Soviet Psychology and Psychiatry

ISSN: 0584-5610 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/mrpo18

Glossary of Terms Frequently Encountered in

Soviet Psychology

Douglas Bowden & Michael Cole

To cite this article: Douglas Bowden & Michael Cole (1966) Glossary of Terms Frequently
Encountered in Soviet Psychology, Soviet Psychology and Psychiatry, 4:3-4, 10-15

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.2753/RPO1061-040504030410

Published online: 20 Dec 2014.

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 Glossary of Terms Frequently Encountered
in Soviet Psychology

Douglas Bowden (Jacobi Hospital, Bronx, N. Y.)

and
Michael Cole (Department of Psychology, Yale University)

Numerous t e r m s a r e used in Soviet psychology, the direct translation of which may be misleading to
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American psychologists because they a r e habitually used in a different sense from that familiar to Western
psychology. For example, righteous indignation has been vented by Western psychologists over the "Rus-
sian preoccupationn with interpreting all behavior in t e r m s of Pavlovian reflexes. To the Russian psychol-
ogist, the word refleks is no more a specific t e r m than the word "response" i s to an American psychologist.
Its use does not imply the classical Pavlovian conditioning paradigm. Since interpreters a r e not necessar-
ily aware that the cognates a r e not synonymous, it i s worthwhile for any Western psychologist to become
aware of the most common and easy sources of terminological confusion. The following i s a glossary of
t e r m s which a r e so familiar to the Russian psychologist that he will seldom stop to explain them. Most of
them a r e cognates. Some a r e synonymous with their usual English translations; many a r e not.

ACADEMIC DEGREES [akademicheskie stepeni]

The sequence of academic degrees awarded in Soviet universities and institutes i s DIPLOMA, CAN-
DIDATE'S DEGREE, and DOCTOR'S DEGREE. The term STUDENT r e f e r s only to a person working to-
ward his diploma (equivalent of American BA o r BS). A person working toward his candidate's degree (a
graduate student in our terminology) is called an ASPIRANT; a person working toward his doctorate i s
called a CANDIDATE. It takes two to three y e a r s after university to become a candidate and another eight,
ten, o r more years to become a DOCTOR. The candidate's degree is often translated a s Ph.D. and is prob-
ably equivalent to it.

ACCEPTOR OF ACTION (EFFECT) [aktzeptor deystviya]

A mechanism postulated by P. K. Anokhin which compares the incoming afferent stimulation result-
ing from action on the environment with a previously established internal model o r expectation of the r e -
sults of such action. I£ these patterns of stimulation coincide, the organism 'accepts the effect* of its r e -
sponse, otherwise it rejects the effect and orienting behavior results. Comparable to Ye. N. Sokolov's
concept of the neural model of a stimulus, except that acceptor of action r e f e r s to a special c l a s s of envi-
- changes produced by the organism's own behavior.
ronmental changes, viz,

ANALYZER [analizator]
Classically consists of: (1) a sense organ, (2) a pathway, and (3) a cortical sensory area. More gen-
erally used synonymously with the English t e r m 'system," i.e., in addition to such t e r m s a s auditory ana-
lyzer and visual analyzer one often runs into the term motor analyzer, referring to the motor system.
Furthermore, it i s noteworthy that the function of an analyzer i s not limited to analysis of incoming stim-
uli. Synthesis (integration) of diverse impulses into meaningful patterns i s also considered an important
function of the analyzers.

CONCENTRATION [ k o n t ~ e n t r a t z i ~ a ]
With repeated exercise of a CR the cortical site excited by the CS becomes more and more circum-
scribed. Concentration i s this hypothetical physiological process which i s used to explain sensory discrim-
ination and motor precision (Pavlovian school).
 VOL. IV, NO. 3-4 11
CONSCIOUSNESS [soznanie]
The highest form of psychic activity. The definition a s used in Soviet psychology i s drawn directly
from Marxist-Leninist philosophy, according to which consciousness i s a socially conditioned reflection of
reality. (See Psikhika.) Communal labor is considered to have resulted in the development of language
and consciousness. This psychic function originated with the emergence of human society and develops to
ever higher stages a s society progresses.

