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Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Circumplex perspective on (de)motivating teaching styles based on Self-determination theory is presented in this paper. Based on the findings of the research project “Towards the effective teaching: the evaluation of (de) motivating teaching strategies and their effects on students’ using Circumplex model” (funded by the Research Council of Lithuania under the National Research Programme Welfare Society, Grant No. S-GEV-21-2) recommendations on how to nourish students’ motivational resources and well-being are provided for professionals working in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The act of mentalisation refers to the capacity of understanding oneself and others in terms of intentional mental states (feelings, beliefs, intentions, and desires). Different definitions of this capacity for understanding mental states - such as theory of mind or reflective function - can be found in scientific literature along with subtle differences in conceptualisations of its development. Nevertheless, an increasing interest in interpersonal factors of development in mentalisation can be observed lately. One of the approaches in understanding the development of mentalisation is suggested by Fonagy and colleagues (1991, 2004), according to who the parent-child attachment and parental mentalisation are seen as key factors in the development of a mentalising capacity in children. Of these relationships, the ones in early development are discussed more widely. Much less is known theoretically and empirically about the relationships between parental mentalisation, a child's attachment and mentalisation in middle childhood and adolescence. During these stages of development, important changes take place in the attachment system as well as within behaviors and needs of a child, including a move towards more integrated attachment representations together with socio-cognitive developmental changes related to puberty. It is not clear if parental mentalisation and a child's attachment security remain of the same importance as they are in early childhood to the development and manifestation of child's mentalisation from middle childhood to adolescence. Within this context, the aim of this paper is to analyse and reveal the most important empirical findings related to the research of mentalisation in childhood and adolescence. In this way, we aim to highlight and critically evaluate certain theoretical assumptions about the mentalisation of parents and a child's attachment security as factors of a child's mentalisation development. In this context, the aim of this paper is to analyze and to reveal the most important empirical findings related to the study of mentalisation in childhood and adolescence. An analysis of empirical studies showed that good parental mentalisation is important for attachment security and acquisition of theory of mind in early development. Data also reveals the importance of maternal reflective functioning for the development of organised attachment strategies. Moreover, poor maternal reflective functioning was related with disorganised attachment, which, according to different studies, was related to poorer mentalisation in early and in later development. Even though links between attachment security and mentalisation remain significant in middle childhood and adolescence, research findings indicate different relationships between strategies of attachment and mentalisation. It might be that not the attachment security itself, but the organisation of attachment representations might be an important condition for the development of mentalisation. Research findings show that maternal mentalisation remains important for the mentalisation of a child. On the other hand, there is still a lack of empirical data which could provide an opportunity to explain the mechanisms of how these processes interact in later development. An analysis of existing studies allows us to state that the approach-proposed development of mentalisation proposed by Fonagy and colleagues can partly be transferred to middle childhood and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, there is a growing body of papers on the topic about two-digit (2D) number processing. Separate studies revealed the importance of subjects' age (e. g., Nuerk, Kaufmann et al., 2004) and sex (Pletzer et al., 2013) in a 2D number representation. The aim of this study was to investigate an automatic 2D number processing in people of different age and sex. Methods. 2nd graders (average age 8 years and 5 months), 4th graders (average age 10 years and 5 months), and adults (average age 27 years and 2 months) performed two experimental tasks in which they had to judge the numeric or monetary value of presented stimuli (e. g., which is more, 82 ct or 14 Lt). Results were obtained by totalizing the reaction time and error rate. In statistical analysis, the Vilcoxon criteria were used to distinguish the difference in each participants' group between blocks of different stimuli. In addition, the results were counted for each participant individually. Results. As in previous studies (e. g., Chan et al., 2011), 2nd graders, 4th graders and adults processed 2D numbers automatically. In this study, 2nd graders processed two-digit numbers in a holistic fashion, while 4th graders and adults used a decomposed parallel processing. The 'holistic' 2D number processing in children can be explained as a 'transition' stage