Theoretical and Experimental Psychology. 2026. 3.

<p><b>Abstract</b></p>
<p><b>Background.</b> The current level of institutionalization and theoretical development of ecological psychology in Russia makes a simple description of its ideas evolution insufficient. Critical reflection on the process of scientific knowledge development itself has become paramount. The discussion agenda of the 10th Russian (International) Conference on Ecological Psychology (October 2025) highlighted the need for a historical and methodological review of its current approaches. Therefore, retrospective analysis is no longer a tribute to tradition, but a tool for identifying continuity and vectors for further development, necessitating a review of the genesis of modern directions in ecological psychology.</p>
<p><b>Objective.</b> To conduct an analysis of the basic concepts and history of the emergence of areas in ecological psychology, using the Ecopsychological Typology of Agent-Environment Interactions as a theoretical basis.</p>
<p><b>Methods.</b> Theoretical and methodological analysis, typological analysis, comparative historical analysis of domestic and foreign scientific publications, monographs, collections of papers, and conference materials.</p>
<p><b>Results.</b> The study provides an analysis of the term "ecological psychology" in Russian psychological literature, demonstrating its ambiguity as a result of different translations of the English terms "Ecological Psychology," "Environmental Psychology," "Psychological Ecology," "The Ecology of Human Development", etc. Historically, environmental psychology emerged in international psychology as a specific stage in the development of behavioral and gestalt approaches in psychological science and practice. It was only in the final decades of the last century that environmental psychology began to embrace topics directly addressing the global ecological problems.</p>
<p><b>Conclusions.</b> Despite obvious differences in the subject matter and conceptual apparatus of the areas of domestic ecological psychology, they are united by a common methodological premise—the use of the "person-environment" relationship as a methodological basis. Differences in these fields of ecological psychology are determined by the type of ecopsychological agent-environment interactions (our term) that underlies the research.</p>

Abstract

Background. The multifaceted nature of contemporary environmental threats directly impacts social stability and global development, driving increased research into pro-environmental behavior capable of countering these threats. Empirical investigation into the mutual influence of "top-down" (personality traits) and "bottom-up" (modes of interaction with the environment) factors on the formation of people's conceptions of nature—which underlie specific environmental attitudes and actions—is particularly relevant. This study contributes to the field of environmental psychology by offering a comprehensive analysis of the factors that shape pro-environmental behavior.

Objective. To identify factors shaping perceptions of the natural environment by integrating "bottom-up" (environmental) and "top-down" (personality) approaches to understanding the human-nature interaction.

Study Participants. The study involved 100 students from Moscow universities (mean age 19.2 years, SD = 2.81; 32% men, 68% women).

Methods. To assess "bottom-up" factors stemming from the type of subject-environment interaction, a methodology based on V.I. Panov's ecopsychological approach was developed. "Top-down" factors were assessed using the Big Five Personality Profile Questionnaire B5-10 (M.S. Egorova and O.V. Parshikova). A psychosemantic method was employed to investigate perceptions of the natural environment. Statistical data processing was performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 22.0 and Jamovi software and included correlation, factor, and regression analyses.

Results. Based on assessments of interactions with nature, a three-factor structure of perceptions was identified: "ecoidentity" (connection with nature), "resourcefulness" (perception of nature as a source of resources), and "eco-concern" (concern for the state of the environment). It was found that: the highest level of "ecoidentity" is associated with the subject-isolated type of interaction; the highest "resourcefulness" is attributed to the subject-generating type of interaction; the lowest "eco-concern" is characteristic of the subject-joint type of interaction. Data were also obtained regarding the contribution of personality traits to the variability of people's conceptions of nature.

Conclusions. The study demonstrates that perceptions of nature are shaped by the combined influence of the type of direct interaction with the environment (the "bottom-up" factor) and stable personality traits (the "top-down" factor). The specific type of interaction (isolated, generative, joint) is associated with the actualization of different aspects of perceptions. Moreover, personality traits, primarily agreeableness and conscientiousness, significantly predict the propensity for ecoidentity, whereas ecoconcern is more strongly associated with neuroticism, particularly among women.

Abstract

Background. The accelerated implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education is changing the content of faculty professional activity, while faculty attitudes toward AI largely shape universities' digital transformation. However, the structure of these attitudes and their typological diversity remain insufficiently explored. Most existing studies rely either on general technology acceptance models or on isolated opinions and concerns, whereas typological reconstruction of stable psychological profiles remains underdeveloped.

Objective. To identify and describe a typology of higher education faculty attitudes toward the use of AI in their professional activity.

Study Participants. The study involved 400 faculty members from several Russian universities representing different institutional profiles. The mean age was 38.07 years, and the mean teaching experience was 11.65 years.

Methods. The study employed six scales of the validated author-developed questionnaire "Teachers' Attitudes toward Artificial Intelligence," along with indicators of AI use intensity, AI-related behavioral practices, organizational context, and work engagement. The typology of attitudes was identified using hierarchical cluster analysis and k-means clustering. Differences between the clusters were assessed through parametric and nonparametric statistical procedures.

