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The social category ‘borrowers’ is heterogeneous in a number of indicators. The article raises the problem of differences in the psychological characteristics of borrowers who prefer formal loans and loans from private individuals. The purpose of the study is to analyze the psychological characteristics of consumers of various types of loans. Based on previous research, the authors identified for analysis variables such as time perspective and long-term orientation of the individual, consideration of the consequences of one’s behavior, level of generalized trust, moral foundations, social beliefs and attitudes towards debt, which were presumably associated with people’s preferred type of borrowing. The sample consisted of users of financial services with various types of loans ( N = 1974); they were divided into three groups, homogeneous by type of loans: (1) the respondents who had only loans received from relatives, friends or acquaintances ( N = 97), (2) the respondents who had only loans from microfinance organizations (MFO) ( N = 97), and (3) the respondents who had only consumer loans ( N = 103). The analysis was carried out using the following methods and techniques: The Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ) by J. Haidt (adapted by O.A. Sychev), The Long-Term Orientation of Personality (LTOP) by T.A. Nestik, The Consideration for Future Consequences (CFC) by A. Strathman (adapted by T.A. Nestik), a short version of The Dual Process Model Scales by J. Duckitt (adapted by D.S. Grigoriev), a short version of The Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) , The World Value Survey (WVS) , The Personal Belief in a Just World Scale by K. Dalbert with two subscales: belief in the justice of the world and belief in the justice of the world in relation to oneself (adapted by S.K. Nartova-Bochaver), and The Debt Behavior Express Inventory . In each group of the respondents, significant differences were found in the structure of relationships among the studied parameters. The results showed that the respondents who had only non-institutional loans, in contrast to those who had exclusively bank or MFO loans, were less loyal to their group (low traditionalism), which in their perceptions was associated with reduced trust in (regional) authorities. This may indicate the autonomy of these borrowers in social terms. The limitations of the study were also noted. Finally, the prospects for further research were outlined and the possibilities of practical use of the results obtained were determined.

The feelings of shame and pride regarding the native country are important in the context of the problem of civic identity; therefore, they are of growing interest on the part of sociologists and psychologists. Given the moral nature of these emotions, their analysis based on one of the most authoritative approaches in the psychology of morality, moral foundations theory, seems relevant and justified. The purpose of this study was to analyze the moral foundations for the feelings of shame and pride regarding the native country. The online survey involved 752 subjects (49.9% men) aged 16-73 (mean age M = 42, SD = 10.87). A new version of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire (MFQ-2) was used to assess the moral foundations. The feelings of shame and pride regarding the native country were assessed using a questionnaire tested in previous sociological and psychological studies. Data processing was carried out using exploratory factor analysis, linear regression analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of the regression analysis on the factors of shame and pride regarding the native country showed that the moral foundations play an important role in these feelings among the inhabitants of Russia. However, a specific set of predictors is determined by what exactly is the subject of pride or shame. In general, the moral foundations of loyalty and authority are of the greatest importance for pride, while liberty and equity are most important for shame regarding the native country. Using the latent profile analysis, we identified typical profiles of moral foundations associated with age. A small group (14% of the sample) of relatively young respondents with an individualistic profile of moral foundations demonstrated a significant predominance of shame over pride regarding their native country. The other two groups with a traditionalist and a moderate profiles of moral foundations were characterized by a balance (or approximate equality) of pride and shame regarding their native country. The results of the study contribute to a deeper understanding of the role of the moral factors of patriotic education based on the formation of a feeling of pride in the country.

Objectives. The aim was to study the association between moral foundations and Russians’ foreign policy attitudes. Background. There is a growing interest in the factors that determine attitudes towards other peoples and countries, but the foreign policy attitudes of citizens that determine their support of the respective state’s foreign policy remain insufficiently researched. This study examines the foreign policy attitudes in the context of the Moral foundations theory. We assume that militant internationalism is related to binding moral foundations (“Loyalty”, “Respect”, “Purity”) and nationalism, while cooperative internationalism probably is based on the individualizing moral foundations (“Care” and “Justice”). Study design. Correlation design was used, followed by structural linear modeling and analysis of mediation effects. Participants. 214 university students (average age 25.18, 20% men). Measurements. A blank survey was conducted using Moral Foundations Questionnaire by J. Graham et al., the questionnaire developed on the basis of Foreign Policy Attitudes Scales by T. Gravelle et al., and Civil Identity Scale from the International Social Survey. Results. The results of structural equation modeling have confirmed the indirect relation between binding moral foundations and militant internationalism mediated by the nationalism and the direct association between cooperative internationalism and individualizing moral foundations. We also revealed that individualizing moral foundations were inversely associated to nationalism and the related militant internationalism. Conclusions. Russians’ foreign policy attitudes are related with the characteristics of the moral sphere and nationalism: Binding moral foundations indirectly (through nationalism) support militant internationalism, while individualizing moral foundations support cooperative internationalism.

