The article examines the problem of selfidentification
of national minorities using the example of the
Germans of Russia. The author considers self-identification
to be the determining factor of self-organisation of national
minorities. The article provides an analysis of the empirical
research conducted to investigate the problem. The
results of the research allowed to identify various types
of self-identification of Russian Germans and to define the
determining factors inducing the representatives of ethnic
minorities to take part in self-organizing activities.

Four groups were studied: heroin-dependent
persons undergoing primary rehabilitation (detoxification and
group psycho-correction), in-depth rehabilitation (the «12-
step» program) and outpatient supporting rehabilitation, as
well as healthy persons. The following methods were used:
basic values ranking, reflexivity measurement and emotional
intelligence evaluation. The results reveal that in the
process of stage-rehabilitation hospital patients orientation
on hedonistic values decreases, reflexivity increases; life
evaluation corresponds to the stages of rehabilitation - during
the early phase it degrades as the awareness of the disease
increases, but on completion of the course of treatment it
approaches the norm.

The article reveals the results of a research
on the problem of decision-making in consumer behaviour,
which has certain peculiarities for people of different ages.
The author analyses the definitions of consumer behaviour
given in domestic and foreign works on social psychology and
identifies the basic problems concerning consumer behaviour
issues, such as motivation. On the basis of research findings
the author presents patterns of consumer behaviour and
offers methods of discovering consumers preferences, their
level of subjective control and other indicators of the economic
behaviour of present-day consumers.

Psychological estimation is viewed as an
action of estimation. Appraisal is a part of the process of
perception and a component of orientation activity of the
person. Specificity of Estimation is determined by the fact
that it is carried out for the purpose of the organization of the
future action of a subject. Recognition is a specific notion in
relation to estimation and is a particular case of estimation
with objectively set indices. The structure of the action of
estimation includes an operationally-technical and social
component.

The article presents the results of a research
on the subjective worlds of disabled people. It uncovers the
basic patterns of subjective world development and identifies
the role of transcommunication in this process. It also
describes the typology of subjective worlds of disabled and
healthy people. The author emphasises the importance of
studying the subjective worlds of disabled people by practising
psychologists and social workers. This knowledge may be
applicable in the course of social and psychological support
for vocational education students with limited possibilities.

The paper highlights the topicality of the problem
of family identity in single-sex unions and provides research
findings in this area. It defines family identity as a special
form of personal and group identity which includes three
aspects of family- and self-perception: structural, emotionalevaluative
and cognitive. The author arrives at the conclusion
that the notion of family identity in homosexual and lesbian
unions has a compensatory character consisting in the
opposition of same-sex families to heterosexual families and
unmarried unions. Same-sex unions perceive themselves as
being privileged and having a higher quality of interpersonal
and family relationships.

The article reveals the results of a newly
developed and tested programme aimed at psychological
support of pregnant high school students. The Get Ready
for Motherhood School programme is based on the
concept of the internal picture of pregnancy. This concept
embraces such aspects as various degrees of harmony
during pregnancy period, the formation of maternal qualities
in pregnant women and the interaction between mother and
child after childbirth. The programme consists of a series of
blocks. On the basis of this programme certain methods and
techniques were developed and applied. The obtained results
testify to different levels of womens anxiety during pre- and
postnatal periods.

The article presents the results of empirical
research on the psychological aspects of the activities of
the International Union of German Culture intended for the
preservation of ethnic identity of Russian Germans. The
author underlines the idea that these issues should be
approached systematically and that learning the native
language is a top priority. The author also substantiates the
importance of a program of ethno-cultural education. It can
become an important tool for the joint activities of public
organizations and high schools aimed at the preservation of
ethnic identity of national minorities (including the Germans
of Russia).

The article presents an overview of research in
the field of educational motivation and reveals the topicality
of motivation in the modern classroom. When teachers try
to motivate their students to conduct an independent search
for information, or engage them in problem-solving activities,
or to stimulate their aspiration for self-development and selfimprovement,
they often dont know which orienting strategies
to apply. Some researchers emphasize the importance of
age factor in motivation, others connect motivation with
gender. The present article attempts to identify the influence
of students motivation on their progress and academic
performance. It describes an experiment conducted on the
basis of Pyotr Galperin theory of stage-by-stage formation of
mental actions and concepts.

The article substantiates the necessity of
solving the problem of correcting deviant behaviour and
preventing juvenile delinquency by means of communication
- through establishing contact with adolescents. The author
puts forward the idea that primary teenage deviations are
caused by breakdowns in communication. To restore broken
communication teachers should know certain methods and
techniques for establishing contact with teenagers. The article
examines different stages of this process, as well as its major
factors, rules and psychological peculiarities. The author
comes to the conclusion that the establishment of positive
contact between teachers and juvenile offenders promotes
the restoration of broken communication and reinforces
pedagogical influence.