Results. The study has identified three types of teachers' attitudes toward AI: "pragmatically accepting," "normative-reflective users," and "anxiously distanced skeptics." The strongest contributions to the differentiation of these types were made by perceived usefulness of AI, readiness for its implementation, subjective competence, and professional anxiety. Normative-regulatory indicators showed weaker discriminative power. Age, teaching experience, and work engagement were not statistically significantly associated with the typology. Differences in AI use frequency were limited, whereas differences in AI-related practices and organizational context were more pronounced.

Conclusions. Faculty attitudes toward AI represent a multidimensional psychological construct that includes resource-related, anxiety-related, and normative-regulatory dimensions. The identified typology allows moving beyond an averaged description of AI acceptance and reconstructing qualitatively distinct psychological profiles, which may inform professional development programs, digital adaptation strategies, and institutional AI policies in higher education.

Abstract

Background. This study addresses a pressing issue in developmental ecopsychology — the analysis of transformation of the operational structure of primary school students' thinking under the influence of radical changes in the sign-mediated environment, which, in turn, is driven by total digitalization. A retrospective analysis allows for identifying the specifics of cognitive development in the context of permanent inclusion in a new digital "ecological niche", which is a key to understanding the emerging patterns of mental development in the modern socio-technological context.

Objective. To conduct a comparative retrospective analysis of transformation of the operational structure of verbal-logical thinking in primary school pupils in the context of digitalization of the educational and social environment. To identify and compare the productivity dynamics of key thinking operations across the 2015, 2020, and 2025 cohorts for differentiating stable and plastic components of the cognitive sphere.

Sample. The study employed a retrospective cohort analysis design. The current cohort (2025) consisted of 64 second-graders, while the reference groups comprised archival cohorts from the same school for 2015 (n = 66) and 2020 (n = 62).

Methods. To assess the operational structure of thinking, the standardized E.F. Zambaceviciene method was used. Data processing was performed using IBM SPSS 26.0 with non-parametric criteria.

Results. The study revealed statistically significant dynamics in the productivity of operations: a consistent and significant decrease in the productivity of classification (χ² = 29.84, p < 0.001, ε² = 0.16) and generalization (χ² = 34.57, p < 0.001, ε² = 0.18) was recorded from the 2015 cohort to the 2025 cohort. Indicators of awareness (χ² = 1.02, p = 0.60) and analogical inference (χ² = 1.45, p = 0.48) showed no statistically significant changes, indicating the stability of core semantic structures.

Conclusions. The study results confirm the formation of a specific phenomenon of "digital ontogenesis", characterized by a differentiated transformation of the operational composition of thinking. From the perspective of ecopsychology, this indicates a restructuring of the "subject-environment" system at the cognitive level. For educational practice, this implies the need to develop didactic models that harmonize the interaction of emerging digital and established traditional cognitive patterns.

Abstract

Background. The dynamic development of information technologies changes not only the reading practices of adolescents, but also their mental representations of text in the digital environment, including perceptions of the text purpose and functions, as well as information processing strategies. Psychological research into these representations, particularly the understanding of hypertext as a foundational component of the Internet space, is essential for the development of digital literacy in adolescents.

Objectives. This study aims to identify and analyze the views of 7th and 8th grade students regarding screen reading and the specific characteristics of their hypertext perception.

Study Participants. 1,845 schoolchildren educating in the 7th and 8th grade in various Russian regions (57.6% girls). Respondents were aged 13–15 years (M = 14.0; SD = 0.74).

Methods. The study used a survey design employing the authors' original online questionnaire "Screen Reading: Hypertext". Data analysis was performed by means of descriptive statistics, the Mann — Whitney U test, and Pearson's chi-square test. Effect sizes were estimated using rank-biserial correlation and Cramer's V.

Results. A comparison of data from 2020 and 2025 indicates that the mixed nature of reading practices among 7th and 8th graders persists, with a smooth trend toward a gradual decline in the dominance of the print format (p < 0.001). A discrepancy is revealed between the high digital activity and low theoretical awareness of the students: according to the 2025 survey results, 93.1% of respondents spend at least one hour a day online (including 57.3% who are online from 3 to 6 or more hours daily), yet only 41.9% of them demonstrate an intermediate-to-advanced grasp of the "hypertext" concept. The majority are either unfamiliar with the term or use it without comprehension, despite evaluating their Internet skills as confident.

Conclusions. The findings confirm the necessity of developing adolescents' digital literacy, with a focus on fostering the metacognitive skills crucial for working with hypertext. Psychologically oriented interventions (teaching navigation strategies and comprehension of non-linear texts) can increase awareness when using electronic resources and reduce the risks of superficial information processing in the digital environment.

Abstract

Background. The problem of development, dating back to ancient philosophy (Plato, Aristotle) and continued in the works of medieval authors (Acts Augustine) and German classical philosophy (primarily G.W.F. Hegel), has long been explored through the prism of questions about the relationship between part and whole, matter and form, as well as the idea of causality and the hierarchy of forms. An analysis of the works of Russian authors such as L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, and D.B. Elkonin, who continued research in this area, revealed that they understood development as a process of formation, conditioned by the assimilation of cultural achievements.