between decomposed sequential and decomposed parallel. The 'holistic' result may derive from approximately equal frequency in using sequential and parallel ways of processing. The data did not support the hypothesis that during adulthood, males process two-digit numbers in a different fashion from females. In this study, both sexes processed 2D numbers in the same way (decomposed parallel). In contrast, Pletzer et al. (2013) found the holistic 2D number processing to prevail in males. In this paper, potential influences on this difference are discussed. First, it could be due to different languages, or it could be due to experiment arrangement. The probability of the same participant using different strategies in response to different (simple or more complex) stimuli is suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

We already know that attitude and behaviour are related and can influence each other. Greenwald and Banaji (1995) suggest that attitude can be explicit or implicit. Explicit attitude is conscious and related with such behavior. Implicit attitude is unconscious, automatic and has more relationships with unconscious behaviour. The authors of the mentioned study suggest that neither of them are “real” attitudes, but it is important to recognize both, as they can have different influences on our behaviour. Facebook is the most popular social network around the world, especially across the younger generations. Researchers found that the explicit attitude toward Facebook is very positive (Johnston et al., Mersin, 2013; Acılar & Mersin, 2015), but there are no papers on implicit attitude. So, the purpose of this study was to find out the implicit and explicit attitudes toward using Facebook and to reveal the interrelations between these attitudes and experiences from using Facebook. The study participants consisted of 210 teenagers from a single gymnasium. Their ages were 17 (40%), 18 (50%) and 19 (10%); 41.4% of them represented boys, 58.6% – girls. Implicit attitudes were measured by the Single Attribute Implicit Association Test (SA-IAT), and the explicit attitudes – by a 21-item questionnaire regarding the attitude toward using Facebook (Kokoç & Çiçek, 2011). Results showed that the majority of them have a Facebook account (N=171). Facebook users have more positive explicit attitudes, and this was related to time spent on Facebook and the number of times they connect to the social media network on a daily basis. Also, it was revealed that explicit attitude is the predictor of having an account on Facebook, and that implicit attitude had predicted the opposite. Moreover, implicit attitude does not differ between users and non-users and has no significant relationship with behaviour. However, it was noticed that Facebook users were faster when pairing Facebook with pleasant rather than unpleasant words. Non-users reacted in both test conditions equally. This could mean that users unconciously associate Facebook with pleasant feelings and may share positive implicit attitudes. However, this study has several limitations. Most of the participants were Facebook users, so the differences that were found could be inaccurate. Also, all of them were from the same gymnasium, so different results may possibly be gathered from different school populations. Therefore, the obtained results should be interpreted with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The psychological empowerment of employees as the psychological enabling and positive motivational state of individuals at work has been broadly studied in relation with their attitudes towards work and organisations, work behaviour, productivity, reactions to changes or innovations. Employee empowerment is especially important for the organisations with flexible management systems which are based on the principles of employee proactivity, personal responsibility and intrinsic work motivation. The article presents the process of improving the LPEQ - Lithuanian Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire (Tvarijonavičius & Bagdžiūnienė, 2013) and the revised 9-item version of the questionnaire. The first version consisted of fifteen items representing five dimensions of psychological empowerment: meaning, enthusiasm, decision making, autonomy, and trust in competence. However, later studies revealed that a three-dimensions exploratory factor solution is also possible (e.g., Jokubauskaitė & Lazauskaitė-Zabielskė, 2016). The aim of the two studies presented in this paper was to repeatedly evaluate and to specify the structure of the LPEQ and to verify the psychometric indicators of the revised 9-item version of the questionnaire. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of data from the first study sample (740 employees from different Lithuanian organisations) were explored to examine the structure, construct validity and reliability of the questionnaire. The CFA showed substantial support for the three factors‘ solution when the first factor (meaning) consisted of two items from the previous meaning dimension and one item from enthusiasm, the second factor (decision making) included two items from the previous decision making and one from autonomy dimensions and the third factor (trust in competence) remained without changes (χ² = 57.69, df = 24, χ² /df = 2.391, p < 0.001; RMSEA = 0.061; GFI = 0.9674; CFI = 0.939; NFI = 0.953). Measures of validity and internal consistency were additionally analysed on the second study data (658 participants). The results proved the convergent