Mental Actions Research Articles

Mental Health Care Act, 2017: How to organize the services to avoid legal complications?

Mental Health Care Act, 2017: How to organize the services to avoid legal complications?

Medicolegal Issues with Reference to NDPS and MHCA in Management and Rehabilitation of Persons with Substance Use Disorders.

Medicolegal Issues with Reference to NDPS and MHCA in Management and Rehabilitation of Persons with Substance Use Disorders.

Management of Psychiatric Disorders during the Perinatal Period.

Management of Psychiatric Disorders during the Perinatal Period.

The Scientific Biography of P.Ya. Galperin: Stages of Life and Creative Work.

This article is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the birth of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin (1902-1988), an outstanding Soviet psychologist, the author of an original psychological concept and scientific school, and an organizer of psychological science. To reconstruct the main stages of the scientific biography of Piotr Yakovlevich Galperin. The paper demonstrates the internal logic of P.Ya. Galperin's developing scientific views in creating the theory of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts, which analyzes the process of formation of the main components of mental activity and develops a system of conditions for transforming an objective action into a psychological phenomenon.This biography is based on Galperin's publications and speeches, memoirs of associates and family members, and numerous archival materials.All the periods of Galperin's life are presented, reflecting his participation, starting from the mid-1920s, in scientific and scientific-practical events. Particular attention is paid to Galperin's work at M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MGU): 55 years of Galperin's professional and personal life (from 1943 until his death in 1988) were associated with the Philosophy Faculty, and then with the Psychology Faculty. The importance of preserving P.Ya. Galperin's scientific legacy is shown and steps taken in this direction are indicated.

On Several Problems with the Application of P.Ya. Galperin's Classical Theory.

The theoretical and applied works of Piotr Ya. Galperin have attracted the attention of scholars for more than 70 years. But what about the contemporary situation? Does the Galperin's "System of Psychology" have only historical significance, or does it deal with crucial problems of contemporary psychology? This article explores several opportunities for applying Galperin's System of Psychology and his theory of planned stage-by-stage formation of mental actions (PSFMA) as part of the System, in current conditions. There are three main areas where the concepts of P.Ya. Galperin's System of Psychology can be applied. The first is the application of the method of planned stage-by-stage formation to studying the formation and development of human mental activity. The second is the study of the theoretical and actual process of planned stage-by-stage formation as a psychological reality. The third area is the use of the provisions of the theory in the practice of teaching. We argue that the efficacy of the provisions of the main components of Galperin's System, and especially the PSFMA, is closely related to the solution of a number of purely theoretical issues today. The condition for the successful application of PSFMA principles is a harmonious combination of the basic psychological foundations of this process, taking into account the specifics of both the activity being formed, and of those socio-economic and technological parameters that create the space where such formation is carried out.

Orienting Activity of the Subject as a Mechanism for Instruction, Learning and Development.

The 120th anniversary was celebrated in 2022 of the birth of the outstanding Soviet scientist P.Ya. Galperin (1902-1988), who made a significant contribution to the development of Russian psychology. To analyze the significance of P.Ya. Galperin's concept of "orienting activity" for the study of processes of mental development, learning and instruction. The concept of "the zone of proximal development" (L.S. Vygotsky) is interpreted in light of the doctrine of orienting activity, presenting three examples from different areas of research, where the concept of orienting activity is used to analyze the phenomena of mental development in children and adults. 1. The concept of orienting activity makes it possible to substantially concretize the psychological content and mechanisms of "the zone of proximal development." 2. The subject's orienting activity plays a key role, which is implicitly present in the method of "cognitive learning" developed in the Geneva psychological school and reproducing (according to the followers of J. Piaget) "an autonomous process of constructing new operational structures". 3. The study examines the organization of orienting activity in the process of children's mastery of the concepts of combinatorial thinking in a learning experiment based on Galperin's method of stage-by-stage formation of mental actions and concepts. 4. The role of a client's orienting activity is explicated, and its special organization by the psychologist who is counseling parents on the mental development and upbringing of children and adolescents. P.Ya. Galperin's discovery regarding the structure of human activity and introduction of the concept of "orientation," and the creation of a method for studying the orienting component of action as distinct from the executive component, lead to a much deeper understanding of the central problem posed by L.S. Vygotsky: the interrelation and mechanisms of connection between the processes of learning, instruction (teaching) and development.

