Psychology in Russia 

About: Psychology in Russia is an academic journal published by Moscow State University. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Cognition & Medicine. It has an ISSN identifier of 2074-6857. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 615 publications have been published receiving 3219 citations.

Spiritual Well-Being

Abstract: 1. Values that regulate social behaviour"The United Nations Millennium Declaration" adopted by the General Assembly Summit which was held on September 6-8, 2000 (Session 55, paragraph 60b of the agenda) includes the list of basic objectives that the UN gives special importance. The Declaration starts with the statement of those values and principles that are followed by the heads of state and government at the dawn of the new millennium. Why are these values given so much significance?It is a well-known psychological fact that activity of a biological creature or a social institution is triggered by its needs. However, behaviour of both human individuals and social communities is regulated not only by a set of patterns, but also by human values and attitudes. These values and attitudes may be unconscious and hiding behind habits and rules, behavioural patterns and a way of thinking, but they can be realized by both individual and social community who have an opportunity to make them manageable. The choice of values is the manifestation of both freedom and responsibility. Making a conscious choice about values which regulate his/her social behaviour a human individual becomes a true citizen with all the personal, social (e.g. economic, legal, etc.) attributes (Ball, 1997).The system of values accepted in society gives rise to beliefs, principles, social attitudes and norms, personal and social behavioural goals, and also regulates the decision making process at all stages of social activity. Any change in the system of values leads to significant changes in social behaviour projects as a way of behaviour modification.Throughout human history, there have been dreams about building a society regulated by human values that could promote not only its economic, but also its intellectual and ethical development. Such dreams about the people, state, professional communities managed by true noble people, aristocrats of the spirit would remain an empty dream even today, but for scientific research data of the recent decades which indicate that cultural values do influence successful functioning of human communities and their economy.Why do some ethnic groups and nations live better off than other ones of the kind? The determining factors include the climate, the geographical location, the size of the country, natural resources, the choice of policies, and good management, etc.However, according to Daniel P. Moynihan ("The New Republic", June 7, 1986) it is culture but not politics that determines the success of society. The author believes that some cultural values may hinder economic development while the others may be really beneficial for it. In 1985, Lawrence E. Harrison published his book "Underdevelopment Is a State of Mind - The Latin American Case", in which the notion of culture is defined as a coherent system of values, attitudes and institutions that influence individual and social behaviour.2. Spirituality and spiritual developmentPsychologists and physicians have lately become closer to peer into the spiritual aspect of a human being.Nowadays basic approaches to studying spirituality are as follows: (1) spirituality as a principle of self-development and self-actualization; (2) the roots of spirituality, which do not go deeply into a human individual (especially in his/her personal traits or tendency to reflection), but also in his/her creative activity and in the products of life; (3) study of the factors of human spiritual states; (4) religious studies.Self-reflection ("What is my true essence? Who am I?") is accompanied by the search for the meaning of life, while specific life events are given a specific value. This "spiritual work" contributes to personal growth. Each person has to make an individual choice among a wide range of values and assign them to regulating personal behaviour, the daily exercise of this choice being a test of his/her personality. …

Effect Size, Confidence Intervals and Statistical Power in Psychological Research

