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The maximization principle—that people aspire to the highest possible level of something good if all practical constraints are removed—is a common yet untested assumption about human nature. We predict that in holistic cultures—where contradiction, change, and context are emphasized—ideal states of being for the self will be more moderate than in other cultures. In two studies (Ns = 2,392 and 6,239), we asked this question: If participants could choose their ideal level of happiness, pleasure, freedom, health, self-esteem, longevity, and intelligence, what level would they choose? Consistent with predictions, results showed that maximization was less pronounced in holistic cultures; members of holistic cultures aspired to less happiness, pleasure, freedom, health, self-esteem, longevity, and IQ than did members of other cultures. In contrast, no differences emerged on ideals for society. The studies show that the maximization principle is not a universal aspect of human nature and that there are predictable cultural differences in people’s notions of perfection.

The purpose of this paper was to study psychological adaptation of ethnic Russians in various contexts of post-Soviet countries. To achieve this goal, a survey was conducted in the following seven post-Soviet republics: Estonia (N=314), Kazakhstan (N=179), Kyrgyzstan (N=300), Armenia (N=109), Tajikistan (N=284), Latvia (N=334), Georgia (N=312). The total sample size equaled to 1832 people. The study showed that in different contexts of post-Soviet republics, psychological adaptation of Russians differs. The authors have identified two contextual conditions that are important for successful adaptation in post-Soviet countries: the policy towards ethnic Russians, which can be either inclusive or restrictive, as well as subjective cultural distance. Accordingly, four contexts of the adaptation of Russians have been identified. With a combination of inclusive policies and a short subjective cultural distance (Kazakhstan), the conditions for psychological adaptation are favourable, ethnic boundaries are permeable, bridging (interethnic) social capital is formed. However, there is a downside to such a favourable context – there are assimilation tendencies out there. With a combination of inclusive policies and a long subjective cultural distance (Kyrgyzstan, Armenia), Russians have the opportunity to fully preserve their ethnic identity and integrate into the host society. Such a context shows the highest scores of self-esteem as one of the indicators of psychological adaptation. In the case of a combination of restrictive policies and a short subjective cultural distance (Estonia, Latvia), Russians make kind of a “request” for integration, that is, the preservation of their own culture along with inclusion in the culture of host societies. A context combining restrictive policies and a large subjective cultural distance (Georgia, Tajikistan) is the most unfavourable for the psychological adaptation of Russians. It is characteristic that in this context, Russians are forced to reduce, “conceal” their ethnic identity, since the degree of their ethnic identity is negatively associated with life satisfaction, that is, with successful adaptation.

Background. This study was carried out using the framework of S. Schwartz’s theory of basic human values. Objective. This article examines the dynamics of the basic values of Russians (2008– 2016) and the relationship between value orientations and economic attitudes among Christians and Muslims in Russia. Design. The dynamics of values of Russians were analyzed based on the five waves rounds of ESS (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016), each of which included around 2,000 respondents. The 2010 sample included ethnic Russians as well as respondents from the North Caucasus (N = 278). Results. We found that the most preferred value among Russians is Security. However, the importance of this value decreased over 10 years (2006–2016). Such values as Achievement, Tradition, and Power were relatively stable among Russians during this period. In addition, between 2006 and 2016 we observed the increasing priority of the values of Hedonism and Stimulation. Using our own data set, we examined the relations between values and attitudes toward different types of economic behavior. Conclusion. We found that the patterns of the relations between values and attitudes toward different types of economic behavior had similarities as well as differences among Christians (in the Central Federal District and the North Caucasus Federal District) and Muslims (in the North Caucasus Federal District) in Russia.

