Articles

Background. Today, there is a trend towards the introduction of online communication in the field of scientific research. The development of this trend in social psychology was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and by the requirements of social distancing. These conditions make it difficult to apply qualitative methods in in-person format. The use of online focus groups became relevant for researchers even before the outbreak of the pandemic. However, now the practical importance of studying online focus groups is only increasing.

Objectives. The aim of the study is to identify the features of group discussion in in-person and online focus groups.

Study Participants. 29 people (27.9% men, 72.41% women) from 18 to 25 years old (M = 21.1; SD = 1.95) participated in in-person focus groups, and 24 people (37.5% men, 62.5% women) from 18 to 26 years old (M = 22.8; SD = 2.15).

Methods. The study involves qualitative content analysis of 10 transcripts of focus groups conducted in face-to-face and online formats between 2019 and 2021.

Results. As a result of qualitative content analysis, categories that reflect the features of interaction between participants at each stage of the group discussion in online and in-person focus groups were identified. The features of group discussion in in-person and online focus groups are revealed.

Conclusions. (1) In in-person focus groups, self-orientation is observed only at the beginning of the discussion, while in online focus groups, it prevails throughout the discussion; (2) in in-person focus groups, participants’ focus on others is expressed in frequent interaction and in asking participants questions; in online groups it manifests itself in giving participants the opportunity to express their opinions and in paying attention to other opinions; (3) in online focus groups, unlike in-person focus groups, participants do not have a psychological community of group members; (4) the effect of group discussion in in-person focus groups is an attempt to reach a single “average” opinion on the issue under discussion, whereas in online focus groups, the aim is in deepening discussion of the topic.

Background. Russian neuropsychology lacks a standardised set of methods for quantifying the development of higher mental functions (HMF) from pre-school to high school age. Its application could improve the objectivity of neuropsychological diagnosis.

Objectives. The study seeks 1) to create a psychometric battery of methods for multifactorial investigation of neuropsychological development (MIND) in children and adolescents aged 4–17; 2) to describe the trajectories of age-related development of HMF.

Sample. 860 participants aged 4–17 (M = 10; SD = 3.7), including 558 boys and 302 girls took part in the study.

Methods. Neuropsychological assessment was performed using 40 techniques and measuring 171 variables. These variables were standardised and age-adjusted. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis was used to find latent variables. The resulting model was applied to age-unadjusted variables to identify developmental trajectories.

Results. A model was built with 106 indicators and 21 factors. Four variables were used to construct an additional verbal-logical thinking scale. The general level of development can be reliably measured using 50 variables. These scales are described as age dependent.

Conclusions. The MIND psychometric battery for neuropsychological assessment of children and adolescents aged 4–17 has been created. The quantitative evaluation is based on a mathematical description of the age-related development of HMF components.

Background. Person’s civil and ethnic identity, which are components of social identity, develop during socialization under the influence of a number of factors. J. Berry identifies cultural, political, economic and historical factors as the basis for identity formation. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the study of the role of the cultural factor, namely the structure of values, in the formation of a positive civic and ethnic identity of Russians.

Objectives. The purpose of this work is to study the structure of the ethnic and civic identity of Russians as well as the influence of individual values on their formation.

Study Participants. The study was conducted with the participation of 1014 respondents, ethnic Russians, aged from 19 to 83 years (Mage = 41 years; SD = 13.04; 527 women and 487 men).

Methods. J. Finney’s MEIM-R methods were used to measure ethnic identity. S. Schwartz’s PVQ-R value structure questionnaire was also applied. Civic identity was measured using the methodology from the International Social Survey Program, adapted into Russian by L.K. Grigoryan.

Results. It was found that the civic identity of Russians as the individual’s awareness of belonging to the citizens of the country is more pronounced than ethnic identity. Nationalism is expressed more than the ideology of patriotism. The affective component of ethnic identity is more pronounced than the cognitive one. Among the surveyed respondents, the values of independence, security, reputation and benevolence prevail. The values of security, benevolence and universalism increase the level of civic identity in Russians. The key positive regressor in relation to both civic and ethnic identity is the value “Tradition”.

