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2019. vol. 16. No. 3
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Special Theme of the Issue.
The Cultural and Phenomenological Focus of General Personology
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408–433
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The paper focuses on the analysis of phenomena involving the individual’s handling of difficult life situations (DLS). Handling DLS is interpreted in the context of ‘three cultures’: in the interrelation of the culture of scientific knowledge, the “ideofield of culture” and the culture of individual experience. Existing theories of individual response to difficult situations are analyzed; it is shown that the methodological core of most concepts is the ‘postulate of conformity’ (‘adaptability’) when interpreting human behavior. Along with the well-known ‘defensive’ and ‘coping’ behaviors that are adaptive in nature, non-adaptive forms are distinguished (‘self-destruction’ and ‘mastering’), and a two-dimensional typology of addressing DLS is proposed based on the distinction between ‘activity/passivity’ and ‘adaptability/non-adaptability’. Self-destruction is characterized as passive non-adaptive behavior (disadaptation); ‘defense’ means passive adaptive behavior (actually, adaptation to the situation); coping is active adaptive behavior (overcoming the situation); and mastering is active non-adaptive behavior (overcoming difficulties). Three ways of mastering are described: post-factum simulation of situations; a testing of the individual’s capabilities in a previously unknown situation (‘emotional flutter’); and ‘emergency simulation for future use’. The ways to reflect upon the person’s own behavior in a DLS are also considered to transform the two-dimensional model into a three-dimensional one to reveal the attitude of an individual to difficult life situations. It is demonstrated that in the subjective plane (the semantic aspect of self-reflection) a picture of the methods used to handle a DLS that is ‘drawn’ by an individual may significantly differ from the objective picture of what is happening (that is established according to the criteria of scientific knowledge). This paper presents a model of the personological synthesis of the three cultures for interpreting and correlating the forms of the person’s handling DLS. In this context, some techniques are described that enable the co-organization of individual experience, elements of the ‘ideofield of culture’ and scientific knowledge to contribute to altering the individual’s attitude to difficult life situations and increasing the meaningfulness of their personal behavior. |
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434–456
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The study presented in this article is based on the definition of science as a cultural phenomenon, offered by T.S. Kuhn. This approach enables the treatment of psychology of personality and general personology as an open world of cultural phenomena such as productive ideas and theories, models and scientific facts, methods and practices, interpretations and communications. The genesis and potential of these phenomena can be discovered by the cultural phenomenology of the personality. Using methods of hermeneutics, modelling and building of reflexive practices which are relevant to cultural methodology of personality, the author proposes the idea of the internal dialog I – Another as a significant intrapersonal condition in developing the self-identity of the I. In understanding self-identity its achievement is emphasized as a path where the trend of the I to preserve itself meets with challenges of unidentification with self and further identification at new levels. A structure is offered for developing dialog oriented towards the multilevel reflective opening of the I in relation to the Other from positions of the I and the internal Other. It is shown that such a dialog can enrich and strengthen the self-identity of the I through harmonization, problematization and synthesis of I-representations obtained from the above positions. The author’s idea has been developed as a continuum: hermeneutical model – theoretical model – reflective model. It addresses the task of studying and actualizing the opportunity to achieve the self-identity of the I in internal dialog. |
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457–469
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The article proposes the reconstruction of the personality of Marina Tsvetaeva in the framework of humanitarian and psychological research. The author considers this analysis in particular as allowing to clarify, on the one hand, the general, non-specific characteristics of the humanities, on the other - specific, which distinguish it, for example, from the natural science. In the author's version, Marina Tsvetaeva looks rather unusual: she is an egoist, an esoteric personality based on poetry, which allows her to not to stand on the side of morality and public morality, finally, Tsvetaeva is a multiple personality. Analyzing the characteristics of Tsvetaeva’s two personalities, the author also relies on interesting psychological studies on the subpersonalities of R. Schwartz and the non-adaptive personality of V. Petrovsky. All this allows the author to explain Tsvetaeva's strange actions, the role of her diaries, even the tragedy that happened to her. At the same time, he shows that, on the one hand, the humanities science is a normal science, since it solves certain problems, reality is cognized by constructing ideal objects, humanitarian studies are developed within the framework of science as one of the modern institutions. On the other hand, the humanities have a number of specific features: reliance on texts, inclusion in ideal objects the characteristics, which describe the attitude of the researcher to the studied subject, special criteria of truth and objectivity in humanitarian knowledge. From the point of view of the author, the methodology of humanitarian-psychological research, which involves analyzing the situation and problems of the studied person, attributing to the person fixed characteristics that allow these problems to be resolved, giving the person the “voice”, according to M. Bakhtin, makes psychological understanding of the person more substantive and reasonable. |
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470–478
