Vol 21, No 1 (2024)
- Year: 2024
- Articles: 18
- URL: https://journals.rudn.ru/psychology-pedagogics/issue/view/1800
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.22363/2313-1683-2024-21-1
Full Issue
INTERDISCIPLINARITY IN PSYCHOLOGY: NEW RESEARCH TRENDS
Using Language Entropy to Characterize Bilingual Language Experience: a Study of Adyghe-Russian and Tatar-Russian Bilinguals
Abstract
It is believed that bilingualism contributes to the enhancement of executive functions in bilingual individuals as they need to constantly control the simultaneous activation of two or more languages in their brains. However, decades of research have led to contradictory conclusions regarding the existence of bilingual advantage. One of the promising approaches to resolving these contradictions is a more detailed examination of bilingual language experience. The aim of this study was twofold. First is to empirically test the language entropy method as a way of measuring variability in bilingual language use in different interaction contexts. Second is to examine the relationship between bilinguals’ language entropy and executive functions (cognitive flexibility, goal maintenance, conflict monitoring). The study involved 111 bilinguals (mean age = 20.5 (2.97); 75.7% female), who are speakers of Adyghe-Russian and Tatar-Russian languages. The battery of instruments included a questionnaire on demographic and language experience, containing questions to calculate language entropy in four contexts (home, university, work, free time), a Color-shape switching task to measure executive functions (domains of cognitive flexibility, goal updating, conflict monitoring), and Cattell Culture Fair Intelligence Test to assess nonverbal intelligence. The results demonstrated that language entropy of the bilinguals from both regions did not exceed a score of 0.66 in all the contexts which indicates the use of predominantly one language in everyday communications. However, in the “university” context, bilinguals speaking Tatar and Russian used languages in a more balanced way than bilinguals speaking Adyghe and Russian languages. The results suggest that the language entropy method can be highly effective for characterizing bilingual language experience. The results also showed that there was no relationship between language entropy of the bilinguals in this study and their executive functions (domains of cognitive flexibility, goal updating, conflict monitoring). This is consistent with the predictions of the Adaptive Control Hypothesis.
Interpersonal Synchrony and Dispositional Empathy: A Review of International Research
Abstract
Interpersonal synchrony is the process of alignment of participants in social interaction at the behavioral, physiological, or interbrain levels. This phenomenon is closely interrelated with the establishment of social contacts, the results of joint actions, the enhancement of relationships, and the development of social skills. Despite the popularity of studies of such attunement abroad, in Russian science, it is only beginning to appear. In the literature, a theoretical assumption has been made about the significance of the contribution of trait empathy to interpersonal synchrony. We understand trait empathy as the ability to experience the affective and cognitive states of another person while maintaining one’s own self. The present review is the first attempt to assess the extent to which foreign empirical studies of dyadic synchrony support the proposed hypothesis. The analysis of the literature allows us to note the heterogeneity of the studies in terms of the methods used to assess empathy and interpersonal synchrony, the experimental tasks used, and the interaction contexts studied. The results of the included works reflect contradictory results, which may be related to the mentioned heterogeneity of research designs. It has been shown that empathy can contribute to interpersonal synchrony, but this occurs primarily in dyads of previously familiar participants or in specific contexts that require the use of appropriate empathic skills. In some contexts, the level of empathy of only one of the dyad participants is more important. However, it should be noted that due to the small sample sizes and limited number of studies on the topic, conclusions about the validity of the hypothesis can only be preliminary. There is a need for more relevant studies with sample sizes reaching sufficient power, and unified experiment designs facilitate the possibility of comparing their results.
Neural and Physiologic Correlates of the Therapeutic Alliance: A Narrative Review of International Research
Abstract
A quality therapeutic alliance, as a component of a successful psychotherapeutic process, provides a trusting relationship and effective collaboration between psychotherapist and client. This narrative review examines research that explores the relationship between psychophysiological measures of psychotherapy participants and their subjective perceptions of alliance quality. The results of 10 empirical articles, selected after a systematic literature search, are presented within several paragraphs. Each of the paragraphs analyzes and discusses studies using measures of the same human body system, followed by recommendations for further research in the conclusion. Thus, as a result of the analysis of the selected sources, the perceived quality of the alliance showed a positive relationship with the synchronization of brain activity indices, heart rate variability, heart rate, skin electrical activity, and breathing patterns between the participants in the process. However, the only study examined the contribution of participants' individual heart rate variability indices, which showed a relationship only for the client alliance. At the same time, the structure of interrelationships between alliance components and psychophysiological parameters differed depending on the number of participants: in dyadic, in family, in the presence of a supervisor or a second therapist. Recorded changes in physiological parameters may reflect both the patterns of participants' cognitive processes and their affective states - and together add to the understanding of the dynamic process of establishing and experiencing an alliance between participants in a psychotherapy session. Future research should unify the research design, continue to clarify the role of interpersonal synchronization in alliance experience, pay attention to differences in couples and group psychotherapy, and examine multiple psychophysiological variables simultaneously using a multilevel approach.