Conclusions. Socially oriented values (preservation and self-overcoming) have a positive impact on the formation of positive civic and ethnic identity of Russians. The values of personal orientation (openness to change and self-affirmation) have a negative impact on their formation.

Background. The necessity of studying perceptions of creativity in psychology cadets is conditioned by the fact that the “soft” skill of creativity is associated with the ability to go beyond the given conditions and to act effectively in uncertain situations, and also by the fact that the successful adaptation of a young specialist to work depends on whether his perceptions of his activity coincide with its real content.

Objectives. The research is meant to identify the peculiarities of representations of creativity in psychology cadets at the adept stage.

Study Participants. A total of 201 people (122 men and 79 women) participated in the study, including representatives of different professions: working professionals and trainees, students and cadets. The average age of the sample was 31 years.

Methods. Psychosemantic methods were used in the study: group associative experiment and card sorting method. They allow to construct a subjective semantic space reflecting the peculiarities of perceptions of creativity.

Results. As a result of the associative experiment, a list of 86 frequent words describing professional activity was obtained. Sorting of the obtained 86 words by cadet psychologists, psychology students, and psychologists of the scientific platoon revealed significant differences in the content and structure of representations of creativity. Comparison of the semantics of creativity in psychologists at the adept stage shows that university students have a more complex structure of representations in comparison with cadets, connected with the allocation of a separate cluster “hobby, interest, development” and at the same time similar in content to the representations of working psychologists on the proximity of “labor, work” with creativity. At the same time, the similarity of clusters in the description of creativity by students and cadets indicates that the ideas about it are laid down at the early stages of professional training.

Conclusions. Reconstruction of subjective semantics of creativity by the method of semantic spaces in psychology cadets is a promising qualitative description method for specific characteristics of professional activity.

Background. The relevance of the study is associated with the activation of malevolent creativity at the macro level in the form of information wars and isolation of Russia, which create threatening socio-political conditions, against the background of the special military operation in Ukraine.

Objectives. Objective of the study was to find out whether there are differences at the micro-level in different socio-political conditions in malevolent creativity as well as to identify its connections with personal characteristics: hostility, the trait of “Agreeableness”, and moral identity. The following hypotheses were formulated: 1. The level of antisocial creativity varies in different contexts and will be higher in threatening socio-political conditions and 2. the relationship between such personal characteristics as hostility, Agreeableness, moral identity, and malevolent creativity will be different in different socio-political conditions.

Study Participants. The study is a cross-sectional one. The first stage was carried out in 2019 with the participation of 81 young students from one of Moscow universities (mean age 19.2, SD = 1.2). 152 young students of the same Moscow university took part at the second stage in 2023 (mean age 19.1, SD = 1.29).

Methods. Participants filled out forms with the questionnaires “NEO-FFI” (a shortened version of the questionnaire “NEO PI-R”), BRAQ-24, moral identity questionnaire, “Behavioral features of antisocial creativity”.

Results. It is shown that there are differences in variables at the microsystem level in different sociopolitical conditions: MC and hostility are significantly lower, and moral identity and cooperation are significantly higher in the sample of 2023. The predictors of MC in the sample of 2023 were the traits of Agreeableness and hostility. In the sample of 2019, the trait of Agreeableness alone predicted MC. Differences in the strength of the relationship between the variables were revealed: in the sample of 2023, the relationship of hostility with antisocial creativity and the trait of Cooperation was significantly stronger than in the sample of 2019.

Conclusions. In threatening socio-political conditions, young people with high hostility and low level on the “Agreeableness” trait fall into the risk group, due to the high probability of the realization of creativity in behavior that harms other people, while realization of MC in behavior may be restrained through actualizing moral identity. In a calm and peaceful period, moral identity and hostility are less relevant for the implementation of MC in harmful behavior, since the development of “Agreeableness” is important in this case.

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.