Articles

Background. Studying the types of perception of difficult life situations is a demanded task, since knowledge about the subject’s perception of ongoing events allows us to predict the characteristics of his interaction with the situation. The article presents a classification of the perception of difficult life tasks — situations that involve achieving a significant difficult goal. The basis for identifying types is the subject’s focus on approaching a difficult situation or avoiding it.

Objectives. Objective is an analysis of the desire for difficulty associated with the experience of drive, as a type of perception of difficult life task.

Study Participants. The study involved 611 respondents (M age = 25; SD = 5.8; 427 women), students and specialists of various professions. The type describing the desire for difficulty was identified in 11% of cases.

Methods. To collect data, we used the Structured Description of the Situation Technique (allowing us to obtain qualitative data) in combination with the “Types of Orientations in Difficult Situations” questionnaire (TODS). Based on the profile of the respondent on the questionnaire and the characteristics significant for the type, each description of the difficult life task was assigned to one of five types. The data processing procedure included content analysis and mathematical processing (Mann — Whitney U test, frequency analysis).

Results. The features of striving for difficulty as a type of perception of difficult life tasks are highlighted based on the analysis of categories characterizing the content of the situation, emotions, energy, appraisals of life tasks, coping, goals, possibilities and restrictions, worst-case scenario and best-case scenario. It is shown that this type involves the experience of positive emotions, fullness of energy and possibilities, the desire to achieve the best results, and goals of self-development. This is associated with a positive appraisal and reappraisal, approach coping, a sense of control over the situation. At the same time, a characteristic feature of the desire for difficulty is an ambivalent attitude towards a difficult task.

Conclusions. The study demonstrated a number of signs that reliably distinguish the desire for difficulty from other types of perception of difficult life tasks, which gives grounds to consider it a separate type.

Background. Postcovid syndrome or Long COVID is a new term introduced into medical practice by WHO after the COVID -19 pandemic. Long COVID affects patients who have recovered from COVID -19.

Objectives. The purpose of this work is to understand cognitive deficits caused by COVID-19 from the point of view of neuropsychology and pathophysiology.

Data Sources. Literature search was conducted in the following electronic databases: Pubmed, Google.scholar and Scopus databases. 63 articles were selected. Keywords for the literature review included “neuropsychiatry/neuropsychology”, “pathophysiology”, “COVID-19”, “SARS-CoV-2”.

Methods. Review and analysis of COVID-19 studies in terms of its relation to the appearance of cognitive deficits in patients.

Results. The SARS-CoV-2 virus enters the human body and affects the structures of the brain. Some of the symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, problems with concentration and memory, loss or change of taste and smell, pain in muscles and joints as well as sleep disorders are preserved in post-COVID period and may be explained by the peculiarity of the virus interaction with central nervous system. Neuropsychological analysis of observed disorders based on the theory of three functional blocks of the brain by A. R. Luria helps to identify the affected zones of the functional systems of higher mental functions (HMF). Neuropsychological assessment makes it possible to plan rehabilitation programme or cognitive training, and help doctor in choosing an adequate drug therapy to compensate for cognitive impairment.

Conclusions. SARS-CoV-2 causes damage to brain structures such as the brainstem, limbic system, prefrontal cortex and olfactory tract, which explains the observed symptoms. Neuropsychological diagnostics makes it possible to identify the impaired component of the HMF in patients with post-COVID syndrome, to plan an adequate rehabilitation programme, as well as to choose drug therapy.

Background. The relevance of gender issues is associated with discussions outside the scientific field, while in the science itself, the popularity of gender studies is increasing every year.

Objectives. The present article aims at the application of the conceptual mechanism of the cultural-historical approach to gender issues.

Methods. Abstraction, analysis and synthesis of literary data, comparison of theoretical models, and generalization were used.