This paper considers the possibility to use various fillings – smoked chicken breast fillet, lightly salted salmon with cottage cheese, imitation crab meat and mayonnaise in the manufacture of rice balls named “onigiri”, using porphyry algae, and their effect on the quality indicators of the samples obtained. To achieve this goal, the samples of onigiri rice balls prepared with the introduction of various types of fillings were studied. In the Japanese cuisine recipe of the classic rice ball instead of lightly salted salmon, which was a control sample, smoked chicken fillet was introduced - sample 1, imitation crab meat surimi and mayonnaise - sample 2, lightly salted salmon with cottage cheese - sample 3. An organoleptic assessment of the quality indicators of the rice sandwich showed that sample No. 3 with a filling of lightly salted salmon and cottage cheese turned out to be the best. According to the results of the experiment, it can be concluded that the introduction of such a prescription component as imitation of crab meat and mayonnaise into the recipe not only improves organoleptic requirements, but also enriches the result product with the microelement iron.

This paper is dedicated to the cultural specificities of three typical collective groups with respect to the representation of love. The research subject focuses on the cross-cultural similarities and differences in how love is conceptualized among highly educated citizens of Brazil (50), Russia (50), and Central Africa (50) (age range 21-60; M = 34). We used \"The Classical ideas of love: acceptance and distancing\" questionnaire (I.A. Djidaryan, E.V. Belovol, & O.V. Maslova) and the \"Directed associations with 'love' as the wordstimulus\" technique (on the basis of C.G. Jung's associative experiment and P. Vergès's methodology). The results show similarities and differences in how love is represented among the groups. The following similarities were found: Love is seen as all that is good and kind about a person, a way to become better. At the peripheral level, the social representation of love includes friendship, patience, and passion. At the point of cross-cultural differences, it was found that: a) The main emotion reflecting how love is represented for Brazilians is honesty, for Russians -- suffering, for Central Africans -- tenderness; b) Brazilians understand love as a sensual, personal moral choice; Russians perceive love as an obstacle, a problem in itself; Central Africans conceptualize love as God-given and ennobling of the person; c) love is conceptualized as something inherent and family-oriented among Russians, intrapersonal and intimate among Brazilians, and divine among Central Africans. The results mean that within peripheral confines, the notion of love among the groups matches to a certain extent R. Sternberg's triangle of love, while its core zone is culturally specific.

The project Mutual Intercultural Research in Plural Societies was designed to examine three hypotheses of intercultural relations: the multiculturalism hypothesis, the integration hypothesis, and the contact hypothesis. These hypotheses were derived from the Canadian multiculturalism policy (Berry, 1984), and their validity has been assessed in a number of countries. Our goal was to evaluate these hypotheses in Russia (Moscow) and Latvia (Riga). We used sociopsychological surveys of two dominant groups (Russian Muscovites and Latvians in Riga) and two nondominant groups (migrants from the Caucasus in Moscow and the Russian minority in Riga) employing structural equation modeling. A sense of perceived security promoted tolerance toward other cultural groups in three of the samples. Perceived security was related significantly to multicultural ideology in Riga, but there was no significant relationship to multicultural ideology in the Moscow samples. A preference for the integration strategy among the migrants in Moscow as well as among the Russians in Latvia promoted their better sociocultural adaptation and had a significant impact on the life satisfaction of the Muscovites but had no impact on the Latvian sample in Riga. Our results provided some support for the effect of intercultural contact on the acceptance of others in three of the groups: the migrants in Moscow, the Russian minority in Riga, and the dominant group in Moscow. However, among the Russians in Riga, the relationship between contacts and perceived security was negative. The multiculturalism hypothesis was confirmed with the dominant group in Riga and was partly confirmed with both the dominant and the nondominant groups in Moscow and with the Russian minority in Riga. The contact hypothesis received partial support with both groups in Moscow and the Russian minority in Riga but was not confirmed with the Latvians in Riga. There was partial support for the role of the integration strategy in promoting sociocultural adaptation and well-being among the migrants in Moscow and the Muscovites. These findings require additional analysis of the sociopolitical and historical context in Latvia in order to understand the psychological outcomes of acculturation among the Russian minority there.

