Vol 19, No 3 (2022)

A new measure based on Triandis’s horizontal/vertical individualism-collectivism cultural orientation was developed to assess perceived community culture though the lens of horizontal individualism, vertical individualism, horizontal collectivism, and vertical collectivism. In the first step, a qualitative analysis using cognitive interviews showed that item wordings were appropriate to the Russian context, meaningfully accurate, and tangible to participants. In the second step, there was empirical testing of measure with 300 participants of the sociopsychological survey (questionnaire). The results showed that the expected factor structure had acceptable global and local fit of measurement model with the collected data. The measures had measurement equivalence by gender and acceptable indicators of reliability and validity. Comparison of obtained results with those published earlier showed that presented measure of the cultural orientations provided better model fit and indicators than the original measure or its other modifications, adaptations, and translations into Russian. Moreover, the developed measure showed that the assessment results were meaningfully correlated with the individual values of the participants assessed by Schwartz’s basic human values approach. Finally, the measure is particularly useful and can be successfully applied in a variety of studies aimed to study social influence. The questionnaire in English is available at Appendix in the end of the paper.

The development of the Internet contributes to the activity of education volunteers who disseminate a variety of information on the Web. This study is limited to virtual volunteers who share useful knowledge in cyberspace. Although the issues of volunteering are covered quite widely in psychological science, the volitional mechanisms that encourage online educational activities have been poorly studied. The leading role in the deployment of such prosocial behavior is played by a specific value-orientation system. The purpose of this research is to identify and describe the systems of values and value orientations of online educators, namely representatives of the expert core of the online encyclopedia “Wikipedia” (N = 96) and the question-answer (Q&A) online project “Otvety” (N = 47). The study is based on the value-specific (SVS, PVQ) methodology developed by Sh. Schwartz and adapted by V.N. Karandashev; the participants belong to the abovementioned expert core groups of online education volunteers. The results reveal their relatively homogeneous set of values, which is developing into an altruistic meta-orientation towards autonomously given and situationally different dissemination of knowledge aimed at providing information (as a public utility) and regulated by self-transcendence and openness to changes. Intersubjective (in terms of normative ideals and individual priorities) and intergroup (in terms of communities) value-related comparison of the study participants - Wikipedia authors and Q&A “Otvety” service experts - optionally show that the Wikipedians are more inclined to avoid saturated social relationships (being socially inert), however, are much more hedonistic about life than the Q&A-experts. At the same time, both groups are brought together as close as possible by the radical condemnation of any factors that interfere with social harmony and limit the freedom to manifest oneself as a person. Based on the obtained results, it can be concluded that further understanding of the personal and group characteristics of education volunteers can expand the scope of education; therefore, in subsequent studies, it is proposed to use successive psychodiagnostic methods that measure value specificity in a psychosocial context.

The authors describe the possibility of using a differentiated approach based on vocational education in the field of art and culture as a new criterion for attracting youth audiences to museums in the digital era. A distinctive feature of the differentiated approach in the activities of museum student clubs is the targeted impact on various groups of young people, taking into account their age and level of art training in the development of museum programs. In order to assess the applicability of the differentiated approach to working with young people in museums, the members of student clubs of the two largest museums in Russia, i.e., the Hermitage and the Russian Museum, were surveyed. Expert interviews with the staff of the student clubs were also conducted. Based on the results of the analysis, the authors identified three groups of the young people, which were designated as “interested,” “advanced” and “proficient.” The criteria for dividing into the groups were differences in the educational level of the students in the field of art and culture. This division allowed to determine the forms of the most attractive museum events for the identified groups of students. The results of the study may be useful in working with the youth audience in other museums.

The feelings of shame and pride regarding the native country are important in the context of the problem of civic identity; therefore, they are of growing interest on the part of sociologists and psychologists. Given the moral nature of these emotions, their analysis based on one of the most authoritative approaches in the psychology of morality, moral foundations theory, seems relevant and justified. The purpose of this study was to analyze the moral foundations for the feelings of shame and pride regarding the native country. The online survey involved 752 subjects (49.9% men) aged 16-73 (mean age M = 42, SD = 10.87). A new version of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ-2) was used to assess the moral foundations. The feelings of shame and pride regarding the native country were assessed using a questionnaire tested in previous sociological and psychological studies. Data processing was carried out using exploratory factor analysis, linear regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the regression analysis on the factors of shame and pride regarding the native country showed that the moral foundations play an important role in these feelings among the inhabitants of Russia. However, a specific set of predictors is determined by what exactly is the subject of pride or shame. In general, the moral foundations of loyalty and authority are of the greatest importance for pride, while liberty and equity are most important for shame regarding the native country. Using the latent profile analysis, we identified typical profiles of moral foundations associated with age. A small group (14% of the sample) of relatively young respondents with an individualistic profile of moral foundations demonstrated a significant predominance of shame over pride regarding their native country. The other two groups with a traditionalist and a moderate profiles of moral foundations were characterized by a balance (or approximate equality) of pride and shame regarding their native country. The results of the study contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of the moral factors of patriotic education based on the formation of a feeling of pride in the country.

The development of empathy at an early age (12-36 months) is gaining more and more attention due to the growing understanding of its importance in motivating care and prosocial behavior. The authors present the results of testing the standardized experimental procedure “simulated adult distress,” which is most often used in foreign psychology to study empathy in young children: the experimenter and the mother in the presence of the child take turns showing signs of pain/discomfort of low intensity for a short time. The study involved 12 girls aged 19-32 months. The children’s behavior was recorded by categories: hypothesis testing, empathic personal distress, empathic concern (care), and prosocial behavior. The study presents descriptions of behavioral manifestations in all the categories as well as a description of the identified phenomenon of repetition of adult behavior in the children aged 22-28 months. The results of the study allow to conclude that the use of the “simulated adult distress” procedure is promising for identifying empathy phenomena characteristic of an early age.

In 2022, the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Division 52 (International Psychology) marked the long-anticipated 25th anniversary of its foundation on February 21, 1997. This is an apt time to review the important and often overlooked roles of students within international psychology. This concise, yet panoramic overview explores the roles of students in international psychology, in APA’s Division 52, and in student-led organizations in five parts: (1) prehistory of Division 52 prior to 1997; (2) early years of Division 52; (3) recent years of Division 52; (4) the current rise of a new studentled organization; (5) future directions for international psychology.