Contemporary Research on Attention Facilitation Effect within the Dynamic Attending Theory: Issues and Perspectives
Abstract
The results of recent international studies within The Dynamic Attention Theory (DAT) have opened up great prospects for the development of therapeutic methods that use temporal patterns of rhythmic stimulation to model the attention facilitation effect (AFE) in cognitive and specialized language tasks. However, research within the DAT is developing in local directions and still remains less noticeable to a wide range of researchers. In particular, no systematic review and meta-analysis of behavioral and psychophysiological studies of AFE within the DAT have been conducted. This review examined the DAT, namely, its specificity, provisions, mechanisms of attention selectivity, and main research paradigms. We reviewed current research on AFE within the DAT. Studies within the correlational approach, as well as studies of AFE in rhythmic impact paradigms, were considered. Within the latter, we identified two blocks: general cognitive functions and language processes. In the first block, we examined studies of AFE on perception, as well as on perception and memory together, and in the second block, AFE on syntax and phonology. It was found that most studies focus on children and young adults, which limits the possibility of generalizing the results to other age groups. In addition, studies within the syntactic direction have shown contradictory data regarding the syntactic and modal specificity of AFE, and have also focused only on the study of the auditory modality of AFE. The review also showed the limitations of research in constructing an experimental paradigm, which is manifested in the choice of only one mechanism of attention selectivity described in the dynamic attention theory. Thus, this work emphasizes the need for further research to gain a deeper understanding of AFE, as well as to expand the age groups and modalities included in the studies.
Developmental Changes in Presentation Rate Effect on Auditory Event-Related Potential through Childhood to Adulthood
Abstract
In adults, the rate of stimuli presentation has been shown to play a critical role for the event related potentials (ERP): its components become larger as presentation rate decreases. But there are few works evaluating developmental changes of this ERP modulation that might provide insights into basic forms of learning. The current study aims to examine the developmental changes in the effect of the presentation rate on ERP. Participants (N = 48) of four age groups (2-7, 8-11, 12-17 and 18-35 years old) were presented with auditory tone (1000 Hz) at three different stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA): 0.9, 1.8, and 3.6 s. During stimuli presentation 28-channels electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Amplitude of ERP components increased with SOA prolongation. However, this effect was differently pronounced in each of the age groups, depending on the component and cortical site. N1P1 amplitude was increased from 0.9 to 1.8 s SOA in two oldest groups (12-17 years old and adults) predominantly at fronto-central sites. Similar increase demonstrated P2N1 component but starting from younger group (8-11 years old). Only the adult group was characterized by a significant increase in N1P1 and P2N1 amplitudes with SOA increase from 1.8 to 3.6 s. Thus, the effect of presentation rate on ERP is not fully mature even at adolescence and depends on the component with P2N1 amplitude showing modulations at younger age.