ПСИХОЛОГО-ПЕДАГОГІЧНИЙ ЗМІСТ ПОНЯТТЯ "МИСЛЕННЯ КУРСАНТІВ ВИЩОГО ВІЙСЬКОВОГО НАВЧАЛЬНОГО ЗАКЛАДУ "

Scientific article authors, having analyzed separate aspects of philosophical, psychological and pedagogical literature, operationalize and find out comprehension of "thinking of military higher educational institution cadets". The article notes that social and psychological nature of thinking should be appropriately researched with activity based approach, because cognitive activity of military higher educational institution cadet is founded on thinking. Such an approach allows the authors to discover personal (the necessity of knowledge, significance of the acquired knowledge, the goals and plan of cognitive activity) and processional (analytical and synthetical activity) aspects of military higher educational institution cadets. In brief authors describe the following mental phenomena: mental activity (system of mental actions and operations aimed to definite goal achievement), mental operations (analysis, synthesis, generalization, classification and abstraction, etc.), types of thinking (analytical, critical, practical, economical, ecological, scientific, etc.), forms of thinking (concept, judgment, inference). The authors emphasize that understanding of social and psychological nature of thinking of military higher educational institution cadets will allow the military teacher to appropriately implement such modern pedagogical techniques as situational teaching (case-method), critical (emergency) situation technique, complete understanding technique, heuristic teaching technique, simulation technologies, etc. The final step is to determine the prospects of scientific research, which the authors see in the formation of certain types of thinking (for example, analytical, critical, professional, creative, etc.) of cadets by means of the modern pedagogical technologies.

У истоков рефлексивно–деятельностного подхода: к 120–летию Петра Яковлевича Гальперина, к 90–летию Никиты Глебовича Алексеева

<p>The article is dedicated to the memory of the author's teachers in psychology, written in connection with the anniversaries of the outstanding Russian psychologists P.Ya. Galperin and N.G. Alekseev. Both scientists are the authors of the ideas underlying the reflective–activity approach (RAA) to assist students in overcoming learning difficulties, developed by the author. In 2022, practicians of the RAA celebrate 25 years since the birth of the approach, and this event prompts the author to turn to the origins of its occurrence, to the ideas on the basis of which the RAA technology is built. P.Ya. Galperin's ideas on internalization and the formation of mental actions are combined with N.G. Alekseev's ideas on reflection and reflective thinking based on the basic principles of cultural–historical psychology developed by L.S. Vygotskii. As a basis for uniting the ideas of L.S. Vygotskii, P.Ya. Galperin and N.G. Alekseev, their attitude to psychological practice becomes. The implementation of these ideas within the framework of the RAA is briefly considered on the example of three projects: summer schools, chess for general development, assistance to orphans with disabilities and severe somatic diseases.</p>

Efficacy and cost-effectiveness of task-shared care for people with severe mental disorders in Ethiopia (TaSCS): a single-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 3 non-inferiority trial