CYBERNETICS [kibernetika]
Defined in a recent Soviet handbook a s 'the science of control mechanisms and of the transmission
and processing of information which they entail." In common parlance, however, cybernetics has taken on
a much broader meaning: it has become almost synonymous with a new look in Soviet biosciences. Thus
it i s associated with fields which in the U.S. would be referred to a s mathematical modeling, biostatistics,
and biophysics, a s well a s to computer simulation of physiological processes and computerization of data
reduction. In this broader sense it means roughly mathematization and computerization in the biosciences.
(It should be noted that in Soviet mathematics and physics the term is used more consistently a s originally
defined by Wiener.)
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DEFECTOLOGY [defektologiya]
A very general term referring to the study of any form of behavioral or physiological deficit. At the
Institute of Defectology in Moscow studies of perception, cognition, etc., a r e performed on children whose
abnormalities range from blindness to schizophrenia.

DIALECTICAL MATERIALISM [ d i a l e k t i ~ h e s k materializm;

i~ diamat]
As applied to psychology, dialectical materialism is said to imply: (1) materialist monism (mind i s
a property of the brain), (2) determinism, (3') reflection (consciousness i s a reflection of the external
world), (4) the unity of consciousness and activity (consciousness a s formed in and identified with the ac-
tivity of the individual), (5) historicism (consciousness has developed out of human history), and (6) the
unity of theory and practice (psychological theory i s relevant only within the context of practical applica-
tion).

DOMINANT [dominant]
A concept introduced by A.A. Ukhtomskiy to explain the focus of attention. At any moment of time
there i s said to exist in the cortex a focus of heightened excitation which dominates the rest of the cortex.
The creation of this dominant blocks irrelevant stimuli which thus do not distract the organism from the
task at hand (see "law of reciprocal induction").

DYNAMIC STEREOTYPE [dinamicheskiy stereotip]

A system of conditioned reflexes reinforced numerous times in the same sequence or combination
so that they come to be performed smoothly. The dynamic stereotype is considered the physiological basis
of complex skills in study, sports, work, etc. Disruption of a dynamic stereotype by frequent alteration
of stimulus sequences or reinforcement contingencies can produce neurotic behavior patterns (Pavlovian
school).

EXTRAPOLATION REFLEXES [ekstrapolyatzionnye refleksy]

A term used by L.V. Krushinskiy to denote the perception of a changing situation whereby an organism
i s able to foresee the further development of an ~ n - ~ o Gocess
i n ~ and behave accordingly. The prototype
experiment i s a s follows: two barriers a r e arranged in a straight line with their ends about 40 cm. apart
with two food bowls in the center of the space. The animal observes a s food is placed in one bowl and the
bowls pulled in opposite directions behind the barriers. Its task is to 'extrapolate" o r foresee where the
food will reappear on the basis of which bowl the food was in and in what direction the dish moved. Various
species differ markedly in the complexity of extrapolations which they a r e able to perform.

FACULTY [fakul'tet] (See University.)

FEEDBACK [obralnaya svyaz']

Comparable to the English term feedback. (See Reverse afferentation.)
 12 SOVIET PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY
FIRST SIGNAL SYSTEM [ pervaya signal'naya sistemal
System of conditioned reflexes to non-language stimuli; includes both somatic and visceral reflexes;
i s common to animals and man; in man it i s very intimately related to the second signal system (Pavlovian
school).

HIGHER NERVOUS ACTIVITY [ vysshaya nervnaya deyatel'nost'l

This term i s now synonymous with "Pavlovian physiological psychology." It was coined by Pavlov to
designate the study of ps~chologicalphenomena by the conditioned reflex method: "The activity of the cortex
and higher parts of the subcortex, i.e., activity which maintains the complex relations of the whole orga-
nism to the external world, may rightly be called (in place of the earlier term 'psychological') higher ner-
vous activity."

INSTITUTE [ institutl
Administered by an Academy o r Ministry, e.g., Academy of Sciences o r Ministry of Health. Most in-
stitutes a r e committed primarily to research. Some take graduate students (aspirants) and offer a limited
number of graduate degrees. The medical institutes a r e heavily committed to teaching a s well a s to re-
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search; they train students for the undergraduate degree (diploma) as well as for higher degrees. (See
Academicdegrees.) (There a r e no medical faculties associated with the universities; all medical teaching
i s done in medical institutes.)