Results. Sex as a biological entity is divided into an innate “natural” category and a gender as a culturological one. A number of examples demonstrate the non-identity of sex and gender as well as variants of their combination and interaction. It is proposed to disidentify gender and gender identity as a psychological category. The latter is understood as an analogue of the higher mental function which forms intravitally under specific social conditions, it is mediated by gender signs (appearance, manners, norms, preferences, values, taboos, etc.) and is possible to self-regulate. In the meantime, the limitations in mastering one’s own behaviour are emphasized, since the origin of the gender identity is connected to the biological parameters of sex, inconsistency of gender norms and their wide field of influence. Here the field of cultural pathology in the sphere of gender identity and intersex interaction reveals itself.

Conclusions. The cultural-historical approach is seen to be heuristic in the multifactorial understanding of gender issues which include biological, cultural, psychological, and ontogenetic aspects.

Background. Modern development of psychological science in the field of studying work processes and formation of professional skills is impossible without reliance on the fundamental theoretical and methodological foundations of the concept of temporal paradigm developed by Y.K. Strelkov. It is important to analyze the temporal approach in the context of understanding subjectivity not only in relation to the category of time, but also to other important concepts, such as space, energy, movement, which are inseparable from the consciousness and experience of the subject.

Objective. The article aims to analyze the development of the main directions of Y.K. Strelkov’s scientific thought in the formation of the temporal paradigm of modern psychological science. Another aim is to determine the ways of development of the temporal approach in the context of modern psychological knowledge.

Methods. Theoretical, methodological, and comparative analysis of the temporal paradigm of Y.K. Strelkov in the context of modern psychological science.

Sample. The material was obtained on a sample of representatives of different professions: aviators, navigators, pilots, drivers, operators, dispatchers, and athletes of various qualifications.

Results. Scientific and methodological bases of Y.K. Strelkov’s concept formed the basis for the development of engineering psychology, occupational psychology, psychology of sport, transport psychology, psychology of professional skill development. It has laid the basic scientific and philosophical foundations, key concepts of the temporal paradigm in psychology, empirical approaches and research methods in the evaluation of temporal phenomena. Examples of the important role of temporal analysis in different professions are demonstrated. The necessity to elaborate and develop many psychological concepts, models, concepts used in modern psychological science was shown.

Conclusion. Further development of modern psychological knowledge in the field of studying professional mastery is possible within the framework of Y.K. Strelkov’s temporal paradigm. The ideas formulated by Yuri Konstantinovich formed the basis of modern multifunctional diagnostic-developmental complexes of professional development. Operational and semantic structures of professional experience served as a methodological basis for the concept of “system image representation” in the development of professional skills in athletes.

Relevance. The article provides a theoretical analysis of the requirements for an educational film from the point of view of psychology and pedagogy. The analysis of Russian and foreign studies in the field of perception of sound and video, as well as the semantic content of the educational film showed that they research general characteristics and mechanisms of processing for auditory and visual information in creating an image of reality. The main studies consider the focus of attention and semantic and cognitive attitudes.

Objective. The research aims to create a video course that allows a student with problems mastering mathematics to overcome the “learned helplessness”, to find meaning in studying algebra and geometry, to believe that learning mathematics is easy and interesting.

Methods. Content analysis, subject-subject dialogue, assessment and forecast of changes, conclusions from general to particular and from particular to general, comparative analysis.

Results. The project “Matstream” considering the main topics of algebra that students of primary school study in a series of video tutorials is presented. Taking into account the cognitive characteristics of modern fifth-ninth grade students is implemented in the presentation of educational material. Three blocks of videos are aimed at forming an attitude to the perception of abstract-logical information expressed in mathematical symbols, specific knowledge, skills and abilities.

Conclusion. In creating educational audiovisual products, it is necessary to take into account motivational, emotional, and cognitive components. Within the framework of the Matstream project, a program of assistance in teaching mathematics to schoolchildren is being implemented. It also involved developing attitudes to the perception of abstract-logical language of mathematical algorithms and overcoming difficulties in mastering mathematics.

Background. Distrust of technology is an important barrier to its implementation into human life. In the research of attitude to computers and automated systems, special attention in psychological science has been paid to attitudes towards technology: technophobia and technophilia.

Objective. The aim is to adapt two questionnaires to Russian sample in order to measure the technophobia and technophilia attitudes, as well as to evaluate their psychometric properties.

