulsive actions (mean age 47±17 years) and 50 patients with depression with somatic symptoms (mean age 42±13 years) took part in the study. They were asked to perform psychosemantic test “Choice of intraceptive sensations descriptors” for describing all bodily sensations and health-related bodily sensations. 

Results. Patients with excoriation disorder with impulsive actions, when categorizing all bodily sensations and health-related bodily sensations, chose descriptors of actions with the skin and descriptors of negative emotional states. Significant differences were found in the choice of descriptors of emotional states. Their number was less in patients with excoriation disorder with impulsive actions in comparison with patients with depression with somatic symptoms who demonstrated a variety of choices of descriptors of different classes in response to both instructions of the test.

Conclusion. Bodily sensations categorisation study allowed to discuss the features of bodily experience in general and health-related bodily experience. In excoriation disorder with impulsive actions the bodily sensations categorisation was characterized by an attribution of actions with skin and emotions to bodily experience. The characteristics of bodily sensations choices in patients from different groups allowed to associate features of bodily sensations categorisation with clinical symptoms of these mental disorders. 

Relevance. Development and improvement of methodological tools to solve scientific and practical problems is an important issue in modern neuropsychology. This study examines consonant-vowel (СV) syllable test and word test, considers their different functional orientation and shows relevance of the dichotic listening task development. For the first time in Russian neuropsychology the authors developed the dichotic listening consonant-vowel syllables test taking into account the phonetic features of the Russian language.

Objective. Comparison of the equivalence of two dichotic listening tests: the word test that was first tested by B. S. Kotik and the two CV-syllable dichotic listening tests. 

Method. Two groups of respondents participated in the study. The first group of the participants (N = 88; M = 21.08; SD = 2.32) performed the word test and the first CV-syllable test. Participants of the second group (N = 44; M = 24.52; SD = 1.86) were presented with the word test and the second version of CV-syllable dichotic listening test. 

Results. The results confirmed the differences between the word test and the two CV-syllable dichotic listening tests. The differences and nonequivalence of the word test and the CV-syllable tests in laterality index (LI) and productivity coefficients (general productivity, right- and left-ear accuracy scores) are amplified as the stimulus material of CV-syllable dichotic listening is improved and modified. The increase of the load on working memory enhances right ear advantage (LI) and reduces performancewith an increase in the influence of working memory on the results of dichotic listening.

Conclusion. The study shows nonequivalence of the word test and the CV-syllable tests and their different functional orientation for the estimation of hemispheric specialization in audio-verbal domain.

The relevance of the article is due to the fact that the variety of research approaches and data obtained make it difficult to form a holistic picture of motherhood as a phenomenon of a woman's inner world. Scientific ideas about motherhood present a necessary basis for the formation of the demographic policy of the state, for the strengthening of family values in society and for the education of young people. 

The purpose of the article is to analyze and summarize modern studies concerning various aspects of the subjective picture of motherhood, to identify its main components, to comparatively analyze the determinants of the formation of a picture of motherhood, to describe the diversity in the ideas of motherhood.

 As a result of the analysis of Russian and foreign studies, the similarities and differences in the interpretations of many aspects of motherhood and the conditionality of the subjective picture of motherhood by a number of socio-cultural factors are described. The leading factors of readiness for motherhood, connection with childhood experiences, social ideas about motherhood, cultural and historical context of family life are reviewed. The article describes the woman's ideas about herself as a future mother, emphasizes the influence of relationships and emotional atmosphere in the parental family, the importance of identification with her own mother and her position in child-parent relationships. The peculiarities of accepting the role of the mother, the reasons for the deviations from the main role and conflicts of a woman as a result of the discrepancy between her behavior and the established (by society, others, family members, herself) role models are highlighted. Attention is payed to the results of empirical studies showing the possibility of harmonious coordination of a woman's maternal self-realization with other forms of self-realization. 

It is concluded that cultural traditions, the dominant value orientations in society, ideas about personal success, career, well-being have a significant impact on the subjective picture of motherhood but interpersonal relationships in a close social environment are of predominant importance. The subjective picture of motherhood can be viewed as part of a woman's attitude and worldview. It changes under the influence of life plans and circumstances, numerous external and internal factors. 

Acknowgements: The study was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project No. 19-113-50583.