INTEROCEPTIVE/EXTEROCEPTIVE AFFERENTATION [ interotzeptivnaya/eksterotzeptivnaya afferenta-

tziya]
Refers to neural impulses reaching the cortex from the sensory receptors of internal organs (intero-
ceptive) o r from the external environment (exteroceptive). Soviet psychophysiologists have shown that ei-
ther s o r t of afferent signal may be used to establish a conditioned reflex. The establishment of the func-
tional interrelation between the cortex and the viscera i s an important field in Pavlovian physiology - a
field which has led to considerable, purely neurophysiological, research. Important names in the field a r e
V.N. Chernignovskiy, K.M. Bykov, and G.Sh. Ayrapetyantz.

IRRADIATION [irradiatziyal
When a cortical locus of excitation o r inhibition develops it tends to spread also to neighboring c o r -
tical areas. Irradiation i s a hypothetical physiological process devised to explain the behavioral phenomena
of stimulus and response generalization (Pavlovian school).

KAFEDRA [kafedral (See University.)

LABORATORY [laboratoriya]
Refers to a large research unit headed usually by an older man of professorial status with several
post-doctoral scientists under him. Russians a r e frequently puzzled by a young American visitor who
claims that he has his own Ulab."

LAW O F RECIPROCAL INDUCTION [ zakon vzaimnoy induktziil

Whenever a cortical a r e a of excitation develops it tends to inhibit other a r e a s ; conversely, any area
of inhibition tends to excite other areas. The law of reciprocal induction i s a physiological principle pos-
tulated to account f o r such phenomena a s concentration of attention (Pavlovian school).

NEURAL MODEL O F THE STIMULUS [nervnaya model' stirnula]

The term used by Ye.N. Sokolov to designate the hypothetical mechanism underlying the orienting r e -
flex. The neural model i s a dynamic system built up during a period of repetitive stimulation (habituation).
Incoming stimuli a r e compared with the neural model and the orienting reflex is triggered by failure of the
two to coincide.

ORIENTING-INVESTIGATORY REFLEX [orientirovochnyy-issledovatel'skiy refleks]

Classically the response of an organism to any change in environment. It consists of directing the
organs of sense toward the new stimulus which in turn is thought to produce increased excitation at a sen-
sory cortical site which can then be related to a motor cortical site to form a conditioned response. More
recently defined a s any response of an organism to novelty. Studied in greatest detail by Ye.N. Sokolov
 VOL. N, .NO. 3-4 13
who regards the orienting reflex as the response t o a mismatch between the stimulus pattern impinging on
the organism and the organism's "neural model" of the environment.

PEDAGOGICAL SCIENCES [pedagogicheskia nauki]

The Academy of Pedagogical Sciences administers institutes engaged in educational research. P r o -
jects range from experimentation with various techniques of instructing the deaf to statistical studies of
the training qualifications met by people holding various professional positions. In the USSR educational
psychology i s much closer to the mainstream of psychological investigation than in the U.S.

PSYCHONEURAL ACTNITY [psikhonervnaya deyatel'nost']

A term coined by I. S. Beritashvilli (or Beritov) to describe the behavior of animals trained in what
we would term an instrumental, place learning situation. Beritov believes that the animal forms an image
of each situation by which it guides its future behavior. This theory, f i r s t formulated in the 19209s,is simi-
l a r to Tolman's notion of 'cognitive maps."

PSIKHIKA
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The Soviet Pedagogical Dictionary [Pedagogicheskiy Slovar'] (Moscow: Akad. Pedag. Nauk, 1960) de-
fines psikhika a s a 'special attribute of highly organized matter, consisting in the reflection of objective
reality in the form of sensations, ideas, thoughts, feelings, voluntary actions, and the like." (See Con-
sciousness.) [The noun psikhika, and i t s adjective psikhicheskiy, while etymologically clearly related to
the English 'psychewand 'psychic," a r e translated in this journal a s 'mindn and 'mental" (occasionally
Upsychologicaln). The latter seem to correspond more to the current Soviet usage of the terms, and avoid
the archaic and ESP connotations of the former to American readers. The Russian and umstvennyy,
sometimes translated a s "mind" and 'mental," a r e generally best rendered a s 'intellect" and 'intellec-
tual." - Editor.]