Methods. The adaptation of the questionnaires was carried out in accordance with the requirements of psychometric standards. As part of the work, the methods of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to assess the internal structure of the techniques. Correlation analysis was used to obtain evidence supporting questionnaires validity.

Sample. At the first stage of the study, 275 people filled out questionnaires on technophobia and technophilia, of which 194 were women (71 %) and 81 were men (29 %), the average age was 33.5 years (SD = 13.93). The second part of the study involved 545 employees of a large financial sector organization.

Results. The methods showed sufficient reliability indicators on the scales (the Cronbach’s α coefficient is higher than 0.8) and the expected correlation coefficients of the results on the questionnaires with each other and with questionnaires aimed at assessing personal anxiety, self-efficacy and personality traits (HEXACO). The internal structure of the adaptation of the questionnaires was analyzed with confirmatory and exploratory factor analysis. However, the hypothesis of the stability of the internal structure for each scale was not confirmed.

Conclusion. Adapted questionnaires can be used for research purposes. It is necessary to continue collecting empirical data on both questionnaires.

Practical application of the results. The proposed versions of the questionnaires can be used to assess technophobic and technophilic attitudes without dividing these scales into subscales. The authors have proposed an alternative version of dividing items into subscales for the technophobia questionnaire, while this version is considered as potentially more suitable, although it requires additional analysis on new data sets.

Background. Volunteering is an activity in which people are involved initiatively and voluntarily, in order to improve the living conditions of the community. Research shows the ever-increasing role of volunteers in solving social problems. However, the organizers of volunteer activity face with the problem of the insufficient level of sustainable involvement of people in volunteering. Student life is a period of active socialization when the volunteer activities of students allow them to acquire important qualities necessary for successful socialization. Emotions are the evidence of involvement ensuring the sustainability of motivation. Therefore, it is important to understand how students reflect volunteerism in their ideas which will allow the organizer of volunteer activities to form a sustainable motivation for participants.

Sample. The study involved 173 university students.

Objective. The goal is to identify the features of the emotional component of the image of volunteering in the perceptions of university students in psychological and educational areas.

Methods. The thesaurus of emotive vocabulary by L.G. Babenko was used to compile the profile. Data collection was carried out by the method of limited associations. The task of the respondents was to give nine associations to the word “volunteer” in the form of the principle parts of speech (three verbs, three nouns, three adjectives). As a result, the frequency of these associations by categories of emotive vocabulary was revealed and a rating of these categories was formed.

Results. The most frequent in terms of the number of associations used are the categories of emotive vocabulary: kindness, pity, sincerity, and joy. These emotive categories characterize the emotional component of the image of volunteering in the thesaurus of students. An analysis of denotative-ideographic groups, taking into account functional-semantic categories, shows that these categories are represented unevenly in students’ associations. The category of emotional attitude is the most pronounced while the categories of emotional impact and the emotional attitude are not represented at all. A rating of denotative-ideographic groups was built according to the frequency of associations about volunteering used by the respondents.

Conclusion. The categories of emotive vocabulary are complementary to the content of volunteer activities. The emotional component of the image, identified with the help of denotative-ideographic groups and functional-semantic categories, reflects both the characteristics of the emotional regulation of volunteer activity and the personal constructs of students.

Background. Stereotyping is an important part of social cognition. Therefore, it attracts a lot of attention from psychologists and sociologists. Ethnic stereotypes are not only a reflection of established prejudices and false ideas, but also a kind of social “barometer” indicating possible social problems. Modern studies have revealed the relationship between stereotypes and real ethnic diversity, and also indicate that the subjective feeling of disadvantage is a breeding ground for the emergence and existence of ethnic stereotypes.

Sample. The study involved 88 people, representatives of 4 countries.

Objective. The article aims to substantiate theoretically, to identify empirically, as well as to classify ethnic stereotypes in the perception of advertising by young people, representatives of four ethnic groups.

