Methods

Background. Anxiety is one of the main factors that have a negative impact on competitive results in athletes. The specifics of sports activities require to apply diagnostic methods that, on the one hand, are compact, and on the other hand, provide high psychometric indicators in assessing psychological characteristics, including anxiety. In this regard, the development of a modern and reliable method for testing sports anxiety seems necessary and relevant.

Objective. The aim is to test of the questionnaire "Sports Anxiety Scale" on a Russian-speaking audience of athletes of various sports and age categories.

Study Participants. The study involved 297 athletes, including 188 men and 109 women, age ranging from 18 to 63 years (M = 23 years, SD = 5.19).

Methods. The research had a survey design. The following questionnaires were used: Sport Anxiety Scale, A. Beck Anxiety Scale, W. Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, Anxiety Scale from the DASS-21 questionnaire, a short version of the Dark Triad questionnaire. To process quantitative data, we used confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis and Cronbach's α coefficient.

Results. The adaptation results confirmed the factorial validity, internal reliability, convergent and divergent validity of the Russian version of the "Sports Anxiety Scale". The Scale has a three-factor structure and consists of the following subscales: "Cognitive Anxiety", "Physiological Anxiety", "Concentration Difficulties". The Sports Anxiety Scale is reliable due to the high α-Cronbach coefficient (α = 0.84).

Conclusions. As a result of testing the "Sports Anxiety Scale" on a sample of athletes of various sports, high structural validity and internal reliability of the method were demonstrated. In this regard, the "Sports Anxiety Scale" can be used for practical purposes to solve diagnostic and psychotherapeutic tasks in professional sports.

Background. In contemporary psychology, there are practically no diagnostic techniques that are sensitive to the severity of visual neglect as a function of the structure of the visual field and its loading with stimuli that take this structure into account.

Objectives. The aim is to develop and approve a methodology that will enable the severity of manifestations of the neglect syndrome in the visual field to be analyzed, depending on its being structured and loaded with stimuli.

Study Participants. The study involved 50 respondents aged 29 to 75 years (Mage = 58.5; SD = 18.82; 14 women), patients with neurological disorders of various etiologies of the right cerebral hemisphere, including 30 patients with neglect syndrome.

Methods. The study was conducted using a comprehensive neuropsychological examination according to the scheme of A.R. Luria. This included an assessment of higher mental functions, the implementation of quantitative methods to evaluate neglect syndrome, and the utilization of the “Red Shapes” test. The test consists of three series, presented sequentially on a portable tablet. The series include a set of red-coloured geometric figures. The number of stimuli presented in the right half of the screen differs from series to series.

Results. The “Red Shapes” test aimed at diagnosing the syndrome of neglect in the visual sphere has been developed. The psychometric properties of the test were evaluated. The scales demonstrated a satisfactory level of consistency with regard to the identified figures on the left and the time of search (Cronbach’s α scores vary from 0.716 to 0.881). All test scales exhibited a non-normal distribution according to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov criterion (p < 0.001), with the exception of the time scale in series 3 (p = 0.2). The correlations and descriptive statistics of the scales are presented.

Conclusions. In order to investigate the syndrome of neglect in the visual sphere, a methodology is proposed which allows for the assessment of disorders in this sphere with varying degrees of structuredness and stimulus load in the visual field. The evidence obtained supports the reliability and validity of the methodology.

Background. The technique “Emotional Attitude to Dangerous Situations” developed by the authors could become one of the tools for identifying the ability of adolescents and young adults with intellectual disabilities to behave safely, assessing the effectiveness of correctional and educational work on the development of safe behaviour, and also supplementing the ideas of the psychology of safety of various social groups with knowledge about the manifestations of safe behaviour of individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Objectives. The focus is on the development, testing and validation of the method Emotional Attitude to Dangerous Situations designed to study teenagers and adolescents with intact or impaired intelligence.

Study Participants. The adaptation of the technique was carried out on a sample of 117 students with intellectual disabilities: 71 adolescents (М = 12.8 years, SD = 0.82 years, 42 boys and 29 girls), 46 youth students (М = 16 years, SD = 0.5 years, 30 boys and 16 girls).

Methods. The “Emotional attitude to dangerous situations” method consists of 13 problematic situations reflecting the most probable dangers for students: dangers of the physical, social, informational and educational environment. To assess the reliability of the method, the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient was used for each of the selected scales. To assess the criterion validity of the method, the correlation coefficient between the scales of emotional assessment of a dangerous situation and the way of behaviour in a dangerous situation (the “Emotional attitude to dangerous situations” technique) and the indicators of reaction types to dangers (Questionnaire for identifying the type of attitude to danger) was used.