Objective. An analysis of the emergence of the concept of "development" and the associated limitations in its modern interpretation in relation to the currently established educational practice.

Results. It has been shown that the key flaw in understanding development as a process of formation in childhood is its reproductive and predetermined nature. The acquisition of ideal models through adult guidance sets not only the direction but also the limits of development. The consequence of this position is a focus on educational efforts on mastering the cultural plane and a lack of targeted interaction with the natural plane. Drawing on Aristotle's ideas, this article provides a theoretical justification for understanding development as the realization of a child's own potential, i.e., self-development.

Conclusions. The provided theoretical foundations for a shift from the study of development as an interaction of natural and cultural forms of the psyche to its understanding as a complex system of processes of formation and self-development open up new possibilities for the organization of educational practices in childhood. These practices should be aimed at supporting not only children's creativity, but also forms of interaction that allow them to explore existing possibilities and search for new ones.

Abstract

Background. Reproductive activity is a complex, dynamic process of existential self-determination within the integral system of parenthood, which ensures the development and realization of an individual's subjectivity. In information society, the reproductive activity of a person is realized against the backdrop of many contradictions, which is why the study of psychological factors and mechanisms related to the reproductive sphere becomes particularly important.

Objective. A study of the factors and mechanisms that influence the specific nature of a person's reproductive activity and determine a favorable or unfavorable predisposition to childbearing.

Sample. The study involved 479 respondents aged 17 to 46 (M_age = 33.22; SD = 10.01; 39.2% — male), living in the city of Krasnodar, the Krasnodar Territory, and other regions of Russia.

Methods. Family Emotional Communication Questionnaire (A.B. Kholmogorova et al.); Attachment to Parents and Peers Questionnaire by G. Armsden and M. Greenberg; test "Personal Helplessness" by V.V. Shipovskaya; test "Protest Activity of the Individual" by A.Sh. Guseynov; the Internet Addiction Test by K. Young. The data were processed using the programs IBM SPSS 23, AMOS 23 and MS Excel by means of descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis, and SEM.

Results. The study has demonstrated the contribution of psychological factors and mechanisms that determine predisposition to childbearing, namely: secure attachment to parents, a positive image of parents and trust in them, independence. Whereas alienation from parents, helplessness (inaction, alienation, rumination), protest (negativism, escapism, anomie, opposition), and internet addiction turned to be significant predictors of low motivation to have children. For most respondents, housing conditions is a significant factor for planning the number of children.

Conclusions. A favorable family climate, emotional closeness, the experience of secure attachment to parents, positive parental representations, and independence encourage having children and contribute to building a model of family life. The type of attachment acts as a mechanism that shapes the attitude towards parenthood, determining the dynamics and specifics of a person's reproductive activity. Alienation, helplessness, a tendency toward destructive protest activity, and internet addiction form the grounds for reproductive passivity.

Abstract

Background. Total emotional distress scores may fail to capture differences in the balance between anxiety and depressive-anhedonic symptoms. For professions involving public evaluation and the need to mobilize resources quickly, analyzing the structure of distress may be more informative than relying on an overall score.

Objective. The goal is to compare the overall level and profile of emotional distress in performing artists, researchers, and a comparison group while accounting for sex and age.

Sample. The analysis included 299 adults from different professions: 87 performing artists, 89 researchers, and 123 participants in the comparison group; 190 women and 109 men. The mean age of the performing artists was 35.92 years (SD = 15.73), that of the researchers was 34.97 years (SD = 15.31), and that of the comparison group was 28.78 years (SD = 11.85).

Methods. Emotional distress was assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS; A.S. Zigmond, R.P. Snaith). Two subscales — anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D) — along with their sum (the total HADS-T score) and a profile contrast calculated as the difference HADS-A minus HADS-D, reflecting the predominance of anxiety over depressive symptoms, were analyzed. Cronbach's α, the Kruskal — Wallis test, multivariate analysis of covariance, linear regression with robust standard errors, and comparison of screening proportions were used.

Results. Total HADS-T scores showed virtually no difference between groups: 10.09 in artists, 10.39 in researchers, and 10.08 in the comparison group; p = 0.900. The profile, however, was not uniform. After adjusting for sex and age, artists scored 2.03 points higher than the comparison group on the anxiety subscale (HADS-A) (p = 0.001) and 1.11 points lower on the depression subscale (HADS-D) (p = 0.018). The profile contrast in artists exceeded that of the comparison group by 3.14 points and that of researchers by 2.32 points (both p < 0.001). The proportion of elevated anxiety scores did not differ, whereas elevated depressive-anhedonic scores were less common among artists.

Conclusion. Comparable overall emotional distress may have a different internal structure. Artists are characterized by a relative predominance of the anxiety-mobilization component alongside less pronounced depressive-anhedonic symptoms. Thus, HADS-T should not be used without separately analyzing its subscales.