PERSONALITY AND CONTEMPORARY CHALLENGES
Sociality of Future Teaching Staff and Solidarity of Society in the Context of Integration of New Subjects of Russia: Methodological Reflection
Abstract
The problems of preserving social culture and ensuring social unity in the context of the special military operation and the integration of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Regions are of the utmost importance for the entire Russian society and the education system, including higher education. To solve them, it is necessary to provide methodological and humanitarian support for the process of studying and forming the sociality of the individual in new socio-cultural conditions. The purpose of this work is to methodologically substantiate the conceptual lines of forming the sociality of future teaching staff in the context of integration into the all-Russian educational space of new subjects of the Russian Federation. Based on reflection on the results of the complementary use of anthropological, axiological and praxeological approaches, as well as methodological procedures, the cognitive image of sociality was identified as having its essential features (as an integrative category) and conceptual development lines in culture and in the process of training future teaching staff (humanitarianism, psychological continuum of sociality, cultural identity and fundamental social constants, and some others). The interpretation of the essence of sociality as the personal ability to comprehend ideological, social and psychological knowledge and experience, to carry out responsible, innovative organization of social life in reasonable combination with individual interests, as well as the explication of significant characteristics expanded the traditional conceptual foundation of theories, principles, priorities and ideals of the movement towards social unity of people, towards the implementation of social activities of students in the context of integration into the all-Russian educational space. Through critical “selection” of strategies and technologies for the formation of sociality in future teaching staff, the “horizontality” of the value-semantic and humanitarian components of universal human culture has been supplemented, and their new understanding has been given in the context of the formation of traditional spiritual and moral values. The results of the study will form the basis for formatting educational programs and expert diagnostics, research projects, cultural, social and educational practices in universities of the new subjects of the Russian Federation, and can also be used in the process of studying the course “Fundamentals of Russian Statehood”. Further research should be directed towards finding constructive technologies for the psychological and pedagogical deployment of sociality in a new socio-cultural space that will bring future teaching staff as close as possible to practical reality in the context of the integration of new subjects into the educational space of Russia.
Psychological Factors of Formal and Informal Monetary Borrowing
Abstract
The social category ‘borrowers’ is heterogeneous in a number of indicators. The article raises the problem of differences in the psychological characteristics of borrowers who prefer formal loans and loans from private individuals. The purpose of the study is to analyze the psychological characteristics of consumers of various types of loans. Based on previous research, the authors identified for analysis variables such as time perspective and long-term orientation of the individual, consideration of the consequences of one’s behavior, level of generalized trust, moral foundations, social beliefs and attitudes towards debt, which were presumably associated with people’s preferred type of borrowing. The sample consisted of users of financial services with various types of loans ( N = 1974); they were divided into three groups, homogeneous by type of loans: (1) the respondents who had only loans received from relatives, friends or acquaintances ( N = 97), (2) the respondents who had only loans from microfinance organizations (MFO) ( N = 97), and (3) the respondents who had only consumer loans ( N = 103). The analysis was carried out using the following methods and techniques: The Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) by J. Haidt (adapted by O.A. Sychev), The Long-Term Orientation of Personality (LTOP) by T.A. Nestik, The Consideration for Future Consequences (CFC) by A. Strathman (adapted by T.A. Nestik), a short version of The Dual Process Model Scales by J. Duckitt (adapted by D.S. Grigoriev), a short version of The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) , The World Value Survey (WVS) , The Personal Belief in a Just World Scale by K. Dalbert with two subscales: belief in the justice of the world and belief in the justice of the world in relation to oneself (adapted by S.K. Nartova-Bochaver), and The Debt Behavior Express Inventory . In each group of the respondents, significant differences were found in the structure of relationships among the studied parameters. The results showed that the respondents who had only non-institutional loans, in contrast to those who had exclusively bank or MFO loans, were less loyal to their group (low traditionalism), which in their perceptions was associated with reduced trust in (regional) authorities. This may indicate the autonomy of these borrowers in social terms. The limitations of the study were also noted. Finally, the prospects for further research were outlined and the possibilities of practical use of the results obtained were determined.
PERSONALITY IN INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION
Russian Specialists’ Perception of Negotiations with Chinese Partners: Expectations, Strategies and Challenges
Abstract
In the context of global challenges and changing geopolitical situations around the world, Russian organizations are increasingly facing the necessity of active cooperation with countries in the Far East, especially China. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify how Russian business representatives perceive and manage this process, with special attention to expectations and perceptions of communication effectiveness. The study focused on two key aspects: firstly, the analysis of expectations of Russian representatives, which shape their approaches to negotiations, and secondly, the assessment of their perception of the dynamics and effectiveness of these negotiations. The study sample included 13 Russian employees of Russian companies who had experience in negotiations with Chinese partners. The study used semi-structured qualitative interviews. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze the data. Further coding and analysis of the text were carried out in the Atlas.ti. As a result of the analysis of the interview, the main topics were identified that describe the perception of the negotiation process: expectations regarding the negotiation process, strategies for preparing for negotiations, behavior strategies in negotiations, perception of behavior strategies of partners in interaction, emotions in the negotiation process, perception of a communicative situation (characteristics), perception of oneself in the process of negotiations, the perception of a negotiating partner, the perception of the effectiveness of negotiations. The study showed that successful intercultural business communication requires a combination of professional and culturally oriented approaches. Attention to cultural features and specifics and consideration of their influence on communication contributes to more effective interaction. However, difficulties arise due to the indirect style of communication and differences in the manifestation of emotions, which can make negotiations difficult. In addition, situations that are threatening to the negotiator’s "face" may have an impact on professional and ethnic/ civil identity. As a result of the study, the features of Russian managers’perception of intercultural business communication with Chinese partners were identified, and recommendations were formulated regarding the preparation of Russian managers for international negotiations.