Results. The technology “Emotional attitude to dangerous situations” has been developed. The results of standardization of the methodology, assessment of reliability and criterion validity are presented. The values of the selected scales according to Cronbach’s α showed a sufficient level of consistency (from 0.536 to 0.697). Significant interrelations of the scales of emotional assessment and behaviuor in dangerous situations (dangers of the physical, social, information and educational environment) with the types of response to dangers (adequate, uncertain, anxious, ignoring) in adolescent and young adult students with intellectual disabilities have been established.

Conclusions. The results of the psychometric assessment allow us to speak about a sufficiently high reliability, internal consistency of the scales in the sample, as well as the criterion validity of the developed method. The developed method can be used to identify the emotional attitude to dangerous situations and the way of behaviour in them of adolescents and young adults with intellectual impairments.

Background. Individual techniques, or decision-making styles, are included in the regulation of hierarchies of processes that mediate a person’s exit from situations of uncertainty. Diagnostics of these styles helps both to solve practical problems and to clarify theoretical issues — in particular, the issue of the generalization of styles and their connections with the intellectual and personal spheres.

Objective. The aim is to test and adjust the General Decision-Making Style Inventory questionnaire to a Russian sample.

Study Participants. 456 people aged 18 to 50 years (M = 24.80; SD = 7.61); of these, 74 were men (M = 22.96; SD = 4.88) and 358 were women (M = 25.25; SD = 8.08), 24 subjects did not indicate gender. 80% were university students, 20% were working employees.

Methods. The study included 3 stages: translation, assessment of structural validity and reliability on a Russian sample, assessment of convergent validity. 4 questionnaires were used: the General Decision-Making Style, Rational-Experiential Inventory, Personal Factors of Decision Making (PFDM), Impulsivity-7.

Results. A structural model of connections between the scales (factors) of the General Decision-Making Style Questionnaire has been constructed. The model demonstrated good fit to the data and Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients were acceptable (0.75 to 0.85). The convergent validity of the questionnaire scales was confirmed. Analysis of differences by gender revealed significantly higher scores for Intuitive and Dependent styles in women.

Conclusions. The General Decision-Making Styles Questionnaire has a 5-factor structure and acceptable psychometric properties. Convergent validity has been demonstrated primarily for the Rational and Intuitive styles when identifying their connections with other similar constructs. Both styles are not related to each other, but are related in the opposite way to the Spontaneous (Impulsive) style.

Background. The article presents a comparative analysis of diagnostic tools used to assess various aspects of psychological well-being. It also outlines trends in the development of modern survey methods for its assessment.

The objective of this study is to substantiate the advantages of the methods that allow diagnosing both the general level of psychological well-being and its separate components (eudemonic and hedonic), taking into account contextual and age-related aspects. The results of the validation of the questionnaire “Well-being Manifestations Measurement Scale (WBMMS)” on a sample of Russian students are presented.

Study Participants. The sample consisted of 435 Russian university students, the age ranging from 16 to 28 years (Mage = 19.72, SD = 1.67). Of these, 56.41% were female and 44.52% were male.

Methods. The following methods were employed: the scale of general level of subjective well-being (Life Satisfaction Scale) by E. Diener, the scale of optimism (Test of Dispositional Optimism, TDO-P), and the Depression Scale of the Center for Epidemiological Studies, CES-D.

Results. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported our initial hypothesis that the well-being construct could be adequately represented by a single common factor, formed by two lower-order factors. These factors, eudemonistic and hedonistic, respectively, were significantly correlated with each other, and with the subjective well-being of participants. The instrument demonstrated good convergent validity with these variables, as indicated by the positive correlation with subjective well-being and the negative correlation with optimism. The questionnaire scales exhibited satisfactory reliability values. A comparison of female and male samples on the scales of the SPPB questionnaire indicated the necessity to consider gender in the development of the questionnaire norms.

Conclusions. The scale of manifestations of psychological well-being meets contemporary psychometric standards and allows for the assessment of psychological well-being in accordance with the latest theoretical approaches. The results obtained contribute to both the theoretical understanding of the construct of well-being and its measurement.

Background. The authors developed a specialized set of functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms, based on data from general psychology, neuropsychology and previous studies, to diagnose the “covert cognition” phenomenon on a Russian-speaking sample of patients with chronic disorders of consciousness. Before using this set with patients, it is advisable to carry out testing on a group of healthy people with preserved consciousness in order to detect significant clusters of activation corresponding to paradigms and to assess their reproducibility at the individual level.

