Theory of mind of adolescents in the context of inclusive education

Abstract

Topicality of the study is due to the need for practice in understanding and substantiating the psychological foundations of the formation of such a personality trait of adolescents as tolerance, as well as in identifying other personal characteristics of adolescents as predictors of the formation of tolerance. The purpose of the article is a generalised theoretical presentation of the empirical results of a pilot study of the personality traits of adolescents in the context of inclusive education. Achieving this goal makes it possible to reveal the psychological mechanisms of the adolescent's social behaviour. The study of the problem of the mental model as a predictor of the formation of tolerance in adolescents in the context of inclusive education was carried out within the framework of the methodological principles developed by Simon Baron-Cohen, as well as in the framework of the system-subject approach of Yelena Sergiyenko, in which the traditions of the systemic (Boris Lomov, Alexei Leontiev, Vladimir Shadrikov) and the subject-activity (Sergei Rubinstein, Kseniya Abul'khanova, Andrey Brushlinskiy, Viktor Znakov) approaches in psychology are creatively integrated. The article presents and substantiates the results of an empirical study of the mental model as a predictor of the formation of tolerance in adolescents in the context of inclusive education. In the course of applying the procedure of regression analysis, on the basis of the mental model, the basic personality predictors of the formation of tolerance in adolescents – “self-control in communication”, “self-attitude” and “situational anxiety” were identified. The resulting regression model explains the possibility of influencing the general index of tolerance through the indicated personal characteristics. The mental model makes it possible to conceptualise the inner world of a teenager. The article substantiates new research opportunities for studying the ability of adolescents to understand their own mental world and the mental world of another. The conclusion is made about the high productivity of using the mental model, its research capabilities in the study of individual personality traits, and, in particular, in the formation of adolescent tolerance in the context of inclusive education.