Methods. The study simulated a situation of interethnic interaction, in which the participants acted as the “authors” of 6 advertising messages and 3 commercials. They had to write stories selecting the “main characters”, whose participation would illustrate the attractiveness of the advertised product or service. A set of typical images of representatives of different ethnic groups was proposed. Psychological diagnostics was aimed at establishing differences between groups. were An express questionnaire “Tolerance Index” (G.U. Soldatova, O.A. Kravtsova, O.E. Khukhlaev, L.A. Shaigerova) and emotional empathy questionnaire (Emotional Empathic Tendency Scale, EETS) designed to determine the level of empathic tendencies, the ability to empathize as a personal trait by A. Mehrabian and N. Epstein were used.

Results. Areas of social practices where autostereotypes and heterostereotypes appear were identified. Themes where new stereotypes appear were identified. The diagnostics showed that there is no statistically significant difference in the indicators of tolerance and empathy between representatives of the 4 groups.

Conclusions. The results of the study can be explained by the fact that participants demonstrated the unity of social group, the youth. The results obtained can be interpreted as evidence that for modern young people, the decisive factor in the formation of stereotypes is information transmitted through various means, which clearly acquires a transnational character.

Background. In Moscow schools there is a programme for vocational guidance for schoolchildren. One of these projects includes specialized classes in the project “Mathematical Vertical” for schoolchildren of grades 7-9. However, at present, studies of various psychological aspects of the influence of education on the personal characteristics of adolescents in special classes providing professional orientation for schoolchildren are not enough.

Objective of the study was to assess school motivation, meaningfulness of life, assertiveness, as well ae to identify differences in these indicators between students in the 7th grade of the “Mathematical Vertical” project and their peers in the regular class, as well as to determine the correlations between the indicators under consideration.

Methods. The questionnaire “Assessment of the level of school motivation” by N.G. Luskanova; the test by D.A. Leontiev to assess the level of meaningful life orientations; the assertiveness test by V. Capponi and T. Novak were used.

Sample. The material was obtained for 50 students of the 7th grade. 28 adolescents (of which 50 % were boys) were students in a “regular” class, 22 subjects were students in a mathematical class (73 % were boys). The average age of adolescents was 13 years.

Results. A low level of educational motivation was revealed among students in both classes. Male teenagers from the advanced mathematics class had a higher level of meaningfulness in life than their peers from the regular class. There were no gender differences in assertiveness test scores, while the number of assertive students was higher in the regular class compared to the maths class. The work also showed direct correlations between the levels of school motivation and meaningfulness of life, between assertiveness and meaningfulness of life.

Conclusion. It seems appropriate to introduce a number of measures in various classes of the school with the purpose of the development of assertiveness, awareness and formation of life meanings and orientations, an active position in relation to one’s own life, which can positively affect the level of school motivation.

Background. The modern labor market is characterized by constant, not always predictable changes, which directly affect labor resources. In this regard, one of the priority tasks of career consultants is to constantly monitor these trends in order to timely adjust their work to them.

Objective. The article aims to analyse the tasks and challenges that career consultants face in their work in the conditions of dynamically changing labor market.

Methods. The research used the analysis of literature supplemented by the respondents’ qualitative answers. They were asked to express the opinion about requests, tasks and difficulties they had in their work in 2022.

Sample. The data was obtained through an online survey of career consultants (24 participants).

Results. The main characteristics of the BANI-world model and their reflection in the modern local labor market are considered. The main requests and tasks that career consultants are working with in the current conditions are identified. Career consultants’ work challenges, limitations, and possible ways to overcome them are formulated.

Conclusion. The research materials indicate increased requirements for professional consultants. They are to be ready to work with a wide range of career guidance issues, to provide deep and long-term psychological support for clients in the current socio-economic conditions. The results obtained could be used as the basis for further clarification of the local trends in the study of activity characteristics in modern career consultants, difficulties in their work, as well as assistance in resolving them.

Background. Identification of typological differences in abilities of students studying in various areas of specializations at university allows us to predict the trajectory of their development in professional preparation.

Objective. The purpose of the study is to identify and analyze typological differences in the general and special abilities of bachelors in preparation for socionomic professions.

Sample. The study has been conducted in 2021–2022 academic years for 98 1–4 courses’ students studying in the area of specialty 39.03.02 Social work.