The present paper investigates the development
of the sphere of values and senses of a person in ontogenesis.
It considers the development of the sphere of values and
senses as an integral unity of the sphere of motivation and
needs and the sphere of operational-technical abilities. The
author explores researchers views on the problem and
identifies several stages in the development of the sphere of
values and senses, thus tracing its dynamics in ontogenesis.
Each of these stages has certain characteristic features and
peculiarities, but each of them contributes to the formation of
personal sense systems.

The article analyses childrens perception
of television commercials, considering early childhood,
preschool, primary, secondary and senior school age.
This study allows to characterise age-related changes in
perception: at an early age it is passion and preoccupation
with what is happening on the screen, with pre-schoolers
it is identification and empathy. The perception of primary
school children becomes more indirect, and they develop a
generalised notion of television commercials. For secondary
school children the perception of advertising is mediated by
understanding the correlation of the plot of the commercial
and the advertised product, so children become more critical.
High-school children continue to estrange themselves from
direct perception of TV commercials, beginning to understand
that they are being manipulated by it.

This paper deals with the adolescents as
а second sensitive period of development of creative
thinking, the study of the relation of his verbal and nonverbal
components in the spontaneous formation and in special
education.
The study revealed significant differences of the dynamics
of spontaneous and directed development and also the
existence of the relationship between verbal and nonverbal
components of creative thinking.

The article provides an analysis of the problem
of personal reliability of experts in domestic philosophical
studies. The authors position is substantiated by rich factual
material. Modern studies of reliability issues continue their
search for the general and special in technical and live
systems. As a result, different terms are used to describe
expert reliability, and many notions are interpreted from
different theoretical perspectives. At the same time, most
research papers highlight the importance of the human factor
in reliability issues. As human activities and human behaviour
grow in complexity, the significance of the personal factor is
increasing.

The article explores the peculiarities of
psychology students motivation in the early stages of
their professional development. The research participants
were second- and five-year students of the Department of
Psychology. Research findings show that the motivation to
succeed and the motivation to avoid failure have different
quantitative characteristics in the second and in the fifth
year. Increased training brings about a significant shift in
the students motivation revealing their more positive and
meaningful attitudes. This shift in emphasis from failure
avoidance motivation to achievement motivation, as well
as changes in motivational modality, testifies to successful
professional development of the students the Department
of Psychology throughout the whole period of higher
professional education.

The article presents the results of a comparative
social-psychological empirical research on the peculiarities of
value orientation, cohesiveness and entitativity (perceived
unity) in real-life and virtual (to different extents) groups of
volunteers. It demonstrates that cohesiveness in volunteer
groups (as well intergroup relations and attitudes to target
activities) varies depending on the position of each of these
groups in the continuum of real-life groups - virtual groups.

The article explores the implications of
educational reforms, highlighting the problem of professional
identity crisis among Russian teachers. The author suggests
that the problem should be examined through the lens of
teacher professionalism as teachers are faced with new
professional challenges. The author identifies several
factors which may influence a teacher, including sociocultural
factors, age and the challenges of innovation. The
article considers the peculiarities of professional identity of
teachers with different levels of experience, ability and skill
and grounds the necessity of psychological support.

The present article is devoted to the analysis
of collaborative work of domestic and foreign institutions
of higher education within the framework of international
projects aimed at the development of general and subjectspecific
competencies for social workers. It expands the
concept of competence-based learning, examines the role of
competencies in defining learning outcomes, and evaluates
the first results of the survey on general and subject-specific
competencies among target groups of respondents.

The author of this article considers the thesaurus
differences underlying the problems of understanding and
usage of the word competency, which is often confused
with the word competence. The article notes the ambiguity
of the notion of competence mentioned by researchers,
which brings about problems in selecting diagnostic and
assessment tools for competencies. It gives particular
examples of competencies that may be developed in the
course of training a future social educator.

Social pedagogy is under the influence of
internal and external factors, which may have a contradictory
impact on its development. These contradictions necessitate
the development and application of various discursive
practices, especially the practice of philosophical discourse
which encompasses anthropological and ethical discourses
as well. A discursive approach will enable to reflect and
elucidate the intrinsic structure of social pedagogy, thus
helping to reconsider its legitimacy in a new comprehensive
way.

The article analyses the sources of
noohumanist pedagogy: K.Venttselja and M. Montessoris
cosmic education theory; N.V. Maslovas concept of
noospheric education, etc. The author defines the intrinsic
features of noohumanist pedagogy and describes its
civilisational, cultural, philosophical, didactical, axiological,
educational (self-educational), informative, cognitive and
psychological characteristics. Noohumanist pedagogy is a
new philosophical and educational concept which synthesises
noospheric and humanistic approaches to education and
focuses on the renewed notions of human existence and
human values.