Theoretical and Methodological Foundations for Developing University Students’ Intercultural Competence by Means of Traditional Music of the Peoples of the World
Abstract
The need to take into account cultural diversity in music education is recognized today in scientific communities of different countries. A relevant area of foreign research is the conceptualization of multicultural music education and the methodology for developing students’ intercultural competence. Despite the fact that the multicultural focus of music educational programs has been outlined at the international and national levels, the theoretical and methodological foundations for developing students’ intercultural competence through the study of music of different nations remain underdeveloped. Most foreign studies reveal either the conceptual focus of multicultural music education, or the experimental one, showing the developing potential of a multicultural approach to teaching music in individual cases. The accumulation of positive experience in intercultural interaction through ethnomusical dialogue in world practice necessitates its further theoretical and methodological understanding. The author of this article compares and generalizes foreign and domestic experience in using different methods for developing students’ intercultural competence by means of music, as well as to typologize the tested methods within the framework of four fundamental approaches, namely ethnomusicological (musical-cultural), subject-activity, anthropological (musical-psychological) and personality-oriented (humane-personal) ones. Considering that there are very few studies to date that demonstrate the effectiveness of these approaches in multicultural music education, the author also attempts to theoretically substantiate them based on foreign and domestic experience. In addition, the article offers a number of conceptual and theoretical justifications for the comprehensive application of these approaches in developing students’ intercultural competence by means of multicultural music practices. Systematization of international experience will make it possible to consider the construct of intercultural competence in an expanded, integrative dimension with regard to multicultural music education, which creates a basis for building theoretical and methodological relationships between educational categories of different levels: from conceptual and methodological approaches to methods of their implementation and the expected result, i.e., the development of various components of intercultural competence.
An International Learner-Made Video Project as a Tool to Develop EFL Students’ Intercultural Competence: Students’ Perceptions
Abstract
The aim of this small-scale pilot study was to identify students’ perceptions of an international learner-made video project as an EFL educational tool, and its effect on improving the learners’ intercultural communicative competence (ICC). In addition, the authors tried to ascertain students’ views of the effect of their participation in such a project on improving their language and digital skills. The authors also aimed to clarify whether the students experienced the sense of L2 enjoyment through the project. The sample of this study consisted of 81 undergraduate students from eighteen countries who took part in the yearly International Competition of Student-Made Videos in Foreign Languages “University is my Universe” in the Southern Federal University (SFedU), Russia. To assess the students’ perceptions, the authors adapted a 14-item quantitative Likert scale questionnaire originally created by Freiermuth and Huang to evaluate students’ ICC development through cultural exchanges. The results showed that the use of learner-made video projects in teaching and learning English as a foreign language motivates students and helps them not only to develop their ICC but also to improve their language and digital skills. These two points, however, need further research.
PERSONALITY AND PROFESSION
Professional Features of IT Specialists’ Activities as Burnout Risk Factors
Abstract
Currently, there is a high demand for IT specialists in the Russian economy. To build a long-term strategy for their selection and psychological support in a company, it is necessary to identify and understand the risks of developing stress syndromes (including burnout) in them, depending on the conditions of their professional activity, and make a comprehensive description of their professional profile. The article describes the features of the digitalization of society and their impact on the professional burnout of an IT specialist. The purpose of this study is to identify the profession-specific features of the activities of IT specialists in terms of the risks of burnout development. The study used (1) a semi-structured expert interview on the representation of IT-specialists about the features, requirements and conditions of their work (containing five groups of questions on technological and economic features, educational and medical requirements, and psychological aspects of professions in the IT field); and (2) a questionnaire survey in a Google form about the features of time management in different areas of life. The interview and the questionnaire covered 19 and 82 IT experts, respectively. Based on the analysis of the obtained data, the authors were able to determine: (1) the job duties of representatives of the professions of ‘programmer’, ‘analyst’ and ‘tester’; (2) the most common causes of professional errors in the IT sphere, as well as their consequences as risk factors for burnout; (3) the minimum level of training, educational requirements and criteria for success in activities; (4) the most common cognitive and social work operations of IT professions; (5) requirements for the level of health and working conditions, as well as possible occupational diseases; and (6) data on the imbalance of work and rest, work and personal life. The study revealed possible risk factors for emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduction in personal achievements of IT specialists. Finally, conclusions are made that the digital environment significantly influences the information environment around an IT specialist, transforms the perception of time, space, information, methods of communication and self-presentation, and changes the motivational sensory-cognitive involvement in work.