Methods. The methods used included tapping test in M.K. Kabardov’s modification, a questionnaire of professional preferences by J. Holland, M. O’Sullivan and J. Guilford test, SMRP (SMIL), R. Kettell’s questionnaire, the techniques by L.P. Kalininsky (COAP), and T. Leary’s technique.

Results. The general and special abilities are established. The natural basis of the general abilities (motor indicators), cognitive (social intelligence), and personal characteristics (optimism, extraversion and responsiveness) of students, characteristic of all courses, are found. Differences in special abilities are revealed: in the 1st year, sensitivity and pessimism prevail; in the second year dependence (there is no independence) and responsiveness are observed; in the 3rd efficiency, focus of consciousness on the social goals of activity, dominance and self-confidence are identified; in the 4th research and conventional professionally oriented personality types’ abilities and traits such as social responsibility, ability to analyze and structure activities, independence are developed (0.01 < p < 0.05). A common type for all courses is “social”, characterized by cooperativeness, the ability to interact with people, psychological tact. From the 1st to the 4th year, there is a clear identification of the social worker’s profile and an increase in readiness for socionomic professions (p < 0.05).

Conclusion. It is shown that when preparing for socionomic professions, the most significant signs of the development of general and special abilities are four factors: natural prerequisites (primary-signal or second-signal type of higher nervous activity (HNA)) and social (cognitive and professional) characteristics of the individuals. Typological differences in component combinations of general and special abilities, determined by the orientation of the activity of the individual and the learning conditions, are revealed among students of different courses studying in the specialty “Social Work”.

Background. Teachers’ ideas about aggression and deviant behavior of adolescents is an extremely important source of information, scientific consideration of which can both clarify the internal picture of the difficulties in teachers’ professional activities and assess the specifics of the manifestation of problematic behavior in adolescents.

Objective. The purpose of this article is a theoretical and empirical consideration of the phenomenology of aggressive behavior in adolescents as represented in teachers’ ideas. Another goal is to identify the main lexical units with which occur in the conceptualization of typical manifestations of aggressive behavior in adolescence.

Methods. The article analyses teacher’s answers to the open question: “What are the three most typical manifestations of aggressive behavior in adolescents?” The question was asked separately about younger (11–14 years old) and older (15–19 years old) teenagers. To analyze the data obtained, the methodology of text analysis by means of the R programming language was applied. The methodology included several stages: (1) tokenization of statements, (2) stemmization of words, (3) removal of stop words for the Russian language, (4) sorting meaningful parts of words by frequency of use. To determine the differences in the frequency of use for different lexical units, the Student and Mann — Whitney criteria were used.

Sample. The study was implemented in the form of an anonymous online survey, which was filled in by teachers from five federal districts of the Russian Federation. The overwhelming majority of respondents are female (94 %). The average age of respondents is 44.5 (SD = 11.7). A sample of 7,042 teachers was used for the analysis.

Results. The most frequent lexical unit was “aggress” [aggression] in both groups. In the representations of teachers regarding younger adolescents, there are also lexical units and their components: «krik» [scream], «drak» [fight], «grub» [rude], «poveden» [behavior], «fizichesk» [physical], «emocionaln» [emotional] and «slez» [tears/crying]. In relation to the older teenagers «poveden» [behavior], «grub» [rude], «drak» [fight], «fizichesk» [physical] and «zamknut» [withdrawn] are used.

Conclusion. The study identified the most frequent lexical units and their components used by teachers to describe aggressive behavior in younger and older adolescents. It was shown that the most frequent units and their components reflect typical manifestations characteristic of both ages. At the same time, the least frequent seem to indicate the specific risks characteristic of the age groups considered.

Background. Suicidal risk in adolescence and youth refers to one of the actual forms of autodestructive behaviour associated with socio-psychological factors.

Objective. The aim was to reveal the relationship between subjective dissatisfaction with the interpersonal communication and signs of psychological difficulties (aggressive behavior, substance use, anxious and obsessive thoughts, suicidal thoughts) in adolescents and young people with different levels of suicidal risk.

Methods. Participants filled in the interpersonal needs questionnaire (INQ-15) and a questionnaire diagnosing signs of psychological difficulties.