Objectives. The study is aimed at testing the proposed set of fMRI paradigms in order to detect the “covert cognition” phenomenon on a sample of healthy volunteers.

Study Participants. Sample included 10 healthy volunteers (3 men, 7 women, M = 44 years, SD = 17).

Methods. The study was performed on a magnetic resonance imaging scanner “Magnetom Verio”, “Siemens” with a magnetic field strength of 3 Tesla. The hierarchical set of nine passive and three active paradigms was presented to participants. Statistical analysis was carried out using SPM12.

Results. As a result of group analysis, significant clusters of activation were observed in six passive paradigms, covering the perception of tactile (“writing” a letter on the abdomen), auditory non-speech (alarm clock, two musical fragments without words) and speech stimuli. Auditory speech paradigms (audio fragment from the film with obscene language, testee`s name within the “cocktail party” effect) were the most reproducible paradigms at the individual level.

Conclusions. The obtained results allow us to apply the proven paradigms in further studies to detecting the “covert cognition” phenomenon on a Russianspeaking sample of patients with chronic disorders of consciousness. Data on brain activation in healthy volunteers in different paradigms enriches theoretical understanding of cerebral organization of cognitive functions.

Background. Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPMs) is a widely used instrument as one of psychometric measures of general intelligence in children. However, according to some researchers, the RCPM is heterogeneous and individual tasks may be associated with the assessment of various cognitive components.

Objective. This study is aimed to examine the influence of functions of visual and visuospatial processing, and executive functions on the productivity of RCPMs.

Study Participants. A total of 297 children from 6 to 9 years old participated in the study. Of these, 98 were preschoolers, 87 first graders and 112 second graders. A total of 152 boys and 145 girls participated in the study. All children had no diagnosed developmental and neurological disorders.

Methods. All the children accomplished the computerized version of RCPM in the Rosanova’s modification. They also passed a neuropsychological assessment adapted for 6–9-year-old children.

Results. Age differences were shown. They were the greatest when comparing preschoolers and first-grader. The differences between first-graders and secondgraders were less prominent. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that three parts of the matrices are related to separate groups of functions to different degrees. The first part of the test is most related to the state of visual information processing functions; the second part refers to the state of visual-spatial information processing and executive functions; and the third part to a greater extent deals with the state of executive functions.

Conclusion. The results indicate the heterogeneity of tasks in RCPM and the promise of a more detailed analysis of the structure of the technique, including the use of a neuropsychological approach.

Background. The explosion of digital technologies and gadgets acting as sociocultural tools, forming a new technologically rich ecosystem, raises more and more questions in the scientific community about considering technologies not only as tools, but as external extensions or additions of a person.

Objectives. The aim of the work is to develop and validate the Self-Management of Digital Daily Life (SMDDL) scale for digital extended personality.

Study Participants. The study sample consisted of 1,797 adolescents and youth aged 14–35 years.

Methods. The study utilized the SMDDL scale developed by the authors. The scale includes 3 subscales. To assess convergent and discriminant validity we used the self-assessment of user activity and online social capital, the Digital Competence Index, the Internet Addiction Scale, technique for assessing changes in psychological boundaries when using technical means MIG-TS-2, and the Attitude Towards Technology questionnaire.

Results. The structure of the scale was refined based on the results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (subscales Digital Device Management, Digital Sociality, Experiencing Digital Daily Life, α = 0.80–0.88). Compared to youth, adolescents scored lower; males scored higher than females on the three subscales of the SMDDL. All of the SMDDL subscales are positively related to the user activity, technophilia, and a number of MIG-TS-2 scales. Of the three subscales, only Digital Device Management did not show a positive relationship with Internet addiction, but was positively related to digital competence and technorationalism.

Conclusions. Based on the data obtained, a conclusion was made about the reliability, consistency, and validity of the developed SMDDL scale. User activity and technophilia are the conditions for the formation of an extended digital personality, while digital competence and technorationalism become the tools of self-management of the diversity of digital extensions. Internet addiction as one of the risks for a technologically extended personality can be offset by the ability to self-manage one’s digital extensions.

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.

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.

Relevance. The motivation for this work stems from the fact that there are an insufficient number of tools in the Russian psychology that are suitable to investigate the content of human goals.

Objective. Development of a new method for investigating the content of human goals.

Methods. The method of incomplete sentences; clinical conversation; a modification of the projective technique of R. Emmons "Assessment of Personal Aspirations".