validity of the shortened version of the LPEQ: three dimensions and the total score of empowerment were highly and positively related with similar constructs - intrinsic motivation, engagement, autonomy, occupational self-efficacy, in-role behavior (p < 0.01). Cronbach's α coefficients of the dimensions varied between 0.755 and 0.835. In conclusion, the revised version of the Lithuanian Psychological Empowerment Questionnaire (LPEQ - 9) can be characterised as an instrument with appropriate psychometric properties for use in research and practice. Directions for the future research in the field are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Humans are perhaps the only animal species capable of abstract thinking, creating theories, and understanding themselves. This capability comes with a sort of arrogance - a belief that traits common to humans are completely unique and not like those found in other animals. In this paper, we analyze animal personality research: the concept of animal personality, research methods, and the potential value of animal personality research in developing trait theory. The ability to declare that there, indeed, is such a phenomenon as animal personality depends on what we define as personality. If we say that the core aspects of personality are the subconscious or Self, then we are unable to discuss animal personality. However, if we assume that personality can be described as stable behavior patterns, then, when discussing stable behavior patterns of animals, the use of the term "personality" seems justified. There is an abundance of terms and descriptions not only in human but also in animal personality research: the terms like animal temperament, behavior types or syndromes are all used just to avoid the term "personality". All methods of animal personality research can be classified into two large categories: rating-based and behavior-coding based methods. Both categories of methods are widely used (especially behavior coding), yet there still is a lot of debate regarding their superiority, since both methods have pros and cons. Rating-based methods produce more stable results, have a better inter-rater reliability; however, they are much more susceptible to anthropomorphism. Behavior-codingbased methods, albeit more objective, also have their problems: they are less stable, can encompass only a limited scope of observed behavior, and, amongst other things, they also have ecological validity and sample formation issues. It is reasonable to say that both methods should be used, and studies that apply both of these methods to the same sample are especially valuable. Despite methodological problems, animal personality research can be beneficial in several aspects. Animal personality research can provide us with a better understanding of animal behavior patterns and the evolution of human personality, it can also expand research possibilities (e.g., it is possible to perform breeding studies). However, most research require some sort of a theoretical background to provide guidelines for researchers regarding key points and methods of the study. Personality trait theory (namely the Big Five) seems to be a feasible theoretical basis for animal personality studies; however the research in the field is still in its infancy. The reviewed studies allow us to conclude that animal personality research, be it a relatively unpopular and somewhat controversial field, is still not only very important for the development of personality theories, but also has a practical value. After a significant improvement in research methods and trait theory, we can expect a better understanding of the evolution of human personality; these improvements would also mean a more precise animal selection process, improvements in animal well-being, and similar theoretical and practical benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although learning disability (LD) has a primary impact on academic achievement, its relation to problematic social and emotional life of children and adolescents has been well recognised. In addition, attention has been paid to self-evaluation of schoolchildren with LD; however, the results of studies are contradictory and can be attributed to various factors. This paper seeks to shed light on the association between self-evaluation and perceived social support in adolescents with LD. We used the multidimensional model of Susan Harter (1999) for understanding and measuring the global and domain-specific self-evaluations. The goals of the current study were to assess relations of self-evaluation to the perceived frequency and importance of social support received from various significant sources -- parents, teachers, classmates and close friends in two groups of adolescents, those with LD and their classmates with average academic achievements. The participants were 188 Lithuanian-speaking adolescents from sixth-seventh grades of Vilnius schools, mean age 12.5 years (SD = 0.7). Ninety-five schoolchildren (64 boys and 31 girls) diagnosed as learning-disabled and 93 schoolchildren (58 boys and 35 girls) comprised an age- and sex-matched comparison group from the same schools with average academic achievements. The participants were assessed on Self-Perception Profile for Children (Harter, 1985) and Child and Adolescent Social Support scales (Malecki et al., 2000).The results revealed that the LD group rated themselves worse than average-achieving students on all domain-specific self-evaluations scales: scholastic competence (t = -5.88, p < 0.001), social acceptance (t = -3.08, p < 0.01), behavioural conduct competence (t = -2.36, p < 0.05) and global self-evaluation (t = -2.30, p < 0.05). Both groups equally perceived social support, its frequency and importance. There were significant associations between self-evaluations and the perception of social support in both groups. However, there were more significant relationships in the LD group, the perceived importance of social support being significantly related to various self-evaluations among adolescents with LD only (correlations for the LD group ranged from 0.24 to 0.40). The further ANCOVA analysis revealed that the self-evaluation of adolescents with LD, who perceived social support as unimportant, tended to be lower than the self-evaluations of adolescents without LD who disvalued the importance of social support. Key words: learning disability, social support, self-evaluation, adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyse the emotional and behavioral problems of 45 children (31 boys and 14 girls) with bronchial asthma, (BA), aged two to five years. The mothers of the children filled in the CBCL/1½-5 (Child Behavior Checklist), Block Parental Practices questionnaire, the Conflicts and Problem-solving Scales (CPS) and the demographic questionnaire. The results have shown that children with BA have more internal problems as compared with healthy children as well as with general population. Mothers of children with BA practice more of psychological control than do mothers of healthy children. The results suggest that the practice of psychological control is related to greater behavioral problems. The results also show that the use of physical punishment is related to external problems of BA children. In the BA group, the severity of parental conflicts is related to behavioral problems, and the use of physical aggression during the conflicts is related to the use of corporal punishment. The level of education of mothers proved to be an important factor in predicting the psychological adjustment of children with BA. Mothers with a lower education report more internal and external problems of children with BA. It appears also that the a lower education level of mothers is related to the more frequent use of corporal punishment. The regression analysis has proven the level of maternal education to be predictive of 40 % of internal problems, and together with physical aggression during parental conflicts it explains 56 % of data. Physical aggression during parental conflicts seems to be the only predictive factor and explains 33 % of data on external problems. Our results disclose the importance of psychosocial factors -- the type and level of parental conflicts as the well as prevalence of psychological control --. in the adjustment of children with BA. These factors can be sources of BA-inducing stress. Our results have shown the level of mother's education to be one of the strongest predictors of internal problems of a child with BA. An important direction of future research could be elucidation of this factor--presumably looking for hindrances in the mother--child relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quite numerous research findings show that social information processing underlies different forms of prosocial and antisocial behaviour. Although most of data come from research of children of different age, interest in social information processing and behaviour in later periods of life markedly grows. More and more authors turn to the question of adult social information processing and antisocial behaviour, considering it as a promising field for criminal behaviour forecast and correction. Two aims of this paper are: 1) to describe the main developmental features of social information processing from early childhood to late adolescence and early adulthood; 2) to make assumptions on the connections between social information processing and the antisocial (criminal) behaviour of adults. In this article, we review findings of more than two last decades as it is the most intense period for the development of knowledge in this field. Analysis of the literature shows that patterns of social information processing of people with tendencies to prosocial and antisocial behaviour already differ in groups of children. These differences become more vivid in groups of adolescents as they tend to use antisocial thinking strategies more often and in more steps of information processing than younger children. We suppose that adults have similar but even more clear and vivid patterns of specific social information processing and behaviour than adolescents. Social knowledge of adults is more complex, abstract and differentiated to specific social situations in comparison with people of younger age. Moreover, their information processing is more rapid and complex as well as more tendentious and rigid. Automation of information processing might suspend the learning process and be a source of information processing mistakes in new social situations. We assume that adults, in comparison with children, must have a rather stable and effectively working social information processing directly linked to specific forms of prosocial or antisocial behaviour. We hypothesize that because of a longer antisocial (criminal) experience, some specific features of social knowledge and information processing might appear. Therefore, researches of social information processing that underlie specific forms of antisocial (criminal) behaviour seem to be most