No 1 (2025)

The need to reflect the contribution of T.G. Stefanenko to ethno psychology, the significance of her works, which has not yet been fully realized, seems extremely important, which determined the purpose of this article.
The method of analysis was the hermeneutic reflection of the works of T.G. Stefanenko
Results. A new approach to the study of ethnic identity and awareness of its specificity in comparison with ethnicity make the concept of T.G. Stefanenko a unique contribution to the understanding of the psychological content of these concepts. The most important provision of the concept of T.G. Stefanenko was a new approach to understanding culture as a determinant of the formation of ethnic identity, its arbitrariness and variability. The fundamental novelty was the combination of ethnicity with history and reflection of the life path and the person’s integrity. Ethnic identification, on the contrary, is associated with emotional experience, attitude to cultural standards and language. The cognitive-emotional approach to understanding the mechanism of formation of ethnic identity determines the freedom of its choice, the possibility of transforming it during choosing and constructing emotional relationships with different cultural groups.
Conclusions. The connection of the methodology of G.M. Andreeva’ s psychology of social cognition with the aesthetic paradigm and approach to ethnic experiences in the works of G.G. Shpet became the basis for the concept of T.G. Stefanenko on ethnic and cultural identification and identity. The separation of these concepts (as a process and a result) determined the ideas about the freedom of choice of one’s ethnic and social identity and the importance of mutual acceptance of a person and a group. Understanding culture as an holistic system with mobile boundaries becomes the basis for an interdisciplinary approach to understanding ethnic identity and helps the connection between different forms of identity and the integrity of the person in a changing society.

The article considers the peculiarities of the current stage of Internet evolution. Social networks have paradoxically become a trigger of polarisa-tion and tension, causing users to experience precarisation, alienation and isolation. The idealism of the Web 2.0 era is replaced by users’ desire to isolate themselves and escape from the mainstream of the public Internet into the “Dark Forests” or sozyweb. These are closed chat rooms, groups and communities, which are now becoming a source of sociality and new social networks, demonstrating the manifestation of the global trend of decentralisation, individualisation and personalisation in the online space. The aim of the article is to analyse the psychological aspects of the ongo-ing transformations, which are connected for modern man with the satis-faction of the fundamental needs of the individual in security, belonging, information, understanding, search for meaning, individualisation and self-expression.
The methods of comparative, inductive, structural and functional anal-ysis are used to reveal the internal logic of digital space transformations and their consequences.
The transformations that are taking place contribute to the reduction of experiences of precarity and the achievement of personal stability in the modern world. The psychological aspect of the trend for users to move to online mini-communities is also the actualisation of the intensification of individualisation of many multifaceted aspects of the inner world of a per-son, allowing a person to be who he or she wants to be and still be himself or herself, which brings us back to the problems of multiple digital identi-ties and their integrity, the balance of personal and social identities, and the correlation between socialisation and individualisation. Based on their needs, interests, values, etc., a person chooses and/or creates/constructs an online minigroup corresponding to their individuality or its separate aspects, where personal identity actually coincides with social identity. Thus, the Internet is not only a factor of the modern digital world, which has a multifaceted impact on and shapes a person, but also a space that a person creates, constructs for himself as a safe space of communication, self-realisation, generation of new meanings and values.

Relevance. The article substantiates the importance of the methodological foundation of the history of clinical (medical) psychology in the context of its insufficient development of a field of knowledge in general.

The purpose of the study was to identify the main methodological problems in the history of clinical psychology, and the objectives were to identify, analyze, and find possible solutions.

Methods of system and categorical analysis were used to solve the tasks set.

Findings. The study identified three main methodological problems of the history of clinical psychology – the subject, method, and source. To solve the problem of the subject, four potential approaches were proposed: the history of clinical psychology as the history of the development of ideas about mental normality, pathology, and treatment; as the history of the transformation of ideas about medical and psychological diagnostics; as the history of the institutionalization of medical psychology; an integrative approach, in which the three given variants of the subject become aspects (sides) of a single historical process of the development of clinical and psychological knowledge. As a solution to the problem of the method, it was proposed to use organizational and strategic methods for planning and implementing research, to apply both qualitative and quantitative methods in data processing, and to rely on methods that take into account the genesis and contexts of the development of clinical and psychological knowledge in data interpretation. As a solution to the problem of the source, it was proposed to use various types of text materials, such as monographs, articles, texts of reports, dictionaries, encyclopedias and textbooks on medical and other branches of psychology, philosophy, medicine (psychiatry, neurology, psychotherapy) and physiology.

Conclusion. A full-fledged, comprehensive study of the history of clinical (medical) psychology is possible only with a comprehensive consideration of various aspects of its development (theoretical, methodological and organizational), during which it is necessary to apply various historical and psychological methods (organizational and strategic methods, methods for obtaining, processing, and interpreting data) and use a variety of sources as research material, including works created within the framework of both psychology itself and related disciplines.

In today´s world of globalization and transitivity, a significant increase in migration flows leads to the need for a serious and urgent analysis of specific “migration problem areas”. The article is devoted to the current problem of the vulnerability of migrants. The purpose of the article is to identify the connection between “vulnerabilities” – pre-migration traumatic events, the self-explanation of the meaning behind continuing migration and the psychological well-being of the migrant. The object of the study consists of migrants, and the subject is the self-explanation of the meaning behind continuing migration among groups of migrants with and without vulnerabilities in the pre-migration period.