Results. A modification of the method of R. Emmons "Assessment of Personal Aspirations" is carried out. The changes made in the proposed version concern not only the incomplete sentences presented to the respondent for their completion, but also the scales of evaluation of personal aspirations (goals): their content, sequence of presentation, and the assessments used. For the analysis of human goals the following 17 scales are introduced: importance, clarity, difficulty, effort, the ability to focus, the degree of enthusiasm, joy, frustration, success in recent times, the probability of success, the influence of circumstances, control over one’s actions, progress, importance for one’s family, the degree of social utility, support, external-internal cause. The estimates of the proposed scales use six-point graduation: from 0 to 5. All the innovations made in the methodology are justified and the necessity of their implementation is shown. The author's interpretation of the data obtained includes: analysis of the content of the selected aspirations (goals) and their classification, which consists in revealing regularly reproduced goals, analog goals and development goals; analysis of the goals by separate scales on the basis of the respondent's evaluation judgments and by the connection of scales with each other; assessment of the influence of the goals on each other, which becomes harmonious or disharmonious. The approbation of the method and possible spheres of its application are discussed.

Conclusions. The declared method is correct, has a great potential for expanding the interpretation and allows one to better understand both the content of the goals and the means for achieving them.

Relevance. Both personality and clinical psychology suppose many empirical examples describing the disengagement from activity and shifting to another one as quite effective: e.g., unfulfilled dreams and regret for them, severe illnesses or disabling conditions, etc. These examples demonstrate the importance of study of refusal from the goal and goal change as special self-regulatory processes that are not reducible to other processes of self-regulation (e.g., planning, modeling, achievement) and can be productive. Such studies require a validated measure.

Objective. The aim of this work was to validate the Russian-language version of the Goal Disengagement and Re-Engagement Scale, proposed in the self-regulation theory by C. Carver and M. Scheier.

Methods. 287 students and 4792 employees of a large production organization filled out the Russian-language version of the Goal Disengagement and Re-Engagement Scale (Wrosch et al., 2003a). The students also filled the Inventory of Styles of Behavior Self-regulation, a modification of the J. Kuhl’s Action Control Scale Test, a Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire.

Results. Both internal consistency and factor structure of the scale were demonstrated in both samples. The external validity of the scale is confirmed by the expected pattern of correlations with action / state orientation, behavior self-regulation and strategies of cognitive regulation of emotions. The results of the hierarchical regression analysis show that goal disengagement and reengagement differ from other aspects of  self-regulation of behavior not only structurally (at the level of their correlations with each other) but also functionally: after statistical control of the other aspects of self-regulation, goal disengagement and reengagement still predict a number of cognitive strategies regulation of emotions.

Conclusions. The psychometric properties of the Russian-language version of the Goal Disengagement and Re-Engagement Scale are sufficient for its application for research purposes. Further studies could focus on the differentiation of the process of goal change and other self-regulatory processes, especially their effect on the productivity, health, well-being.

Relevance. The relevance of the work due to the lack of a special method that could to assess the ability of young athletes to represent movements in the Russian psychological tools.

Objective. The aim of the work is to test the method “Movement imagery Questionnaire for Children”, which is developed by Canadian researchers (R. Martini and colleagues), on Russian athletes.

Method. The analysis of studies that demonstrate the importance of using mental images in the training process was described. Empirical study of the mental representation of movements in 112 Russian young athletes from age 7 to 12 years with the help of a pre-adapted technique MIQ-C was conducted.

Results. The main types of mental images that are most often used by young athletes have been revealed: first-person visualization, third-person visualization and visualization of muscle performance. The last one (kinesthetic) is the most difficult for children. The highest rates of use of all three methods were noted in children 9-10 years. In the process of the work it was compared the results obtained for the Russian sample, with the results of Canadian researchers. It was revealed that Russian athletes assess their capabilities for visualization higher than young athletes in Canada.

Conclusions. It is necessary to expand a sample, having picked up athletes of those sports which are not presented at this stage of work, and to carry out check of validity of the Russian version of this method on the expanded sample.

The problem of differentiation of personal profiles based on MMPI is traditionally solved either theoretically with help of the 2- or 3-peak coding system, or is empirically based on the results of a cluster analysis of clinical scales. In the first case, the encoding system looks unreasonably complicated. In the second case, the results are vulnerable to criticism, on the one hand, due to interference of the scales themselves, and, on the other hand, due to not taking into account measurement errors and due to restrictions for clusters differentiated. In this paper, we propose an alternative based on the latent profile analysis of restructured clinical scales of MMPI-2. Based on the normative sample of the validation of the Russian-language Minnesota multifactorial personality questionnaire, second version, (MMPI-2, N = 1443), four types of latent profiles were identified: normative one with mean values for most scales and a small peak on the Hypomanic Activation scale, “neurotic” profile with an increase in the “neurotic triad” scales, “psychopathic-like” profile with high scores on all scales and peaks on the scales of schizophrenia, paranoia and psychasthenia, and “defensive / suppressive” profile with extremely low scores on all scales and a small peak on the scale of low level of positive emotions. Profiles’ comparison by the content and supplementary scales of MMPI-2 and "Big Five" traits suggests that in those having the “psychopathic-like” profile, the risk of externalized problems is maximal and the risk of internalized problems is high. Those with the “neurotic” profile have a high risk of internalized problems, while their distinctive trait is the experience of social discomfort. The analysis of “defensive” profile suggests possible difficulties associated with chronic suppression of emotions, in particular, somatization and sudden affect expressions.

