Articles

The aim of the article is to give a brief overview of cognitive studies in computer games psychology. The researches of psychological specifics of computer gamers have become very important recently due to a great popularity of computer games among children, teenagers and adults all over the world. Numerous studies are made that show significant differences between cognitive characteristics of computer gamers and non-gamers. There are possible negative consequences (such as long-term memory decline) as well as positive ones. Computers games are shown to enhance attention, spatial cognition and cognitive control of computer gamers and participants of specially organized computer games sessions. Cognitive function can possibly be trained in computer games.Computer games experience affects processes of thinking, decision making as well as multitasking and task-switching capability. Studies of connection between cognitive styles and computer games are also reviewed.

The paper analyzes opportunities and limitations of stage models in health psychology (trans-theoretical model, precaution adoption process model) comparing to traditional continuum models and actively developing self-regulation models. Theoretical basis for stage models (orientation to practical problems, analysis of behavior dynamics and associated processes, descriptive approach, understanding of the model effectiveness as an accuracy of classification and description of the transitions between stages) and problematic spheres (discrete/continuous process of change, descriptive/explanatory nature of the basic constructs). Heuristic nature of stages models is proved in solving the original problem of behavior description while their vulnerability to criticism is demonstrated because of the implicit transition to the problem of his explanation.

The paper presents an overview of research aimed at understanding of the executive functions in childhood. The article shows that in studies focused on the role of the adult, and in the studies that pay attention to the interaction between peers and the impact of these processes on executive functions, it is clearly shown that executive functions are investigated in the line of the logic of cultural-historical theory (Vygotsky, Luria, Leontiev, Zaporozhets). It is shown that the importance of social interaction postulated by Vygotsky was experimentally justified in modern research. In these studies age dynamics in the formation of executive functions and the specific role of the adult in different stages of development are described. The communicative aspect of the interaction is emphasized, but role of an adult role as a carrier of cultural resources is not considered.

The article suggests a classification of parenting styles found in the families of psychological consultation clients, who have asked for the help in the decision of the parent-child problems. This classification is created as a result of investigation 176 families. Based on interview with clients there were identified and described two main parenting style — overprotection and overexactingness. Their descriptions are given in three dimensions of the relationship of parents with their children’s: cognitive, emotional and behavioral. There were identified and described the various variants of overprotection and overexactingness: local and total, moderate and strong, “hospital”, anxious and loving overprotection; local and total, moderate and strong, soft, hard and cruel overexactingness. Content characteristics of all these variants were also given by separate dimensions of the relationship of parents with their children. This classification, in comparison with the known, gives the opportunity to more clearly define meaningful similarities and differences of different parenting styles on each of the selected dimensions.

Based on the ideas of E.N. Sokolov about the mechanisms of the “vector encoding” information in the brain the spherical connectionist model of visual cognitive action was constructed. This model takes into account and expressed in mathematical form some neurophysiological data on the structure and functioning of the real neural networks of the brain. In this model, using the general principles of “vector coding”, all the main stage cognitive action have been described in a mathematical form, including the step of exposing the object on the retina and the step of evaluating the correctness of the response to a stimulus. Psychophysiological problem has also been considered. The transition of the perceived object from his physiological state F at the output of pre-detectors to unconsciously perceived (psychological) state D at the output of the ensemble detectors and the model awareness of sensations of the object properties has been described. The developed spherical connectionist model of cognitive actions allowed uniting in the activity psychology the ideas of E.N. Sokolov about the “vector coding” of the object properties in the brain and the A.N. Leontiev’s ideas about the mechanisms of “active psychic reflection of the object by the subject”.