Relevance. The problem of homosexuality is constantly in the spotlight of the mass media, social media and politicians. Psychological studies of this phenomenon are easier to find in foreign rather than in Russian research. At the same time the cultural and national specificity of attitudes towards the phenomenon of homosexuality seems obvious as well as a significant polarization of opinions within society itself. This polarization can be gender, urban, class, and intergenerational, as evidenced by numerous sociological polls. With significant attention to this issue at the level of social strata, there are not many attempts to analyze the concept of homosexuality in line with the socio-psychological tradition.In a number of previous studies it was revealed that the modern Z Gen is distinguished by greater tolerance and freedom of views in terms of attitude towards traditionally segregated social groups. 

The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of homosexuality among different generations of modern Russians. Homosexuality has been singled out among other sexual orientations (LGBT) as the most discussed in public discourse. The subject of the research is social perceptions of homosexuality, particularly among representatives of different generations. 

Methods. The methodological basis of the research was the study of the structure of social perceptions (metho P. Vergesse method). The research methods were the author's questionnaire aimed at identifying perceptions of homosexuality as well as a modified version of the RAHI questionnaire (Gulevich et al., 2016). The study sample consisted of 444 people (residents of the Russian Federation,16 to 65 years old). 

Results and Conclusions. The hypotheses of the study were confirmed: an inverse relationship between age (belonging to a generational cohort) and perceptions of homosexuality as normative was revealed. A significant difference was shown in the Z Gen perceptions in terms of tolerance of homosexuality. The so-called double standards were identified in terms of attitudes towards male and female homosexuality. The rooted concept of homosexuality as a relationship based on a sexual rather than a romantic-spiritual level, was stated. 

Relevance. Historically formed scientific traditions, approaches, concepts (including those called the “competency-based approach” – the K-approach) are formed in certain social conditions to solve certain social problems, beyond them they discover their limitations. Identification of the possibilities and limitations of the K-approach contributes to both its development and the refinement of the conditions under which its implementation will be more constructive and effective. 

Methods: historical and theoretical analysis. 

Results. “Open questions” of the problem are highlighted: inconsistencies in the judgments of specialists in listing the qualities that determine the success of the subject; the number of competencies “necessary and sufficient”; non-realization of holistic, integrated approach; the place of competencies in the structure of professionalism, their role in career success and professional longevity of people; the issue of “universal” / “specific competencies”; the question about the place of the phenomenon of “competence” and the K-approach in the system of psychological knowledge; the question about the validity of the methods and the measure of the predictive value of the estimates. 

Conclusions. The interpretation of competencies and the K-approach proposed by specialists are unsatisfactory and poorly coordinated with each other. The K-approach and the established earlier approach of professionally important qualities (PVC-approach) are historically transient scientific concepts (falling into the scale of “small theories”). Both approaches have their own limitations as well as opportunities for development and integration with others. The PVC approach is characterized by an initial extremely broad statement of tasks; the K-approach – by the pragmatism of the original goals and objectives, empiricism in assessing the qualities of the subject. It is possible and necessary to search and find areas of their mutual complementarity, taking into account their ultimate goals and conditions of formation. Ignoring the merits and limitations of any scientific approach is not the best solution. The transition to an open discussion of all complex issues is in demand. 

Relevance of the work is determined by the need to study the personality and psychological characteristics of students choosing full-time and distance learning to understand the general laws of the formation of the psychological culture of a graduate in the context of the active development of electronic educational space. 

The purpose of the study is to compare the individual characterological elements of the psychological culture of students choosing full-time and distance learning in the development of engineering specialties. 

Methods and sampling. The sample consisted of 84 respondents aged 18 to 22 years studying in the field of information technology. They were divided into two groups depending on the preferred form of education: distance learning (40 students) and full-time (44 students). The following tools were used: five-factor personality questionnaire by H. Tsuyi in the adaptation of A.B. Khromov; B. Bass technique for diagnosing the personality orientation, Yu.M. Orlov technique for identifying communication needs; viability test by S. Muddy; self-attitude test questionnaire (CCA) by V.V. Stolin and S.R. Pantileeva. 

Results. Distinctions in the reflexive-evaluative component, communicative features are highlighted. Students of distance learning have a lower level of the need for communication, lower levels of self-regulation and a more pronounced psychological distance in communication, associated with lower rates of self-acceptance, compared with full-time students. The choice of the method of organizing interpersonal interaction in the educational situation is affected by the psychological distance of the person in communication. In case of distance-learning students, the factor of “attachment-remoteness” appeared to be more significant compared to full-time students, who were characterized by a higher indicator of the need for other people to evaluate them. 