Sample. 92 adolescents and young adults aged 12–21 years without experience of suicidal thoughts, 132 adolescents and young adults with experience of suicidal thoughts but not actions, as well as 55 adolescents and young people who were treated in crisis hospitals for suicidal acts took part in the study.

Results. The Russian version of the Interpersonal Needs Questionnaire is a reliable and factor valid technique to assess the feelings of burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness in adolescents and young adults. Suicidal risk in adolescents and young adults is associated with interpersonal failure, loneliness, longing, which leads into feelings of burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness. In adolescents and youth with different suicidal risk, these feelings of burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness are associated with the recognition of psychological problems, and feelings of burden are associated with the recognition of aggressive behavior. The feeling of thwarted belongingness is associated with aggressive behavior only in adolescents and young people with suicidal thoughts and actions.

Conclusion. The association of feelings of burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness with the recognition of psychological problems in different suicidal risk groups, and the association of feelings of burden with the recognition of aggressive behavior indicates the importance of interpersonal communication factors in understanding subjective well-being in adolescents and young adults in general

Background. Visual search is considered today as an active process, usually implemented with the participation of eye movements. Modern search models assume the influence of both stimulus and cognitive variables on its characteristics and effectiveness. However, in research, as a rule, only one type of variables is controlled, which requires the creation of new experimental paradigms that allow studying the influence of both types of factors and their interaction.

Objective. Investigation of the influence of factors of verbalizability and symmetry of the target stimulus on the effectiveness and speed of its search and characteristics of search eye movements.

Methods. The created stimuli were identical in basic stimulus characteristics (color, shape, size, slope, number of elements) but differed in the symmetry of configuration and the level of verbalizability. An intragroup experimental plan was used. Eye movements were recorded in the process of visual search with the SMI HiSpeed 1250 eye tracker.

Sample. The total sample of the study consisted of 48 participants: 18 people (10 men, 8 women, average age — 20) — at the stage of assessing the verbalizability of stimuli; 30 people (6 men, 24 women, average age — 20) — at the main stage.

Results. None of the factors affected the effectiveness of visual search, it remained at a high level. In the absence of the target stimulus in the matrix, the search for symmetrical targets with verbalizability was completed faster, the search for asymmetric stimuli with low verbalizability was the slowest. Both factors influenced the features of searching eye movements: the search for “simple” (symmetrical and/or highly verbalizable) stimuli was characterized by shorter fixations and wide-amplitude saccades than the search for “complex” targets. ANOVA showed that there is no interaction between the factors of verbalizability and symmetry.

Conclusion. The results generally support the hypothesis about the influence of symmetry and verbalizability on the visual search, testifying in favor of their independent influence on the dynamics of search eye movements.

Background. Executive functions are one of the factors that contribute to the balanced development of children and their success in the future. In this regard, the study of factors that may influence the development of executive functions is an urgent task. The study examines the role of the kindergarten attendance duration in the development of working memory, cognitive flexibility and inhibition as components of executive functions in preschool children.

Methods. The NEPSY–II battery subtests were used to test the level of development of regulatory functions. Data on the period of children’s kindergarten attendance were collected according to preschool attendance journal.

Sample. The study involved 947 children aged 53 to 86 months (Mage = 70.3; SDage = 4.3), 515 boys and 495 girls from Moscow, Kazan, and Sochi.

Results. As a result of comparison of averages using Welch’s criterion, significant differences were found in the development of regulatory functions in children with different periods of kindergarten attendance. The level of visual and verbal working memory development was significantly higher in children who attended kindergarten for more than two years as compared to children with shorter time of attendance. Physical inhibitory control is significantly lower in children who attend kindergarten for less than a year compared to those who attend kindergarten for longer periods of time. Significant differences were shown in the level of visual working memory development depending on the region and on the duration of attendance.

Conclusion. The study demonstrated significant differences in the level of visual working memory, verbal working memory, and physical inhibitory control in children depending on the duration of kindergarten attendance. The highest scores were found in preschoolers attending kindergarten for more than two years. Thus, the results of the study emphasize the importance of kindergarten educational environment for successful cognitive development of preschoolers.