The paper presents results of the neuropsychological assessment of processes involved in the maintenance of activation (Luria’s Unit I functions) in 64 firstgraders who demonstrated various levels of academic success. On the basis of this assessment, the children were divided into three groups: (i) the children without any deficit in the Unit I functions (CONTROL children), (ii) those predominantly showing slowness/fatigue (SLOW children), and (iii) those who can be considered as predominantly hyperactive-impulsive (HYPERACTIVE children). It is shown that, relative to controls, both SLOW and HYPERACTIVE children show reduced academic scores and the decrease of most indices that characterize functions of the Units II and III. The weaknesses of executive and visual-spatial functions are predominantly observed in HYPERACTIVE children, whereas SLOW children usually show some deficit in processing of kinesthetic (proprioceptive) and audio-verbal information. Children with functional weakness of the Unit I functions show an overall reduction in performance and its speed in the computerized versions of the “DOTS” and “SCHULTE—GORBOV tables” tests. In HYPERACTIVE children, deficits are observed in the most difficult tasks (those probing mostly into planning and control functions), and their performance is the most unstable. In SLOW children, the performance rate is noticeably decreased for the moderate-to-difficult tasks. Overall, the data reported contribute to the understanding of the diversity of Unit I functions deficits and their relation to the learning difficulties experienced by children in the primary school.

The article is devoted to considering of the interrelation of level of emotional burning out and life-meaning orientations of teachers and psychologists. During empirical research it was shown that workers with the expressed level of emotional burning out statistically mismatches in the system the life-meaning orientations observed more often, than at workers with not expressed syndrome of emotional burning out for whom internal harmony, acceptance of the past, the present and the future are more characteristic. It is the paradox designate in the article: stressful situations provoking emotional burning out, under certain circumstances can be considered as conditions of development of teachers and psychologists. Thus, prospects of new researches of a syndrome of emotional burning out contact us with the identification of these conditions and development on this basis of more modern medico-hygienic standards of work of teachers and psychologists, which while, unfortunately, is not present.

Correlations between various classes of working memory tasks (working memory span tasks, updating tasks) were analyzed. Tasks that share processing and storage requirements correlated with each other. A three factor structure was extracted compatible with the existence of three components within working memory: focus of attention, region of direct access, and activated memory. The data shows that processing and storage are independent in working memory and that storage in working memory is based on two storage systems — one that uses short-term memory mechanisms and one that uses long-term memory mechanisms.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the role of conscious self-regulation in reliability of actions of students in exam situation. Participants were 231 16—18 year old students. The results showed that reliability of regulation (stability of the basic regulatory characteristics in a stressful situation) is the basis of the reliability of action of students with different level of academic success. The study describes the characteristics of the reliability of learning actions of students. We compared personal and regulatory characteristics of high school students with different level of reliability of actions and academic success. We found that students with the highest score on the exam have a low level of anxiety and a high level of conscious self-regulation (especially regulatory reliability). The results of research suggest that individual system of self-regulation plays a significant role in reliability of actions of students in exam situation and provides new information about how we can ensure reliability of actions of students in exam situation.

The data is analyzed in the article about structural and neurochemical brain hemispheric asymmetry, which, together with results of neuropsychological investigations, allow considering in a new way the problem of realization of psychic events. Modern investigations of cellar and molecular processes in neural system show, that the endogenous neural activity and the ways of neural self-organization are in many respects defined by the composition of extracellar environment. The complication of brain during phylogenies was accompanied by increasing asymmetry of neural system at the same time the biological prerequisites for differentiation of general “meanings” and one’s personal “sense” of the acquired experience were forming. The asymmetric mediation of psychic events by cellar and neurohumoral components of brain processing provided the opportunity for appearing language and distinct subjective experiences in human.

The paper presents results of the neuropsychological assessment of processes involved in the maintenance of activation (Luria’s Unit I functions) in 64 firstgraders who demonstrated various levels of academic success. On the basis of this assessment, the children were divided into three groups: (i) the children without any deficit in the Unit I functions (CONTROL children), (ii) those predominantly showing slowness/fatigue (SLOW children), and (iii) those who can be considered as predominantly hyperactive-impulsive (HYPERACTIVE children). It is shown that, relative to controls, both SLOW and HYPERACTIVE children show reduced academic scores and the decrease of most indices that characterize functions of the Units II and III. The weakness of executive and visuo-spatial functions are predominantly observed in HYPERACTIVE children, whereas SLOW children usually show some deficit in processing of kinesthetic (proprioceptive) and audio-verbal information. Children with functional weakness of the Unit I functions show an overall reduction in performance and its speed in the computerized versions of the “DOTS” and “SCHULTE—GORBOV tables” tests. In HYPERACTIVE children, deficits are observed in the most difficult tasks (those probing mostly into planning and control functions), and their performance is the most unstable. In SLOW children, the performance rate is noticeably decreased for the moderate-to-difficult tasks. Overall, the data reported contribute to the understanding of the diversity of Unit I functions deficits and their relation to the learning difficulties experienced by children in the primary school.