Conclusions. The active development of e-education requires to take into account the specifics of the personal characteristics of students and should not be limited only to the expansion of user competencies. This is determined by the distinguished differences in the characteristics of self-acceptance, the severity of the need for communication, as well as the psychological distance of the person in communication between students who prefer distance or full-time educational formats. 

The purpose(objective) of the empirical study is the measurement of the accuracy of expert-proctors in detecting cheating in online testing. 

Sample of the study. 35 test takers passed an online test of general knowledge on the basis of 30 multiple choice questions. Half of the subjects (18 persons) were “artificial cheaters” – they used cheat sheets with correct answers. 

Methods. The video recording of the testing process included a “screen capture” so that expert-proctors could observe all cursor movements, see a recording of the subject's facial expressions and a visual focus of attention in a separate window (recording from the front camera), and could listen to the subject pronouncing the task conditions and answers (“oral decision”). 14 experts took part in rating of video recordings, of which 8 experts showed satisfactory results in terms of the level of accuracy in detecting cheating (their accuracy that was measured using the Kappa coefficient was higher than 0.5). 

Conclusions. A high asymmetric validity of expert assessments is revealed. More accurate experts allowed a negligible (about 5 percent) number of errors of the “false alarm” type, but a relatively large number of errors of the “skip” type. Recommendations are made for the practical use of the expert assessment method in combination with automatic chronometric analysis of the degree of atypical protocols and subsequent control of face-to-face offline testing of all suspected subjects (examinees). 

Relevance. The COVID-19 pandemic reveals the problem of moral choices for a large number of people: who should be treated first; who can be considered as a subject for urgent vaccines and drugs testing; choice between personal convenience and observation of restrictions for the sake of the “common good.” 

The objective of the study was to evaluate whether the stress experienced by people during the COVID-19 pandemic can change moral decision making. 

Materials and methods. The data of an online survey conducted from March 30 to May 31 (311 people) were analyzed. The survey included sociodemographic questions, questions about assessing one’s current condition, the Simptom Check List-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), and the Moral Dilemmas Test, consisting of 30 dilemmas. 

The relationship of a number of utilitarian choices in personal moral dilemmas with sociodemographic characteristics, respondents' assessments of their state and psychopathological characteristics was analyzed. Solving personal moral dilemmas was considered within subgroups of respondents with a high level of somatization and a high level of psychopathological symptoms and it was reviewed separately. 

Results. The results showed a high level of distress throughout the survey and an increase of utilitarian choices in personal moral dilemmas by the end of the survey. The number of choices in personal dilemmas was lower among older respondents, higher among men, and positively correlated with psychopathological symptoms. In the subgroup with a high level of somatization, personal choices slightly decreased by the end of the survey. On the contrary, in the subgroup with high levels of psychopathological symptoms, the number of personal choices significantly increased. 

Conclusions. Against the background of quarantine, assessments of moral standards change. The level of stress ambiguously affects moral decisions. A high level of somatization leads to a decrease in utilitarian personal choices, and a higher level of psychopathological symptoms leads to an increase in utilitarianшchoices. Utilitarian personal choices are more often made by men and younger people. 

Relevance. The article defines the first-ever directions of psychological aid for children infected with COVID-19 in “red zone” in the context of illness of close adult people. 

The goal of the research is psychological state of children infected with COVID-19 in “red zone” in the context of illness of close adults and determination of the required psychological aid. 

Methods and sample. Analysis of 36 clinical cases of 7–17 years old children in the context of illness of close adults, who were in critical condition in intensive care department (first group – 28 children) or in satisfactory condition being treated at home (second group – 8 children). The research included the following: observation of medical records; screening diagnostics, which included the ‘Three Wishes” technique, an adapted method of “Unfinished sentences” (for adolescents), a drawing (any topic); 10-questions questionnaire focused on child's physical well-being, its wishes for organization of everyday life and leisure activities in hospital ward, etc. 

Results.The majority of patients appeared to be in unfavorable psychological state (close to acute stress or unstable state), which manifested itself in three different ways: severe anxiety; over-excitement, impaired mood. These symptoms were constant and illustrative for children whose relatives were in critical condition in the intensive care department. Children, whose relatives were in satisfactory condition and were treated at home were observed during periods when they were influenced by additional stressors. 

