Department of General Psychology

Overview and History

The Department of General Psychology was established as a university-wide department by the decision of the MGPPU Academic Council on July 8, 1999.

Currently, the Department is a structural division of the Institute of Experimental Psychology at MGPPU. It serves as the graduating department for the following educational programs:

• 37.03.01 Psychology, profile – Experimental Psychology (Bachelor's degree)
• 37.04.01 Psychology, profile – Cognitive Psychology (Master's degree)
• 37.06.01 Psychological Sciences (Postgraduate studies/PhD)

The staff of the Department of General Psychology also participates in providing the educational process for all fields of study and specialties implemented across MGPPU.

Educational Goals and Focus

The faculty of the Department provides general psychological training for bachelors, specialists, and masters at MGPPU across fundamental scientific, natural-science, and general professional disciplines, as well as specialized disciplines in accordance with higher education standards.

The main emphasis is placed on developing students' knowledge and skills in planning, organizing, conducting, and analyzing classical natural-science psychological experiments across various areas of a psychologist's professional activity—both in science and in practice.

In its educational and pedagogical activities, the Department focuses on the personal development of students in accordance with the "professional-researcher" model. This translates to preparing graduates who are not only capable of implementing learned techniques and technologies of professional activity (which is important in itself) but who are also oriented toward producing new knowledge and skills, capable of perceiving new ideas, and able to independently set and solve tasks in non-standard situations.

This research-oriented approach proves its effectiveness both within fundamental and applied scientific research and within the practical activities of a psychologist (in consulting or therapeutic work) and an educational psychologist (in the psychological support of the pedagogical process).

Department Composition and Staff

Total number of employees: 24 (including 15 full-time staff members).

The educational programs at the Department are implemented by a highly distinguished academic staff, which includes:

• 2 Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Education (RAE): V.A. Barabanshchikov, Yu.I. Alexandrov
• 6 Doctors of Sciences
• 7 Professors
• 10 Associate Professors
• 2 Senior Lecturers

Academic Disciplines

The faculty of the Department of General Psychology provides training for students across all specialized fields and specialties within the following disciplines assigned to the department:

Bachelor's Degree:

• General Psychology
• General Psychological Practicum
• History of Psychology
• Experimental Psychology
• Differential Psychology
• Zoopsychology and Comparative Psychology
• Physiology of Higher Nervous Activity (HNA)
• Physiology of the Central Nervous System (CNS)
• Anatomy of the CNS
• Anatomy and Physiology of the CNS
• Psychophysiology
• Neurophysiology
• Anthropology
• Psychology of Character
• Self-Regulation of Personality
• Psychology of Human Self-Regulation in Extreme Situations
• Developmental Anatomy and Physiology
• Current Problems in the Theory and Practice of Modern Psychology
• Fundamentals of the Psychology of Self-Regulation
• Psychology of Self-Regulation in Hazardous Professions
• Ethology
• General and Developmental Psychology
• General and Experimental Psychology

Master's Degree:

• Directions and Methods of Cognitive-Psychological Research
• Psychology of Virtual Reality
• Poly-positional Observation
• Time-Frequency Analysis of Neurophysiological Data in the Study of Mental Phenomena
• Cognitive-Psychological Modeling in Animal Behavioral Research
• Mathematical Modeling and Artificial Intelligence Systems in Cognitive Research
• Practicum on Eye-Tracking Methods in the Study of Cognitive Processes and Activity
• Practicum on the Study of Cognitive Processes Using Virtual Reality Headsets
• Practicum on Spectral Analysis of EEG and MEG Data in the Study of Cognitive Processes
• Practicum: The Observation Method in Cognitive-Psychological Research of Animals
• Application of Mathematical and Computer Modeling Methods in Applied Research
• The Use of Artificial Intelligence Systems in Solving Applied Problems
• Psychology of Non-Verbal Behavior

Educational and Methodological Activities

Over the past few years, the staff of the Department has:

• Prepared and approved more than 70 programs and assessment funds for the third generation of State Educational Standards.
• Developed several educational and methodological manuals that are actively used in classes with MGPPU students.
• Created methodological guidelines for students' independent work with a set of practical tasks and self-test questions.
• Created software products in complex virtual reality environments for working with undergraduate and graduate students in practical classes using cardboards and virtual reality headsets (e-Magin Z800, HTC Vive).
• Been among the first in the country to develop and implement the content of such disciplines as Psychology of Virtual Reality, Practicum on the Study of Cognitive Processes Using Virtual Reality Headsets, and others.

Scientific Research

The staff of the Department of General Psychology is actively engaged in scientific activities, annually publishing no fewer than 20 scientific articles and regularly participating in Russian and international scientific conferences.

For over two years, research on zoopsychology (reptile behavior, I.A. Khvatov) and animal therapy (psychotherapy through interaction with animals, T.V. Doronina) has been conducted.

The Department's staff conducts interdisciplinary research using the latest equipment (eye-trackers, neurointerfaces, virtual reality headsets).

The Department of General Psychology holds regular scientific events in collaboration with the Psychological Institute of the RAE (PI RAE), including round tables and conferences dedicated to significant historical events and current problems in psychology.

Grants and Funding

The scientific and practical activities of the Department are supported by various grants, including:

• Moscow Department of Education Grant in the field of psychological, psychological-pedagogical, and special education, 2013 (Head: T.I. Kuzmina).
• In 2014-2015, the practical implementation of the subject block "General Psychology" from State Contract No. 05.043.11.0010 (Head: Academician of the RAE, V.V. Rubtsov) was carried out by Associate Professors T.I. Kuzmina and V.V. Kosinova.
• Russian Science Foundation (RSF) Project No. 18-18-00350/2018: "Perception in the structure of non-verbal communication" (Head: Corresponding Member of the RAE, V.A. Barabanshchikov).
• Ministry of Education and Science State Task No. 25.3916.2017/PCh: "Cross-cultural determinants of cognitive-communicative processes" (Head: A.N. Kharitonov).
• MGPPU Internal Grant, 2019-20: "Social aspects of individual experience formation in ontogenetic and phylogenetic development" (Head: Corresponding Member of the RAE, Yu.I. Alexandrov).

Head of the Department: Vladimir Vladimirovich Selivanov