The method “Fairy Semantic Differential”, during which a respondent should assess a number of fairy-tale characters according to a set of personal characteristics, is designed for the individual work of a psychologist with children 4—9 years old. Personality characteristics, according to which the characters are evaluated, are formulated in terms that parents, teachers use when dealing with children of this age. An analysis of the child's attitude to this or that fairy-tale character allows us to determine the specificity of his (her) moral-value sphere. The method also allows evaluating of real adults, who are significant for the child (parents, teachers, etc.) Comparison of fairy-tale characters' ratings with those of a significant adult makes it possible to reveal the specifics of the child's attitude to this adult. The article discusses quantitative indicators that can be calculated using the data of the answering the questionnaire. These indicators characterize the child’s personality, his (her) understanding of interpersonal relationships with surrounding people, dimension of categorical space of interpersonal perception, content of this categories and its hierarchy, the level of cognitive development in this area, the degree of socialization. The method allows measuring self-esteem indices. The results of an empirical study of Moscow primary schoolchildren using the method “Fairy Semantic Differential” are presented, during which a psychometric analysis of the indicators was conducted. It was shown that the cognitive complexity of interpersonal perception, determined by the method “Fairy Semantic Differential” is significantly higher among adults, does not correlate with intelligence tests. Socialization increases with age, is significantly higher among girls than among boys, partly correlates with known methods that measure the level of social adaptation of a child, the degree of differentiation of moral and conventional norms, verbal intellect. The analysis of self-esteem indices reveals significantly higher self-criticism among girls, than among boys.

This short article discusses innovations in training and personnel assessment associated with the implementation of gamification of computer tools for learning and assessing (psycho-diagnostics). In the theoretical part of the article the authors give an operational definition of the term “gamification”, and also discussed factors that impede successful gamification — reduces the validity of computer psycho-diagnostic methods based on the use of game elements. In an experimental-methodological part of the article describes a new brief, threeminute computer technique for the estimation of a functional state called “The spoons”. This technique is a game modification of the classic “proof-reading test”. The authors publish data on a sufficiently high reliability and validity of the new method, confirming the possibility of its use as a tool for monitoring (operational security) functional status.

Psychosemantic approach is most in demand when it comes to research collective representations, allowing to identify the underlying attitudes and stereotypes that are poorly reflected upon, or hidden because of social undesirability, and therefore difficult to diagnose. Political leaders’ perception is just such an example. The article deals with a number of images of contemporary political leaders and historical figures who have played at one time a significant role in world politics in the student audience perceptions of South Korea. Psychosemantic author’s technique “The image of a political leader” was used to obtain empirical data. 107 subjects (females and males) took part in the survey. The study included the construction of multi-dimensional semantic spaces, projecting the operational model of categorical perception structures of political leaders. For data analysis methods of multivariate statistics were used (principal component analysis and discriminant analysis).

Paper presents results of validation of the Russian version of The Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire developed by R. Moss­-Morris and colleagues for the diagnostic of patient’s beliefs about causes, duration, consequences, treatment of illness, and their ability to control it. The sample (N=80) included three groups of patients aged 17—26 years (mean age 20.2±2.8 years) with non­psychotic depression within mood disorders (n=33), personality disorders (n=22) and schizotypal disorder (n=25). In order to establish the external validity of the questionnaire patients filled Beck’s Cognitive Insight Scale, Illness­ and Treatment­Related Locus of Control Scale and Treatment­Related Self­efficacy Scale . Factor validity and reliability of IPQ­R was demonstrated . Patients of all three groups tend to explain their illness by personality and (to a lesser extent) situational factors, to believe in the importance and effectiveness of the treatment, in their ability to control their illness. They consider illness as short­term and not of a cyclical nature. Supporting the external validity of the questionnaire we demonstrated that beliefs about illness and its reasons correlates with results of the interview, cognitive insight, illness­ and treatment­related locus of control and treatment­related self-efficacy.