BackgroundThere have been no trials of task-shared care (TSC) using WHO's mental health Gap Action Programme for people with severe mental disorders (psychosis or affective disorder) in low-income or middle-income countries. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of TSC compared with enhanced specialist mental health care in rural Ethiopia. MethodsIn this single-blind, phase 3, randomised, controlled, non-inferiority trial, participants had a confirmed diagnosis of a severe mental disorder, recruited from either the community or a local outpatient psychiatric clinic. The intervention was TSC, delivered by supervised, non-physician primary health care workers trained in the mental health Gap Action Programme and working with community health workers. The active comparison group was outpatient psychiatric nurse care augmented with community lay workers (PSY). Our primary endpoint was whether TSC would be non-inferior to PSY at 12 months for the primary outcome of clinical symptom severity using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Expanded version (BPRS-E; non-inferiority margin of 6 points). Randomisation was stratified by health facility using random permuted blocks. Independent clinicians allocated groups using sealed envelopes with concealment and outcome assessors and investigators were masked. We analysed the primary outcome in the modified intention-to-treat group and safety in the per-protocol group. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02308956. FindingsWe recruited participants between March 13, 2015 and May 21, 2016. We randomly assigned 329 participants (111 female and 218 male) who were aged 25–72 years and were predominantly of Gurage (198 [60%]), Silte (58 [18%]), and Mareko (53 [16%]) ethnicity. Five participants were found to be ineligible after randomisation, giving a modified intention-to-treat sample of 324. Of these, 12-month assessments were completed in 155 (98%) of 158 in the TSC group and in 158 (95%) of 166 in the PSY group. For the primary outcome, there was no evidence of inferiority of TSC compared with PSY. The mean BPRS-E score was 27·7 (SD 4·7) for TSC and 27·8 (SD 4·6) for PSY, with an adjusted mean difference of 0·06 (90% CI –0·80 to 0·89). Per-protocol analyses (n=291) were similar. There were 47 serious adverse events (18 in the TSC group, 29 in the PSY group), affecting 28 participants. These included 17 episodes of perpetrated violence and seven episodes of violent victimisation leading to injury, ten suicide attempts, six hospital admissions for physical health conditions, four psychiatric admissions, and three deaths (one in the TSC group, two in the PSY group). The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for TSC indicated lower cost of –US$299·82 (95% CI –454·95 to –144·69) per unit increase in BPRS-E scores from a health care sector perspective at 12 months. InterpretationWHO's mental health Gap Action Programme for people with severe mental disorders is as cost-effective as existing specialist models of care and can be implemented effectively and safely by supervised non-specialists in resource-poor settings. FundingUS National Institute of Mental Health.

Memory in Terms of Logic and Semiotics

The phenomenon of memory is considered as a component implicitly present in the process of information communication. A short typology of memory kinds that form a referential field around so-called semantic memory is given. Through the approaches of Yu. Lotman and R. Jacobson, the classical notion of time is considered through the relationship "Past-Present-Future", which is closely related to the problems of memory. The focus is on how could the memory be considered within logic and by means of logic? As one of the ways of solving the point, to apply the tools of tense logic to the problem through the analysis of the works of Anatoly Ishmuratov (1946–2017), a prominent Ukrainian logician, is proposed. The classifications of the tenses by O. Jespersen, H. Reichenbach, W. Bull are considered. The subjective and objective axes of orientation, which form the basis of calendars, charts and scales, as fragments of time, are analyzed. According to Ishmuratov, these instruments – schemes, diagrams, etc. can be considered languages. The possibility of language objectification of meaning determines the relationship of logical inference, and thus the structuring of semantic areas, which are memories, by means the language of logic and in accordance with its structures. Through the study of logical and cognitive conditions of action, A. Ishmuratov continued to develop ideas of tense logic and their application to explain the psychological perception of objective time. He construed a scheme of semantic connections of memory as a mental act that reproduces the life path of the individual; he distinguished between memories and "pseudo-memories", which together influence the reassessment of past events, shape the individual`s experience and his ability to construe alternatives to the future and reasoning about it. A special place in A. Ishmuratov's research is occupied by his explication of temporal three-valued logic and application of temporal modalities to the analysis of so-called transient states. Further study of such approaches could help to make sense of rational explication of memory, testimonies, reminiscences of past events and give interesting results.