The article discusses the concept of “vulnerability”, identifies and describes various approaches to the study of this issue. The typology of vulnerable groups is considered in detail. Particular attention is paid to the results of cross-cultural studies comparing groups of migrants and non-migrants. Such qualities of migrants as resilience and vitality are highlighted. The importance of the motivational sphere as a link between vulnerability and psychological well-being of migrants is noted. The study involved 477 Russian-speaking migrants living in Spain and other EU countries, with migration experience ranging from six months to several decades. Methods of the Psychological Well-Being Scale by С. Ryff were used, adapted by L.V. Zhukovskaya and E.G. Troshikhina, projective methodology “Biography of the Future”, author’s questionnaire. Cluster analysis, correlation analysis, frequency analysis of data using contingency tables and the χ² test, two-factor analysis of variance and the general linear model (GLM) method were carried out. Statistically significant differences were discovered between indicators of actual motivation for migration and the level of psychological well-being of migrants. It was revealed that the factors of vulnerability and self-explanation of meaning for continuing migration influence psychological well-being individually, but they do not have a joint effect. The author comes to the conclusion that the psychological well-being of a migrant is influenced by the justification of meaning for continuing migration, regardless of whether the migrant has had traumatic experiences in the past. A new approach to the problem of vulnerability during migration is proposed based on an empirical model aimed at identifying the motivational component in self-explanation of the reasons for continued migration. It has been demonstrated that the motivation to continue migration is a key element in studying the psychological well-being of migrants belonging to vulnerable groups and requires further research.

Imagination, fantasies, dreams, and hallucinations are distinct mental processes that involve the manipulation of images, which may depict realistic or imaginary objects and situations. Mentally healthy individuals can differentiate between these processes, but this ability diminishes during mental disorders. Exploring the experiential aspects of these processes may hold diagnostic potential. This study aimed to identify differences in the emotional tone of these images among patients with psychotic and non-psychotic disorders, compared to mentally healthy individuals.

Methods: The study included participants aged 16 to 29 years: patients with psychotic disorders (n = 54), those with non-psychotic mental disorders (n = 50), and mentally healthy individuals (n = 63). A structured interview and a drawing method (illustrating a corresponding image) were utilized.

Results: Findings indicated that patients with psychotic disorders more frequently experience negative emotions toward imagined images than those with non-psychotic disorders and healthy individuals. Participants in both clinical groups reported negative dream experiences significantly more often than healthy respondents. They also used significantly fewer colors when depicting images of imagination and fantasy than those in the control group. These identified characteristics may serve as additional diagnostic criteria for mental disorders.

Conclusions: Patients with psychotic disorders predominantly experience negative emotions related to imagination, while patients with non-psychotic disorders, like healthy individuals, tend to experience predominantly positive emotions. The results obtained can be used in clinical practice to develop a methodology for the early diagnosis of mental disorders.

Background and Aim. Motor function impairments in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) significantly affect their physical, cognitive, and communicative development, making research in this area highly relevant. Adaptive physical education, particularly the “Out Fitness” program, aims to address motor impairments and enhance motor skills in children with ASD. The study aims to compare the effectiveness of standard and adapted physical education programs and to test the “Out Fitness” method for assessing motor function in children with ASD.

Methods. The study included 60 children diagnosed with ASD. In the comparison group, children participated in standard physical education, while the experimental group followed the adapted “Out Fitness” program tailored to the specific needs of children with ASD. The previously developed comprehensive diagnostic method “Out Fitness” was used to evaluate changes in motor activity indicators.

Results. The “Out Fitness” program demonstrated significant advantages over traditional physical education, particularly in parameters such as jump length, throw distance, exercise technique, independence, and understanding of instructions. Children in the adapted program showed greater improvements in motor skills and daily motor activities, such as object manipulation and locomotion, compared to the control group.

Conclusion. The “Out Fitness” program proved more effective in enhancing motor and daily living skills in children with ASD compared to traditional physical education. The “Out Fitness” method demonstrated its validity as a comprehensive diagnostic tool for assessing motor impairments in children with ASD, offering the ability to consider both physical and communicative aspects of development.

In the article “Modelling Thought Versus Modelling the Brain”, Orly Shenker, a professor of philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, discusses the relationship between modeling thought and modeling the brain. The essence of modeling is to abstract away all unnecessary elements (i.e., non-essential features and properties) while preserving the essential ones. According to the computational theory of consciousness, thought is understood as computation, and this is considered one of its most significant characteristics. However, the same computation can occur in physically heterogeneous systems—an idea known in the philosophy of mind as “Multiple Realizability”. This concept suggests that a particular mental property, event, or state can be realized in a variety of physical forms.

In her article, Orly Shenker argues that the consistent development of the idea of multiple realizability leads to a dualism of mind and body. She also examines how this conclusion influences the understanding of which essential characteristics of thought should be preserved in modeling within neuroscience.

The article aims to explore the connection between modeling thought and modeling the brain, as well as to critique the concept of multiple realizability. O. Shenker employs methods of philosophical reasoning and comparative analysis.

Her reflections lead to the conclusion that the ideas of multiple realizability, despite their prevalence and appeal in neuroscience, require revision and justification. O. Shenker argues that accurate modeling of thought is hardly possible in modern science. First, when modeling thought using computers, computational properties cannot be preserved if the material features of the brain are eliminated. Second, computational processes occurring on a computer are not relevant to the cognitive processes in the human brain.