An established link between the intellectual attention and the activity of frontal lobes in studies of E.D. Homskaya brings forward the application of special experimental psychological procedures. The latter are characterized by sensitized cognitive load and address both attention and memory. A modified version of the Stroop Task (Shilko R.S.) was employed in the present study of intellectual attention. 50 men ranging in age from 18 to 24 years with higher or incomplete higher education took part in the study. Among the participants there were 20 healthy subjects and 30 patients with schizophrenia in a paroxysmal form, developed in adolescence. The patients were under medical treatment in the Mental Health Research Center of RAMS. Comparison of intergroup results, based on the analysis of errors that were made by subjects in both groups, revealed the features of memory and attention, specific for the cohort of patients. Unlike the healthy subjects, schizophrenia patients revealed the types of errors which in accordance with the system of neuropsychological qualification of errors are typical for disturbances of functions of control and selectivity on different stages of activity and levels of attention regulation (A.R. Luria’s qualitative assessment scheme). There was ascertained a high sensitivity of the technique to study of the dysfunctions of the frontal lobes and identification of various parameters of intellectual attention.

The results of complex neuropsychological examination of the subjects with various pathologies of the corpus callosum (CC) conducted by the author are analyzed in the article. In the survey were used method for the study of the formation of fixed installation in haptic sphere and perceptive priming method. The goal of the study was development of one of neuropsychological factors of hemispheric interaction. Split Brain Syndrome characterized as a neuropsychological syndrome and the symptoms of higher mental functions violations in patients with various pathologies of the CC are described. The author describes the primary symptoms of hemispheric interaction violations caused by commissure pathology. Second part of the paper discusses the point of view of domestic and foreign researchers on the functional role of cerebral hemispheres, their front and rear parts in the human psyche and behavior. In the third part of the article the author describes neuropsychological factor interhemispheric interaction associated with the CC activity. This factor is a syndrome-forming with the CC pathology of various origins. It is integrative as the result of cooperation of two associative brain areas. It could be determined as the factor of formation and reproduction of behavioral acts or psyche selfdetermination factor.

The article presents the overview of the basic approaches, concepts and directions in studying personality in neuropsychology. Neuropsychiatric approach is based on phenomenological description of personality disorders in patients with various brain damages. Neuropsychological studies of personality held in A.R. Luria school that are mainly present in works under E.D. Homskaya guidance, in order to experimentally study brain organization of personality suggest using structural-functional model that includes emotional, motivational and executive processes and self-awareness. Aphasiology postulates, that personality disorders are secondary to communication disabilities that occur in speech pathology. Finally, neuropsychoanalysis focuses on cerebral mechanisms of unconscious processes and personality functioning in different pathological models. The paper presents the results of the study held. With the use of neuropsychological syndrome analysis method 50 young adult male patients have been studied with pathocharacterological spectrum disorders divided in two groups: schizoid personality disorder (30 patients) and schizotypal personality disorder (20 patients). It has been established that both groups have specific cognitive disturbances that indicate frontal-parietal-thalamic connections. Lateral differences are revealed: neuropsychological symptoms that are associated with left hemisphere dysfunction are specific for schizotypal personality disorder; neurocognitive deficit that is associated with right hemisphere is specific for patients with schizoid personality disorder. Perspectives of personality neuropsychology are discussed.

A brief biographical sketch about Evgenia Davydovna Chomsky (07.08.1929—06.03.2004)