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The article examines the place and role of spirituality in the formation of psychological knowledge. Usually this topic does not arouse enthusiasm among modern psychologists. They attribute it entirely to the area of religion and philosophy, which, according to their views, has no direct relation to specific psychological problems. The author demonstrates that the discussion focuses on two intersecting levels: horizontal (“how?”, “why?”) and vertical (“what for?”, “what is the point?”). The author proposes to postulate this interaction as something that initially exists in human activity. In fact, it is about two types of being – extensive and non-extensive, material and spiritual, where the material type is expecting to be spiritualized, while the spiritual – to be materialized. In the mundane consciousness, this duality of being has been reflected for many centuries in the concept of the soul, in which purely sensual moments (the soul suffers, exults, becomes angry, etc.), as well as spiritual fervors, transitions to history, culture, and religion have been intertwined. Psychology as a science is focused on the horizontal dimension, and proceeds from it as the main and only prerequisite for development. Meanwhile, psychology has a pronounced general humanitarian component, which means, according to German scientific tradition, that it can be attributed to the sciences of the spirit (Geisteswissenschaft). Thus, we are talking about a process that is common in the formation of science – the axiomatization of something that cannot be proved, but from which it is necessary to proceed in order to construct the subject area. Each science has a system of such axioms. Without the axiomatic recognition of the duality of being, Psychology will remain an epiphenomenon, but not the essential condition for understanding the development and formation of the human phenomenon. |
Articles
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479–493
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Justice is a social value that plays an important role in the distribution of various resources, maintaining the sustainability of society, therefore society is interested in strengthening it, and in the sensitivity of members of society to the facts of violations of justice. However, phenomena that are favorable for society do not always contribute to the well-being of the individual. Justice sensitivity is a personality trait (disposition) that reflects individual differences in the readiness to perceive injustice and in the intensity of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to injustice. This article explores how justice sensitivity is related to indicators of emotional state, self-esteem and personal resilience. It is shown that justice sensitivity is positively associated with depressive symptoms, while its impact on subjective well-being is rather weak. It was found that this relationship is mediated by the variables of self-esteem and personal resilience. Also it was demonstrated that characteristics of this connection vary depending on the position of the subject in a hypothetical situation of a violation of justice (victim, observer, beneficiary, perpetrator). Justice sensitivity from the victim’s perspective makes the most powerful contribution to the current psychological state. This contribution is partly mediated by a negative relationship between justice sensitivity and self-esteem and resilience. The study also discusses gender specificity of the relationship of justice sensitivity to indicators of emotional state, self-esteem, and sustainability; in general, it is confirmed that in women justice sensitivity is a more strong predictor of negative emotional states, reduced self-esteem and subjective well-being. |
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494–510
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The article presents a consonant-vowel (CV) syllables dichotic listening task that was developed considering phonetic features of the Russian language as a subtler tool for evaluation of the brain lesion lateralization. The study described a pilot approbation of the CV syllables test in normal controls and left- and right-brain injured patients. The study employed both words and CV syllables dichotic listening tests. The CV syllables dichotic listening task is a reliable and representative method, however it didn’t show normal distribution. The word and the CV syllables tests are oriented to the evaluation of different mental processes: word dichotic listening is in essence a working memory paradigm, while the CV syllables task estimates audioverbal interhemisphere asymmetry. Confounded factors such as individual strategies, attentional biases, the order in which the items were reported and working memory (short-term) were undercut and/or eliminated in the CV syllables task in comparison with the word test. Compared to the dichotic words test, the consonant-vowel syllables dichotic listening test turned out to be a more sensitive instrument which showed significant differences between healthy participants and the brain-injured patients, as well as the differences between the right brain-injured patients and the left brain-injured ones. The findings are consistent with the approved scientific data. |
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511–528
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The article presents the data of diagnostic research that determined the formation levels of meta-subject educational results: the development of initial forms of cognitive reflection, ways to solve search problems, the ability to plan for students in Grades 5 and 6 (the transition to secondary school). The study involved 517 students from 14 schools in Moscow and from a small town near Moscow. The meta-subject educational results were determined using the method of Replacements (authored by A. Z. Zack). The data of preliminary diagnostics obtained during the survey of more than 2000 primary school graduates in 2011 was taken as a ‘reference point’. The dynamics of meta-subject results during training in the transitional 5th and 6th grades of secondary school were treated. The qualitative levels of cognitive reflection (conceptual or meaningful reflection, formal reflection, no reflection), the ability to solve search problems (the solution is carried out in a general way, the solution is performed in a particular or concrete way, no method of solving search problems) and the ability to plan (entire planning, empirical planning, no planning). It is shown that the level of meta-subject results of fifth graders is quite low: meaningful reflection is noted in 7.4% of students, the ability to solve problems in a general way – in 30.5%, and entire planning – in 10.2% of children. There is some positive dynamics during the training in Grade 6: conceptual reflection is demonstrated by 11.7% of sixth-graders, the ability to solve problems in a general way – by 46.1% of children, and entire, holistic planning – by 28.1%. In conclusion, the comparison of obtained data with the results of the same Replacements Method (data of primary school graduates in 1980) is discussed. |
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529–550
