Vol 14, No 3 (2017)

Non-triviality of the results of the field experiment conducted on Stanley Milgram’s methodology in the New York and Moscow subway have been studied. The statistical significance of the difference between empirical and predicted results has been taken as the non-triviality criterion. 208 respondents (psychologists and students studying psychology) were asked to predict an experimental result in dependence on an experimenter’s and subject’s gender, a subject’s age, and a city where the experiment was carried out. The obtained results have confirmed our hypothesis on non-triviality of the experiments in subways: it has been showed that there is a statistically significant difference between real behavior of subway passengers (in New York and in Moscow) and predictions made by Moscow and Tashkent respondents. Practically in most cases the predicted probability that a subject gives a seat after request of experimenter (young woman or young man) is much less than in reality. The structural equation modeling (SEM) has been used to analyze the data by constructing the model taking account of all factors mentioned above. The model fit the experimental data well (CFI = 0.919). It has been found that predicted results depend not only on gender, age, and residence of a respondent but also on the degree of familiarity with the research. The obtained data give an important material for a further study of the role of situational (an experiment design) and individual (respondent characteristics) factors in predicted results; they contribute to further understanding of the problem of creation and support of non-formal social norms in various cultures and show new aspects of research carried out on experimental methodology of Stanley Milgram.

This paper provides the view-point on cultural self-determination of a personality (CSD) in light of humanistic philosophy, the basics of which have been under the authors’ investigation since the 90s until now. One of the most significant points of the authors’ present-day research is to show the possibilities and perspectives of CSD for adaptation of the humanitarian approach towards ‘education through life’ for students; the latter is of paramount importance for the new generation, for our compatriots, and for our country, because along with this idea, the research under discussion paved the way for thoughts of making the most of the dual-purpose thinking of a personality in the educational process as a whole. The authors of the article consider the idea that the problem lies in the fact that Chaos is the foundation of the Universum, time and matter (objects) are not permanent constants, and Chaos is always a great variety. Reaching a sort of stability, Man finds himself in the situation of diversity. Then, there comes an existential crisis, which resolves in dualistic thinking. Thus, the authors of the article see in CSD one of the most significant mechanisms and ways out of the existential crisis, in which we, the people of the global communication-information civilization, have to live and work, to study new realia of the world and teach the new generation how to be adaptable and creative in the society of instability. From the view-point of the authors’ pedagogical theory of CSD (2003), the paper also covers the technological aspects of providing the conditions for positive student motivation in the academic process, the basics of which depend on the intellectual component of a personality. The latter is based on the ability of both students and teachers to make most of the languages of the educational environment for fruitful communication in the light of the philosophy of Dialogism (M.M. Bachtin, V.S.Bibler, M.Buber, Yu. M.Lotman, М.S. Каgan, etc.).

This article presents the peculiarities of teaching Russian as a foreign language of students at Sewanee: The University of the South (USA). The American system of pedagogical education of foreign language, with its high mobilization potential from the position of participant in the educational process, is analyzed. Description of the main trends of the higher education system of the United States, making it highly competitive in the global educational space, is given. It is stated that recently the importance of studying foreign languages in the country has significantly increased; some of the most popular foreign languages are listed. Russian as a foreign language is one of the top seven languages studied in American universities. An attempt to justify the reasons why American students prefer to study Russian language is made. The overview of educational programs in the field of training and possibilities of exchange programs for students in the target language country are presented. The basic methods and techniques of language teaching, as well as additional activities in the framework of a club of Russian language, which increase the motivation and quality of student learning, are described. In the conclusion, the authors highlight that the process of modernization of vocational language education in the U.S. is through their variability and pluralism.

The article is devoted to the study of intercultural competence (ICC) as a psychological phenomenon including the analysis of its models, factors, and profiles. The results of an empirical study in two major multinational Russian universities (388 students, of which 254 young women and 134 young men) are presented. The aim of the study was to identify the typological profiles of the ICC and their characteristics in relation to personality traits. ICC was studied based on the “Dynamic model of intercultural sensitivity” by M. Bennet. The author’s modification of the “Scale of intercultural sensitivity” by O.E. Khuhlaev and M.Y. Chibisova in the adaptation of Y.A. Lopashenko was used for the ICC diagnostics. Personality traits were considered in the framework of the Five-Factor Model (P. Costa and R. McCrae) and were measured by a short form of the “Five-Factor Questionnaire” in Russian adaptation by M.V. Bodunov and S.D. Biryukov. We identified four ICC profiles of students provisionally called “ethnocentrists”, “negativists”, “undecided (ambivalent)”, and “ethnorelativists”. It is shown that the profiles differ not only in the correlation between the severity of parameters of the ICC, but also in personality traits. The results can be used for the design of ICC development and formation programs, based on the identified psychological specifics of ICC profiles.