Widening mental health and substance use inequities among sexual and gender minority populations: Findings from a repeated cross-sectional monitoring survey during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada

This paper examines the mental health and substance use impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations as compared to non-SGM populations, and identifies risk factors for mental health and substance use impacts among SGM groups. Data were drawn from two rounds of a repeated cross-sectional monitoring survey of 6027 Canadian adults, with Round 1 conducted May 14–19, 2020 and Round 2 conducted September 14–21, 2020. Bivariate cross-tabulations with chi-square tests were utilized to identify differences in mental health and substance use outcomes between SGM and non-SGM groups. Separate multivariable logistic regression models were used to identify risk factors for mental health and substance use outcomes for all SGM respondents. Compared to non-SGM respondents, a greater proportion of SGM participants reported mental health and substance use impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, including deterioration in mental health, poor coping, suicidal thoughts, self-harm, alcohol and cannabis use, and use of substances to cope. Among SGM respondents, various risk factors, including having a pre-existing mental health condition, were identified as associated with mental health and substance use impacts. These widening inequities demonstrate the need for tailored public mental health actions during and beyond the pandemic.

A calculus student’s understanding of graphical approach to the derivative through quantitative reasoning

The concept of derivative is used in many areas including applied problems and requiring mathematical modelling in different disciplines. One of the most important approaches for teaching the derivative is to support students in visualizing the concept. Also, it is necessary to shift researchers and teachers’ focuses to students’ dynamic mental actions while learning derivative in order to conduct effective teaching process. With this necessity, I focused on the perspective of quantitative reasoning related to the graphical approach to the derivative. This study aims to reveal a calculus student’s mental actions related to the graphical approach to the derivative. The data were collected from a first-year calculus student engaged in the task requiring graphical interpretation of the derivative. Results showed that the student’s understanding of the slope shaped her inferences about the tangent line because the quantity of ratio is prior knowledge for learning the instantaneous rate of change. Besides, as the student had the idea of correspondence related to the concept of function, she had difficulties in interpreting the global view of the derivate. This result suggests that having global view of the derivative requires a strong understanding of function and rate.

Mental Actions and Mental Objects in the Space of Science Discourse

Mental Actions and Mental Objects in the Space of Science Discourse

THE CONCEPTUAL FIELD „GLÜCK“ IN THE GERMAN LANGUAGE DISCOURSE

The present paper pays a special attention to such terms as “concept” and “conceptual field”, which play an extremely important role in understanding the processes of conceptualization of the reality in human cognition. The interpretation of the conceptual field as a fixed grouping of typologically and semantically homogeneous and hierarchically arranged concepts is substantiated in the study. The principles of modeling the conceptual field “Glück” in the German language discourse are considered. The means of verbalization of the concept “Glück”, namely a set of nominal lexemes for designating positive emotions (the lexeme “Glück” and its synonyms registered in the texts: Glück, Freude, Geschick, Heil, Hochgefühl, Schwein, Segen, Wonne) are under investigation. Based on the analysis of collocations of positively marked emotive nouns with verbs that cover certain areas in the conceptual field under study, the structure of the conceptual field “Glück” in the German language discourse is modeled. The conceptual areas constituting the core, the near and the far periphery are outlined. The degree of connection between different conceptual areas is determined and the areas exhibiting strong, medium or weak connection are found. Correlations between the conceptual areas have been established, each of which, forming figures of various configurations, is considered as a single conceptual complex. The use of methods of structural linguistics in the study of conceptual processes made it possible to obtain relevant objective data on the actualization of the emotional concept “Glück” in the German fiction of the 20th century. In summary, the author’s interpretation of the term “conceptual field” is suggested, which is defined as a set of conceptual spheres (areas) connected by systemic, interrelated and complementary relations, which is represented by the lexical field units (words) and within which units of the lexical level function and realize their meanings. The structure of the conceptual field “Glück” has been determined. The following conceptual areas constitute the core: “verbs of movement and displacement”, “verbs designating occurrence or appearance” and “verbs of spatial localization”. The near periphery is formed by: “action verbs”, “relational semantics verbs”, “stative, processual verbs”, “verbs of being”, and “verbs of mental and social actions of the subject.” The far periphery includes the following conceptual areas: “verbs of sounding and onomatopoeia”, “characterization verbs”, and “modal verbs”. Key words: concept, verbalizers, correlation analysis, conceptual field, conceptual area, core, periphery.