Professional Review of the Work Tasks of Nuclear Medicine Physicians: Analysis of Compliance with Normative Requirements and Actual Work Activity
Abstract
Nuclear medicine is rapidly advancing simultaneously in several areas, which include: developing and producing radiopharmaceuticals (RPs), manufacturing diagnostic equipment and creating related infrastructure, as well as modeling competences for specialists working with a complex category of patients. Due to the novelty and large scale of the tasks associated with the implementation of these advancements, which directly concern nuclear medicine doctors, there is a need to describe their professional profile as a key component of the entire system. The purpose of this work was to conduct a professional analysis of the current work tasks of nuclear medicine doctors to subsequently identify the degree of compliance between the actual activities carried out and existing regulatory requirements. To collect professional material, semi-structured interviews were conducted with doctors of various specialties in the field of nuclear medicine, which were supplemented by an analysis of personnel, information and reference, and administrative documentation of organizations. However, as it turns out, the documentation (professional standards) regulating the activities of nuclear medicine doctors is currently either in the process of development or approval, or simply missing. The documents that currently regulate the activities of doctors do not fully reflect the actual work tasks performed due to the fact that nuclear medicine employees are “interdisciplinary” specialists. The case study of radiologists shows that in order to carry out their work, they need to undergo a system of double certification of activities, and then subsequent training directly on the job under the supervision of an experienced physician mentor. The current situation in nuclear medicine highlights several problem areas related to: (1) determining the degree of adequacy of existing educational programs for the subsequent full implementation of their activities by doctors; (2) discussing the problem of additional burden on employers and, as a result, on employees acting as mentors; and (3) identifying specific additional labor functions and tasks associated with working with high-tech equipment (sophisticated medical devices or medical information systems), which for the most part are not unified and depend on the organization. The developed professiograms for a radiologist and a radiotherapist, taking into account real work tasks, which can be divided into several blocks, can become the basis for creating targeted training programs for specialists, monitor in real time the features of adaptation of specialists to the requirements of nuclear medicine and reasonably resolve issues of selecting doctors to the appropriate medical centers.
PHENOMENOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD IN CONTEMPORARY CONTEXTS
Additional Education and Active Involvement in Artistic Culture in Structure of Leisure Time among Modern Russian Teenagers
Abstract
The article examines the features of preferences in spending leisure time among Russian teenagers at the stage of training in secondary and high school. 40,575 students in grades 7-11 of comprehensive schools from 17 regions of the Russian Federation took part in an anonymous questionnaire survey. In order to identify the features of teenagers’ involvement in art in the structure of leisure time and in the system of additional education, the indicators of inclusion in the system of additional artistic classes (“coverage”, preferences for types of art, and motivation for classes) were analyzed. The influence of gender, age and socio-stratification factors (educational and financial status of the family, etc.) on the activity of involving teenagers in artistic culture was also studied. It is shown that the styles of introducing teenagers to art differ significantly depending on the students’ involvement in the system of additional education, differentiating them by the level of activity in spending leisure time. A special analysis of responses in subsamples of students studying in the system of additional education with an artistic focus made it possible to characterize a number of trends in the motives that determine attendance of classes. It has been revealed that currently the use of new information technologies by schoolchildren is significantly replacing traditional forms of additional education for students in the field of art.