Conclusions. Taking into account psychological differences and other factors (such as age, level of psychological maturity, severity of physical condition) provides an opportunity to give children and adolescents in “red zone” differentiated psychological aid. 

Acknowledgments. This research was carried out with the aid of officers of FSAI “NMRC of Children’s Health” of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and medical psychologists M.S. Afonina, M.B. Rabinovich, V.M. Sklyadneva, M.S. Erotievich, and N.N. Pavlova.

September 7, 1970 marks the 50th anniversary of Emelin Vadim Anatolyevich, doctor of Psychology, Professor of the Department of labor psychology and engineering psychology, Faculty of psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Professor of RAO.

Relevance. The ability of children with hearing impairments to recognize and determine their own conditions and those around them, to build adequate forecasts determines the success in socializing, in their interaction with others, both adults and peers, and in establishing relationships with them, which determines the relevance of the study.

The objective of the study is to determine the specifics of the relationship between the processes of identifying mental states, predicting and criteria for the success of interaction between children and other people measured by communication skills and emotional well-being / distress. 

The following methods were used: "Emotional faces" (N.Y. Semago), "Ugadayka" (L.I. Peresleni and V.L. Podobed), "Methodology for determining the level of development of the communicative abilities of preschool children" (N.E. Veraksa), “Scale of emotional distress and atypical behavior” (A.M. Kazmin, N.A. Konovko, O.G. Salnikova, E.K. Tupitsina, E.V. Fedina). 

Sample. The study involved 15 preschoolers with hearing impairment , 100 preschoolers without hearing impairment, 16 children of primary school age with hearing impairment, and 40 - without hearing impairment. 

Results. It was found that the processes of predicting and identifying mental states are interrelated; the relationship is mediated by other variables (emotional well-being, communication skills), the structure of the relationship is deteriorating with age in children with and without hearing impairments. 

The following conclusions were drawn: the structure of prognosis for children with normotypical development and hearing impairment has a general tendency in dynamics ( secondary variables fallout) and specific signs, manifested in the level of complexity and completeness of the structure; having a common foundation (subjective experience) identification and forecasting processes are interconnected only in preschool age; with time their relationship is mediated by additional variables (emotional well-being and communication skills); children with hearing impairments have a less complex structure of the relationship between predicting and identifying mental states against emotional well-being and communication skills. 

Relevance. Underachieving schoolchildren are characterized by underdevelopment of higher mental functions (HMF) as compared to well-performing pupils. At the same time, there is a lack of explicit data on which dysfunctions are the most specific to underachievers.

It is unknown how much particular neurocognitive dysfunctions affect school performance and what are the possibilities to compensate for isolated defects. 

Objectives. To identify the predictors of poor academic performance in school and to evaluate capabilities for children with certain neurocognitive dysfunctions for better progress at school. 

Method. The neuropsychological examination was used to evaluate the characteristics of neurocognitive development. Four daily routine activities, fourteen HMF, and the overall level of neurocognitive development were assessed. The index of isolation-multiplicity of neurocognitive dysfunctions was calculated. To evaluate academic performance (average grade for all disciplines) interviews with pupils and their parents were conducted, school exercise-books and assignment books were thoroughly studied. The study involved 427 children (292 boys and 135 girls) aged from 6 to 17 years, (11.7 ± 3).

Results. The results of neuropsychological diagnostics explain 24% variance in the academic performance in school grades 1–4 and 18% variance in grades 5-11. Underachievement is predominantly related to the reduction in thinking, attention, audio-verbal memory, and overall level of neurocognitive development. Time orientation turns out to be more reduced than other everyday functions in underachievers. Certain mental functions in underperforming elementary school pupils can spontaneously improve through education. Isolated neurocognitive dysfunctions (up to 3) do not result in poor school performance.

Conclusion. Thinking, attention, and audio-verbal memory dysfunctions against the background of the low overall level of neurocognitive development are most specific to underachieving schoolchildren. Under-development of attention is the most significant predictor of poor school performance in 1–4 school grades, low level of thinking – in 5–11 grades. Isolated neurocognitive dysfunctions (up to 3) that can be compensated for have no negative impact on educational performance.