Abstract: IntroductionIn the last three decades, a critical movement occurring within quantitative psychological research began to develop. This development emerged in response to the misguided use of classical statistics based on null hypothesis significance testing (NHST). NHST promotes dichotomous thinking and provides limited information regarding the essence of investigated phenomena. Dichotomous thinking in science -- manifested as only accepting or rejecting research hypotheses -- prevents the advancement of science and may even skew the accumulation of knowledge by stimulating the exclusive publication of studies whose hypotheses have been accepted. The so-called "new statistics" movement critically challenges NHST postulates and operations. This movement is an approach based on the analytical tool of estimation (Cummings, 2014), which promotes the use of effect size as descriptive statistic, confidence intervals as inferential statistics, and meta-analysis as a reliable form of knowledge accumulation. This paper is intended to analyze the disadvantages of NHST and the advantages of using effect size, confidence intervals and statistical power in quantitative psychological research, especially in clinical studies. Also noted and stressed is the need for editors of scientific psychological journals to adhere to policies recommended by the A.P.A. in this regard.Quantitative research in psychologyTypically, quantitative psychological research is focused on detecting the occurrence of certain population phenomena by analyzing data from a sample. An example is the case in which a researcher wishes to know if a treatment to improve the quality of life of those who suffer from breast cancer performs better than a placebo treatment for another group or those on a waiting list (also known as the control group or contrast group) (Wilkinson, 1999). Similarly, to make the decision to confirm that an independent variable or treatment did or did not have an important effect, statistics is used. In quantitative research methodology, there are two ways of quantifying this effect: (1) Null Hypothesis Significance Testing and (2) Effect Size (ES), as well as its respective confidence intervals (Cl). These two approaches are reviewed below.Null Hypothesis Significance Testing (NHST)NHST comes from the effect size on the population, the size of the sample used and the alpha level or p value that is selected (p being the abbreviation for probability). Most psychology research is focused on rejecting the null hypothesis and obtaining a small p value instead of observing the relevance of the results that are obtained (Kirk, 2001).Among the limitations of NHST, we found its sensitivity to sample size, its inability to accept the null hypothesis, and its lack of capacity to determine the practical significance of the statistical results.Kirk (2001) states that NHST only establishes the probability of obtaining a more or less extreme effect if the null hypothesis is true. It does not, however, communicate the magnitude of the effect or its practical significance, meaning whether the effect is found to be useful or important. As a result, inferential statistical testing has been criticized; as expressed by Ivarsson, Andersen, Johnson, and Lindwall (2013): "p levels may have little, if anything, to do with real-world meaning and practical value" (p.97). Some authors, such as Schmidt (1996), even suggest that statistical contrast is unnecessary and recommend focusing only on ES estimation, and Cohen (1994) suggests that "NHST has not only failed to support the advance of psychology as a science but also has seriously impeded it." (p. 997).Ronald Fisher was the father of modern statistics and experimental design. Since his time, it has been established as a convention that the p value for statistical significance must be less than .05, which means that an observed difference between two groups has less than a 5% probability of occurring by chance or sampling error if the null hypothesis is assumed to be true initially. …

The cingulate cortex and human memory processes

Abstract: This study presents data from a magnetic-resonance morphometric (MRMM) analysis of the main regions of the cingulate cortex (in both hemispheres) and their role in memory processes in a group of healthy, females of older age. The results demonstrate a statistically reliable correlation between overall performance and the type of errors in different neuropsychological memory tests and the relative size of these regions. The discovered pattern of correlations can be explained by hypothesizing the reciprocal functional influence of the two major areas of the cingulate cortex – its anterior and posterior dorsal parts – on performance in neuropsychological memory tests.

Developing an affirmative position statement on sexual and gender diversity for psychology professionals in South Africa

Abstract: Background. Against the background of the dominance of patriarchy and heteronormativity in Africa and the resultant stigma, discrimination and victimisation of sexually and gender-diverse people, this article reports on the development of an affirmative position statement by the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) for psychology professionals working with sexually and gender-diverse people. The position statement is an attempt to contribute positively to the de-stigmatisation, amongst psychology professionals, of all people with diverse sexual and gender identities. objective. In documenting and reflecting on the process of developing the statement — a first on the African continent — the article aims to contribute to the potential resources available to others in their work on similar projects around the world. design. Although initially intended to be relevant to the African continent, the position statement is appropriate to the South African context specifically, but developed in consultation with a range of stakeholders, also from other African countries. Results. Concerns expressed during stakeholder consultations, and thus taken into account in the development of the statement, include relevance to other African countries, negotiating the politics of representation and language, the importance of including gender and biological variance in addition to sexuality, and the need to be sensitive to how Western influence is constructed in some African contexts. conclusion. Other national psychology organisations stand to benefit by ‘lessons learned’ during this country-specific process with global implications, especially with respect to broadening the lens from lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) to sexual and gender diversity, as well as an acknowledgement of the multiple and fluid developmental pathways around sexuality and gender, in general.

Psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9)

Abstract: This article aims to analyze the psychometric properties of the Russian version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9) by using a sample of 1783 employees of a large Russian organization. We conducted a series of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) tests of the factorial structure and the configural, metric, scalar, factor variance, factor covariance, and factor means invariances of the model across gender and age groups. The validity of the Russian version of the UWES-9 was investigated by studying its relationship with burnout, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and turnover intention. The CFA showed that both the 1-factor and the 3-factor models of the UWES-9 fit well with the data, but the 3-factor model demonstrates a significantly better fit. However, the differences are minor, therefore, in practical terms, the models are identical. Thus the Russian version of the UWES-9 can be used both as a three-scale measurement and as a single scale of work engagement. Results from the multi-group CFA provided evidence of factorial invariance of the 3-factor model across gender and age groups. Internal consistencies of the vigor, dedication, and absorption subscales are acceptable. The results also suggested the convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the UWES-9, as shown by its relationship with burnout, job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and turnover intention. The article also discusses the differences in levels of work engagement within different gender and age groups. Overall, the results show that the Russian version of the UWES-9 demonstrates acceptable psychometric properties comparable with the original version and those in other languages. The Russian version of the UWES-9 can therefore be recommended for use in research and practice.