‘Self-Image’ Features in Gifted Senior Preschoolers
Abstract
The article is devoted to one of the topical problems of modern psychology - the development of self-awareness in children - as it is considered in the psychology of giftedness. The study was aimed at identifying ‘self-image’ features in creatively gifted senior preschool children. It was carried out in line with the scientific approach proposed by A.M. Matyushkin to the study of giftedness as a prerequisite for the development of a creative personality. The study involved 290 children aged 6-7 years ( M = 6.6; SD = 0.54; boys = 143, girls = 147) attending preschool educational institutions in Moscow. The creative potential of the participants (senior preschool children) was identified using Figural Form A of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), as well as on the basis of observations, surveys of teachers and parents, and expert assessments of the children’s creative works. The results made it possible to identify a group of gifted senior preschoolers with high creative potential ( N = 52, boys = 26, girls = 26) and a group of their peers, equal in quantitative composition and gender distribution, whose creative potential was lower. The child’s ‘self-image’ features were revealed during a conversation based on the Twenty Statements Test - TST (M. Kuhn and Th. McPartland, modified by T.V. Rumyantseva) and the Study of the System of Children’s Self-Characteristics (O.A. Belobrykina). The analysis of the obtained data showed the relationship between the results of the Torrance Test performed by the senior preschoolers and the number of their self-characteristics. The following differences between the groups were highlighted: the gifted children named more characteristics when describing themselves than their peers; this was especially true for such subcategories of answers as ‘gender’, ‘age’, ‘role in society’, ‘role in the family’, ‘physical qualities’, ‘communication’, ‘abilities’, and ‘general’. The analysis of the ‘self-image’ structural components revealed that the group of the gifted children, to a greater extent than the group of their peers, represented the indicators of the social, communicative, physical, active and reflexive components. All this indicates a greater volume and greater degree of cognitive complexity and differentiation of the ‘self-image’ in the gifted senior preschoolers compared to their peers. At the same time, the following ‘self-image’ aspects common to both groups were identified: the predominance of self-characteristics of the subjective category (personality traits, skills, etc.) and emotionally positive responses. A comparison of the ‘self-images’ between the gifted boys and gifted girls showed that the girls had more pronounced ‘emotional characteristics (cheerful)’, ‘description of appearance (beautiful)’ and ‘role in the family’. The results obtained can be used in creating programs aimed at the emotional and personal development of gifted preschoolers, as well as in the process of consultative work on the prevention/correction of difficulties in the upbringing of preschoolers.
CURRENT TRENDS IN PERSONALITY RESEARCH
Evidence-Based Pedagogy: Criteria for Experimental Research
Abstract
The article presents approaches to defining quality criteria for pedagogical experimental research. Particular attention is paid to the evidence-based approach in pedagogy. It is argued that pedagogical research today is an integral part of the educational process and dissertations on pedagogical sciences. However, it should be noted that there are problems with the quality of such studies, which constitute a significant share of the total number of defended dissertations, and this causes an urgent need to develop methodological principles and criteria for assessing their quality. But it is not every pedagogical research that is the subject of this paper: its focus is on the methodological foundations of experimental pedagogical research or simply experimental research in pedagogy, which often do not meet the requirements of the scientific method. The authors analyzed the main topics of pedagogical research in Russia and abroad. The key results and conclusions of the study are the complex requirements for dissertations as a scientific product and pedagogical research, which determine the algorithm for obtaining proven, reliable data used in science. It is concluded that experimental research in the field of pedagogy should be carried out in accordance with the requirements for all empirical research. In particular, special attention is paid to ethical issues of pedagogical research and procedures for implementing the experimental method.
A Region of Interest Analysis Focusing on the Insular and Cingulate Cortices
Abstract
The insula is a brain region located on the lateral part of the brain. Previous findings show that the insula serves as a multimodal hub through which information is transmitted. In a recent group level analysis the insula, the anterior cingulate and the cingulate gyrus were found to be marked with prevalent clusters. In this study an attempt is made to confirm these findings and evaluate their significance by conducting a region of interest analysis (ROI). A group of 20 participants underwent an fMRI scan while solving mathematical problems of various degrees of difficulty. After the completion of each problem, they were asked to rate the difficulty of the current task from one to four (one corresponding to “very easy” and four corresponding to “very difficult”). The fMRI scanner was used to collect brain signal during the mathematical cognition and also the metacognition phase of the experiment. Signal corresponding to brain activation for each task was analyzed from various areas by conducting an ROI analysis and a t-test was used to determine the level of significance. Brain regions that were shown to be active in the group level analysis (right insula, left anterior cingulate and left/right middle frontal gyri) were confirmed to be active by the ROI analysis.
PERSONS OF GLOBAL SCIENCE
Century of GM
Abstract
The article is devoted to the centenary of Galina M. Andreeva (Doctor of Philosophy, full member of RAO, professor and founder of the Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University). The author shares with the readers her memories of interaction with G.M. Andreeva during her studies and work at the Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, Lomonosov Moscow State University.