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Recent studies have demonstrated that the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the right temporoparietal junction are causally involved in social norm compliance: its activation corresponds with the third-party norm enforcement behavior, known as third-party punishment. The current study aimed to address the inconsistencies in effects of brain stimulation methods on right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right temporoparietal junction to clarify its role on third-party punishment. Despite a decade of neuroimaging research, the interaction between the right temporoparietal junction and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in third-party punishment remained unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that a third party’s decision to punish norm violations depends on the activity of the entire right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex-right temporoparietal junction network. We used transcranial direct current stimulation to independently or jointly modulate right temporoparietal junction and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activity during the third-party dictator game. We found a significant effect of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of the right temporoparietal junction, which decreased the third-party punishment of moderately unfair splits. Joint stimulation of the right temporoparietal junction (by anodal transcranial direct current stimulation) and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (by cathodal transcranial direct current stimulation) produced a marginal effect on third-party punishment. Our results suggested that the right temporoparietal junction could modulate the perceived moral costs of third-party punishment. |
Work in Progress
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551–561
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The purpose of the research is to study the relationship between three levels of identity (group, micro-group and interpersonal) containing three components in each (cognitive, affective, and behavioral) with the contribution of workers to the activities of work groups. The sample included 302 employees from 35 small work groups in organizations with different profiles of activity. “The Interpersonal Identity Questionnaire”, “The Microgroup and Group Identity Questionnaire”, and “The Contribution to Activity Subscale from the Leadership, Contribution, and Interpersonal Behavior Questionnaire” were used to collect empirical data. These tools are included in the computer technology “Group Profile — Universal” applied to examine the participants. Regression analysis was used to study the obtained data. It was found that the predictor of member contribution to group activities is the group identity in three components, as well as the interpersonal and microgroup identities in the affective component. The group identity is a stronger predictor (by the number of components of identity and the importance of communication). Among the three components, the affective component was the most represented in the identified relationships. We suppose that the connection of the three identity levels with the contribution of the workers can create a mutual compensatory effect. In other words, the weakening of one level of identity (in one or several components) can be compensated by the presence, or even strengthening, of another level of identity, thereby maintaining the organizational behavior at a high level. The perspective of the study is outlined so as to find the intermediate variables in the relationship between the levels and components of employees’ identity and their contribution to the group. |
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562–570
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The paper is focused on the role of a central executive in insight and non-insight problem solving. The central Executive (CE) is responsible for planning for problem solving, and comparing the current situation with a desired one. It is assumed that the Central Executive is harmful at the stage of an impasse in insight problem solving. The CE fixates the solver on a wrong representation. Contrariwise, the CE is important in non-insight problem solving throughout the solution time. We used the distraction method, which involves the presentation of an additional task during whilst solving the main problem. Due to that we deplete the Central Executive by overloading. We suppose the Central Executive can’t perform well doing two problems at the same time, consequently, we provided our participants with the second task, which they solved simultaneously with the main problem. The results of the experiment made it possible to confirm the assumption of a changing role of the CE during insight problem solving: the depletion of the CE is important only at the impasse stage to give the solver an opportunity to take into account the elements of the problem that are irrelevant to the primary representation. Out of the impasse control isneeded to solve problems: prior to reaching the impasse, the Central Executive is needed to complete search for all obvious solutions; after breaking out of the impasse the CE is responsible for the choice of the best answer from a new list. It is concluded that at the stage of the impasse control hinders solving insight problems. |
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571–583
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Collecting data over the internet is an approach that allows researchers to vastly expand the possible sample sizes of their studies, and enables the study of populations that may otherwise be difficult to access. However, to ensure that data collected over the internet is of the same level of quality as data collected in a lab, the comparability of internet-collected data with lab-collected data must first be assessed for individual areas of research and experimental approaches. To answer the question of whether internet data collection is suitable for experiments involving facial expressions, we conducted a deliberately difficult facial emotion-identification experiment where participants completed the same task either under supervision in our lab, or at an unsupervised location over the internet. Stimuli consisted of sad faces that participants were asked to identify as resembling either anger, fear, or disgust. Regardless of belonging to either the group tested in the lab or over the internet, participants showed highly similar response distributions, while differences between the groups were non-significant and of very low magnitude. We can therefore conclude from our findings that internet data collection is a viable method for experiments requiring the identification of emotional facial expressions, being able to produce similar results to those which can be obtained in a lab. |
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