This article examines intercultural relations in the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (RNO-A). The research is based on the theory of acculturation of J. Berry and uses the hypotheses and measures developed in the Mutual Intercultural Relations in Plural Societies project. The RNO-A is the most favorable place for Russians living in the North Caucasus because attitudes toward the Russian minority in the RNO-A are not discriminatory. Our goal was to test three hypotheses in the RNO-A: the multiculturalism hypothesis, the integration hypothesis, and the contact hypothesis. We conducted a sociopsychological survey. The sample included members of the ethnic majority, the Ossetians (N= 318), and members of the ethnic minority, the Russians (N= 327). Data processing was carried out using structural equation modeling (SEM) separately for the ethnic minority and for the ethnic majority, and the models were compared with each other. The results show that perceived security among the Russians (the ethnic minority) as well as among the Ossetians (the ethnic majority) promoted support for a multicultural ideology, tolerance, and mutual integration. The number and frequency of friendly intercultural contacts had a positive and significant impact on a preference for integration among both the Ossetians and the Russians. An integration strategy and the expectation of integration promoted life satisfaction in both groups. Because the results of the study confirmed all three hypotheses, we conclude that interethnic relations between the Russians and the Ossetians in the RNO-A are based on the principles of multiculturalism.

Emphasizing the co-benefits of climate policy can motivate action across ideological, age and gender divides regardless of existing levels of concern about climate change, as global survey data shows. Personal and political action on climate change is traditionally thought to be motivated by people accepting its reality and importance. However, convincing the public that climate change is real faces powerful ideological obstacles 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , and climate change is slipping in public importance in many countries 5 , 6 . Here we investigate a different approach, identifying whether potential co-benefits of addressing climate change 7 could motivate pro-environmental behaviour around the world for both those convinced and unconvinced that climate change is real. We describe an integrated framework for assessing beliefs about co-benefits 8 , distinguishing social conditions (for example, economic development, reduced pollution or disease) and community character (for example, benevolence, competence). Data from all inhabited continents (24 countries; 6,196 participants) showed that two co-benefit types, Development (economic and scientific advancement) and Benevolence (a more moral and caring community), motivated public, private and financial actions to address climate change to a similar degree as believing climate change is important. Critically, relationships were similar for both convinced and unconvinced participants, showing that co-benefits can motivate action across ideological divides. These relationships were also independent of perceived climate change importance, and could not be explained by political ideology, age, or gender. Communicating co-benefits could motivate action on climate change where traditional approaches have stalled.

Background. This study was carried out using the framework of S. Schwartz’s theory of basic human values. Objective. This article examines the dynamics of the basic values of Russians (2008– 2016) and the relationship between value orientations and economic attitudes among Christians and Muslims in Russia. Design. The dynamics of values of Russians were analyzed based on the five waves rounds of ESS (2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2016), each of which included around 2,000 respondents. The 2010 sample included ethnic Russians as well as respondents from the North Caucasus (N=278). Results. We found that the most preferred value among Russians is Security. However, the importance of this value decreased over 10 years (2006–2016). Such values as Achievement, Tradition, and Power were relatively stable among Russians during this period. In addition, between 2006 and 2016 we observed the increasing priority of the values of Hedonism and Stimulation. Using our own data set, we examined the relations between values and attitudes toward different types of economic behavior. Conclusion. We found that the patterns of the relations between values and attitudes toward different types of economic behavior had similarities as well as differences among Christians (in the Central Federal District and the North Caucasus Federal District) and Muslims (in the North Caucasus Federal District) in Russia.

This study reports the implementation of a Training of Intercultural Competence and Tolerance (TICT) for upper-secondary school students and the empirical evaluation of its effectiveness. The TICT program was developed to counteract increasing interethnic conflicts in the North Caucasus Federal District of Russia. It is based on the theoretical and empirical framework of social psychology and cross-cultural psychology. The training effectiveness was assessed by conducting pre- and post-surveys among the training participants. The results indicate that TICT contributes to the development of a positive ethnic identity and the formation of a civic identity among the participating youth. It also increases their optimism regarding the future of interethnic relations in Russia and the subjective level of intercultural competence of majority group youth towards minority cultures. Thus, the evaluation of the training effectiveness of the TICT has shown that the aims of the training have been achieved to a large extent and that the Training of Intercultural Competence and Tolerance can be effectively used to prevent interethnic conflicts and promote interethnic relations in multicultural schools. Suggestions for the practical implementation of the TICT as well as for future research on the training's effectiveness are discussed.