informative and useful in this field. Moreover, it is still very little known about the role of emotions in antisocial behaviour genesis. There is some eloquent data on their important impact on social information processing underlying antisocial behaviour, but we suppose that this impact might differ in particular stages of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to assess what potential traumatic life-events and experiences are related to PTSD in the Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans (N= 174). Data in this study were collected from a questionnaire survey with a sample of 268 Lithuanian men aged 32 to 52, who were on military duty (compulsory military service) in the Soviet army in 1979-1989. Four regions (capital cities, cities, small cities, and countryside), with the sample allocation proportionate to the distribution of Lithuanian population, geographically stratified the sample; 174 men served in Afghanistan during the Soviet Union -- Afghanistan war. They were divided into two groups according to the manifestation of posttraumatic stress disorder. One group consists of 108 men without PTSD and 46 men with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD (25 and 21 respectively). The following variables were investigated: demographics, traumatic life-events or conditions, PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (Mollica et al., 1992)). The Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD reported significantly more lifetime traumatic events and conditions. The average number of traumatic events per man with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD was 12.4 and 10 for those without PTSD (F= 1.58, df =152, p < 0.05). The average number of direct exposure events per Lithuanian Afghanistan war veteran with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD was 8 and 6 for veterans without PTSD (F = 10.2, df = 152, p < 0.002). There was a significant correlation between PTSD and the amount of direct exposure and particular traumatic experience: neglect in childhood, loss of a family member, mental illness in the family, absence of parents, violent assault, persecution, and struggle for existence. The Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD and without PTSD had a very similar experience of military operations and combats and the duration of their service didn't differ. Afghanistan war veterans with PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD experienced more traumatic life-events and conditions than did veterans without PTSD, Veterans with PTSD and a sub-clinical level of PTSD, more often than veterans without PTSD, experienced traumatic exposure related to the family, violent assault and struggle for existence. Mental illness in the family, loss of a family member and violent assault were predictive of PTSD and sub-clinical level of PTSD in the Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article examines some methodological problems of research and treatment of learning disabilities. Analytic and holistic approaches to learning disabilities are introduced. Mainstream academic psychology is currently dominated by the analytic approach, which seeks to reduce complex phenomena to its parts in order to study and understand existing interactions between them. A review of literature reveals, that generally learning disabilities are defined in terms of deficits of various cognitive and language abilities and skills necessary for learning. Most often offered treatment procedures are based on programs that focus on improving deficient skills through repetition of various cognitive exercises. We put special emphasis on holistic approach which is presented through theorizing and the treatment of learning disabilities by French audio-psycho-phonologist Alfred Tomatis. According to A. Tomatis, neither normal nor abnormal behaviour can be understood without relating it to 1) the functioning of the whole organism, and 2) the historical and individual developmental processes. From his point of view, language, as a tool for communication, plays a very important role in the humanization of an individual. Individual personal development also confirms that the need for communication emerges already in the prenatal stage, when the link between foetus and mother is maintained, as the foetus hears from the 5th month of intrauterine life. the desire to communicate is implicit in the realization of human consciousness. Considering learning difficulties which are related with written language a. tomatis claims that it is communication -- primarily listening --disorder. The treatment, proposed by A. Tomatis, consists in teaching a person to use his ear as an apparatus capable of listening. He developed an electronic device called electronic ear designed to modify the way in which a subject listened and to help him improve language, learning and communication skills. Practitioners using a. tomatis method confirm its effectiveness. However, it would be very difficult to evaluate his method through analitical experiments that would satisfy academic psychology, which remains skeptical. To contribute to the progress in understanding and treatment of learning disabilities academic psychology should pay more attention to the ideas approved in practice and to find more flexible ways of detection and evaluation of personal change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Psychology / Psichologija is the property of Vilnius University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)