Testing the Biophilia theory: Automatic approach tendencies towards nature

It seems as if modern urban lifestyle disconnects people from nature, this may be associated with adverse health effects. In line with this notion it has been consistently shown that psychiatric diagnoses are more frequent in urban compared to rural regions. Most of the studies addressing potential causal mechanisms of this urban-rural difference focus on detrimental aspects of city living. In contrast, biophilia theory has posited an automatic, potentially deep-rooted need for contact with nature. Acting against this proposed tendency to seek contact to natural environments may affect mental health. As scientific evidence for this psycho-evolutionary biophilia theory is lacking by now, we utilized implicit test strategies developed to assess automatic associations between mental representations and action tendencies to put this theory to test. In an online study (N = 109), we administered three reaction time paradigms: the dot probe task (DPT), the implicit association test (IAT) and the approach avoidance task (AAT). All tasks reveal a tendency to approach nature and avoid cities (DPT: F(1,105) = 11.15, p = .001, ƞ2 = 0.096; IAT: F(1,107) = 17.10, p = 7.068E-5, ƞ2 = 0.138; AAT: F(1,103) = 4.36, p = .039, ƞ2 = 0.041). Interestingly, the results of the AAT, the only test that allows this differentiation, suggest that the tendency to approach nature seems to play a more important role than the avoidance of built environments. The present findings provide clear evidence in support of biophilia theory and can therefore inspire and foster further studies investigating whether acting against an automatic and potentially deep-rooted need for contact with nature, by living in cities e.g., may contribute more prominently to the emergence of mental health problems than (or at least in addition to) environmental or societal stressors individuals are exposed to in cities.

Collaboration With People With Lived Experience of Mental Illness to Reduce Stigma and Improve Primary Care Services

Collaboration with people with lived experience of mental illness (PWLE), also referred to as service users, is a growing priority to reduce stigma and improve mental health care. To examine feasibility and acceptability of conducting an antistigma intervention in collaboration with PWLE during mental health training of primary care practitioners (PCPs). This pilot cluster randomized clinical trial was conducted from February 7, 2016, to August 10, 2018, with assessors, PCPs, and patients blinded to group assignment. The participants were PCPs and primary care patients diagnosed with depression, psychosis, or alcohol use disorder at primary care facilities (the cluster unit of randomization) in Nepal. Statistical analysis was performed from February 2020 to February 2021. In the control group, PCPs were trained on the World Health Organization Mental Health Gap Action Programme-Intervention Guide (mhGAP-IG). In the Reducing Stigma Among Healthcare Providers (RESHAPE) group, the mhGAP-IG trainings for PCPs were cofacilitated by PWLE who presented recovery testimonials through photographic narratives. Prespecified feasibility and acceptability measures were adequacy of randomization, retention rates, intervention fidelity, data missingness, and safety. Outcome measures for PCPs included the Social Distance Scale (SDS), accuracy of diagnoses of mental illness in standardized role-plays using the Enhancing Assessment of Common Therapeutic factors tool (ENACT), and accuracy of diagnosis with actual patients. The primary end point was 16 months posttraining. Among the overall sample of 88 PCPs, 75 (85.2%) were men and 67 (76.1%) were upper caste Hindus; the mean (SD) age was 36.2 (8.8) years. Nine of the PCPs (10.2%) were physicians, whereas the remaining 79 PCPs (89.8%) were health assistants or auxiliary health workers. Thirty-four facilities were randomized to RESHAPE or the control group. All eligible PCPs participated: 43 in RESHAPE and 45 in the control group, with 76.7% (n = 33) and 73.3% (n = 33) retention at end line, respectively. Due to PCP dropout, 29 facilities (85.3%) were included in end line analysis. Of 15 PWLE trained as cofacilitators, 11 (73.3%) participated throughout the 3 months of PCP trainings. Among PCPs, mean SDS changes from pretraining to 16 months were -10.6 points (95% CI, -14.5 to -6.74 points) in RESHAPE and -2.79 points (-8.29 to 2.70 points) in the control group. Role-play-based diagnoses with ENACT were 78.1% (25 of 32) accurate in RESHAPE and 66.7% (22 of 33) in the control group. Patient diagnoses were 72.5% (29 of 40) accurate by PCPs in RESHAPE compared with 34.5% (10 of 29) by PCPs in the control group. There were no serious adverse events. This pilot cluster randomized clinical trial found that procedures were feasible and acceptable for PCPs to be trained by PWLE. These pilot results will help inform a full trial to evaluate benefits of collaboration with PWLE during training of PCPs to reduce stigma and improve diagnostic accuracy. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02793271.