Objective. Search for socio-psychological antecedents for the individual’s belief in conspiracy theo- ries of the origin of the pandemic. Revealing the dynamics of Internet users’ attitudes to the coronavirus pandemic in March-early June 2020. Background. As part of the study of the psychological mechanisms of the impact of the pandemic on the individual and society, an increasingly urgent task is to clarify the socio-psychological prereq- uisites of belief in conspiracy theories of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the relationship between attitudes towards the pandemic and the involvement of the individual in the use of social media. Study design. The paper presents the results of two online surveys conducted in March-April and May-June 2020 to study the dynamics of Russians’ belief in conspiracy theories of the origin of the CO- VID-19, taking into account involvement in social media and gender differences. Participants. The first study involved 668 people (78.2% women) aged 17 to 80 years (M=30; SD=12.7); the second survey involved 986 people (56.9% — men) aged 18 to 76 years (M=36.63; SD=10.2). The survey geography covered various regions of Russia. Measurements. The basic tool in both studies was developed by T.A. Nestik questionnaire “Attitude towards the epidemiological threat”. The first study additionally measured the social axioms (SAS), moral foundations (MFQ), belief in the justice of the world and trust in social institutions. The second study additionally measured involvement in social media communications. Results. The 1st study found a connection between conspiracy beliefs and belief in a just world, low self-efficacy, moral foundations of ingroup/loyalty and authority/respect, low institutional trust, and social cynicism. In the 2nd study, it was shown that, compared to March-April, the level of belief of social media users in conspiracy theories of the origin of the pandemic, the severity of distrust in the health care system and skepticism about vaccinations significantly increased; both the fear of infection and the controllability of the threat have become less, but fears of a recurrence of epidemics have increased. It is shown that involvement in social media increases anxiety about the consequences of the coronavirus crisis, which in turn intensifies the search for conspiracy explanations of pandemic. Conclusions. Low social trust and the experience of an uncontrollable threat increase the suscepti- bility of social media users to belief in conspiracy theories of the origin of the pandemic.

Researching the psychological causes of legal nihilism in young people is urgent nowadays due to the considerable negative effect which this problem has on the society. Previous studies of psychological causes of legal nihilism often didn't take into account contemporary theoretical approaches (such as Moral Foundations Theory by J. Haidt) and relied on tools with unknown psychometric characteristics. The current research checked the hypothesis of values-related and moral foundations of legal nihilism in young people. Values were diagnosed with PVQ-R2 Questionnaire (S.Schwartz et al.), moral sphere - with Moral Foundations Questionnaire MFQ-Ru (O.A.Sychev et al.). In order to diagnose legal nihilism, a questionnaire was made which includes two scales characterizing disbelief in the law either as a generalized attitude (ideological legal nihilism) or disbelief in the law enforcement system as a result of enforcement practices (pragmatic legal nihilism). By the use of the confirmatory factor analysis it was shown that the separation of these constructs within the structure of legal nihilism (despite their strong correlation) was justified. Based on a sample of 283 students we established that legal nihilism in its different aspects is supported by the values of openness to changes, including independence of thought and conduct, hedonism and seeking stimulation, whereas it is opposed by the conservative values, including safety, tradition and conformism. Using structured linear modeling it was shown that belief in the rule of law is supported by autonomy ethics whereas trust in the law enforcement system is supported by community ethics. The results refine the conclusions previously drawn about the relationship between legal nihilism and values and add to the idea about morals as the basis of legal consciousness.

Objectives. The aim was to study the relationship between moral foundations and intention of voting on the presidential elections in Russia. Background. Voting in political elections is important for consensus of society but a large proportion of voters don’t vote that may depend on psychological characteristics among other factors. There is a growing interest in the world in the moral factors of political preferences and voter turnout due to the elaboration of moral foundations theory. However, the relation between moral sphere and intention to vote as well as possible mediators of this relation remains understudied. Study design. The correlational design with subsequent structural equation modeling was used. The survey was conducted in 2018, 2—6 weeks before the Russian presidential elections. Participants. 126 university students at the age from 18 to 50 years old (80% are women). Measurements. To test these hypotheses we used the Moral foundations questionnaire (by J. Graham et al.), the questionnaire of political engagement elaborated for this research and the questionnaire about intention to vote and some socio-demographic variables. Results. The structural equation modeling showed that binding moral foundations were associated with interest to politics which in turn predicted the intention to vote. We also confirmed the known from the previous researches trend to less intention of voting in youth. Using path analysis we found out that less intention of voting in younger voters was due to their less loyalty and weak interest to politics. Conclusions. The intention of voting on the presidential elections depends on the political engagement related with the binding moral foundations.

The difference in moral foundations between adults living in Western or Eastern countries is well-known, but there is lack of evidence about such difference in adolescence. We tested the hypothesis about cultural differences of moral foundations in Mongolian, Russian and German adolescents. As the methodology of the study we used Moral Foundations Theory describing five basic dimensions of moral domain including Harm/Care, Fair- ness/Reciprocity, Ingroup/Loyalty, Authority/Respect, and Purity/Sanctity. The sample comprised 446 Mon- golian, 450 Russian and 117 German adolescents at the age of 12…16 years old. We used three versions of Moral Foundations Questionnaire in different languages. The results of statistical analysis showed that general analy- sis, based on relations between scales, was acceptable. The replication of factor structure was low. It was revealed that Mongolian adolescents had most conservative moral foundations. Moral foundations of Russian adolescents from Altai Republic were quite close to Mongolian ones, while German adolescents showed much more «progressive» moral foundations which were typical for western societies.