Community mental health work – WHO recommendations and the perspective of people experiencing mental health problems

This article was written in response to the publication by the World Health Organization of a document containing recommendations and a toolkit for promoting mental health and addressing the problems of people with mental disorders (Mental Health Gap Action Programme – mhGAP). The conclusions in the WHO proposal were compared with the perspective of people in mental crisis, which was reconstructed through qualitative research (in the interpretative paradigm). The analysis of the empirical material, which consisted of 35 autobiographical narrative interviews with people who have experienced mental disorders, showed that the WHO proposals correspond to the needs declared by the people struggling with mental problems. The compliance concerns both the expected fields of action (fight against stereotypes, prevention, health promotion) and methods (activities in the residential environment of people in need of support). At the same time, however, the analysis revealed a number of elements worth noting when orienting future community mental health work. These elements include: the increasing role and importance of people experiencing mental disorders in the orientation of action, strengthening community co-creation with people experiencing a mental disorder, moving away from one-sided teaching and training towards collaborative learning.

Технологии изучения инноваций в профессиональной подготовке будущих банковских служащих на основе теории поэтапного формирования умственных действий П. Я. Гальперина

The paper describes pedagogical technologies aimed to form professional readiness for innovation among college students-future bank clerks. The article compares college students’ understanding of innovative banking before and after the course “Information Technologies in Professional Activity”. For comparative experiment, reference and experimental groups were formed. In experimental group the study of banking innovations was based on P. Y. Galperin’s theory of mental actions formation. The analysis of academic outcomes of reference and experimental group students justified the reasonability of using “road map” when forming future bank clerks’ professional readiness for innovation. Scientific originality of the study lies in the fact that the author introduces the methodology of teaching banking innovations to college students-future bank clerks. As a result, it is proved that P. Y. Galperin’s theory can be successfully applied for studying innovative banking within the academic discipline “Information Technologies in Professional Activity”. The proposed methodology helps college students to achieve a better under-standing of banking innovation processes.

Inference Is Not a Process

ABSTRACT Inference, understood as a form of conscious and active belief-revision, has recently attracted much interest among philosophers of mind. Many writings on the topic depict inference as a kind of process. However, this assumption is, to my knowledge, nowhere explicitly justified or even reflected upon. In this paper, I argue that the assumption is wrong: while processes take time, it is not possible that inferences take time. Both claims are conceptual observations. It is therefore conceptually impossible that the mental act of inferring is a process.

Research on reflective-evaluative competence in pupils with intellectual disabilities

The aim is to conduct empirical research on the formation of reflective-evaluative competence in primary pupils with intellectual disabilities and to determine effective methods to develop it. Methods: tests with standardized questionnaires, methods for checking the logic of motivating dialogue, comparative analysis, quantitative and qualitative content-analysis. We established that disorders in the functioning of reflection in primary pupils are observed in changeable or unfamiliar situations: rejection to solve a problem, desire to simplify a task, justification of their inability, avoidance of difficulties. We registered that insufficient development of self-control and self-esteem causes faults in programming and performing activity. We identified difficulties in verbalizing a plan of actions showing the respondents’ inability to compare and substantiate practical and mental operations. Disorders in reflective-evaluative competence are insufficient development of reflection, self-control, self-esteem and self-correction that does not allow primary pupils to organize their mental actions purposefully.