PSYCHOLOGY psikhologiya]
The science of the psyche (mind) a s a function of the brain reflecting objective reality. (See Psyche.)
The word psychology has a much narrower meaning in Russian science than in English. In Soviet institu-
tions the department of psychology is a section within the faculty of philosophy. Much of the research done
in the name of psychology would be classified in the West a s experimental psychology, cognitive studies,
o r educational psychology. The major category omitted from the Russian concept i s physiological psychol-
ogy which in the Soviet Union is referred to a s the physiology of higher nervous activity o r neurophysiology.
Studies in the latter a r e a s a r e carried out in the faculty of biology. [Much of what we call clinical psychol-
ogy is also omitted, defined a s psychiatry o r experimental psychopathology in the USSR. - Editor.]

REFLECTION [otraz henie]

A concept which evolved from Lenin's philosophical arguments with the positivists. Lenin wrote
that 'objects exist apart from us. Our perceptions and ideas a r e images of these objects." This idea has
been made a basic axiom of Soviet psychophysics: 'The reflection of reality by the human brain in the form
of various psychic phenomena constitutes the subjective world of man."

REFLEX [refleks]
Used in Soviet psychology in a sense no l e s s general than the term "response" in English. Reflex
was originally used by Pavlov to refer to the organism's total response to a stimulus. Western psycholo-
gists have seen fit to restrict its use to narrowly defined responses in the classical conditioning paradigm.
In the Russian literature, however, responses a r e referred to as reflexes whether they be produced by
classical conditioning o r instrumental conditioning. This distinction i s sometimes made by referring to
'involuntary reflexesn vs. "voluntary reflexes" (Kupalov).

REVERSE AFFERENTATION [obratnaya afferentatziyal

Used in Soviet physiology a s an equivalent to the English term "feedback." It i s often used in expla-
nations of the development of coordinated responses where afferent impulses from the muscles play a
role in the regulation of the extent of muscular activity. Anokhin refers to this a s the 'fourth link" in the
classical Cartesian reflex arc.

SECOND SIGNAL SYSTEM [vtoraya signal'naya sistemal

System of conditioned reflexes to verbal stimuli; a set of reflexes specific to man and distinguished
 14 SOVIET PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY

from the f i r s t signal system because the rules of interaction of reflexes to verbal stimuli differ from the
rules of interaction of reflexes to nonverbal stimuli, viz., abstraction and generalization come into play.
Because it i s seen a s the link between Pavlovian p h y s x o g y and materialist psychology this concept has
been very prominent in recent years. Particularly well known i s the work of A.R. Luriya on the role of
speech in the development of human behavior.

SET [ustanovka]
Readiness to perceive an object in a certain way which is a function of immediately preceding per-
ceptions. This concept i s similar to the Gestalt notion of "determining tendency" o r "set." The theory of
set i s the basis for a whole school of Georgian psychology beginning with D.N. Uznadze and continuing with
the work of his students, among whom A.S. Prangishvili and R.G. Natadze a r e prominent.

SOCIAL SCIENCES [obshchestvennye nauki]

In Marxist-Leninist ideology the social sciences include all of the study a r e a s associated with that
term in the West plus a number of a r e a s which a Westerner would consider in the category "humanities."
In addition to economics, anthropology, social psychology, etc., Soviet social sciences include history, lit-
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e r a r y criticism, law, ethics, esthetics, and Marxist-Leninist philosophy (including psychology). It i s an

ideological concept; there a r e no institutes of social sciences.

SWITCHING [pereklyuchenie]
When a given CS i s paired with different UCS's in different environmental contexts it comes to elicit
different CR's depending upon the context. In Pavlovian theory switching i s conceived of a s the physiolog-
ical process whereby excitation induced by the CS i s channelled to the cortical a r e a corresponding to the
appropriate UCS and CR. Ukhtomskiy and Asratyan a r e among investigators who have studied this phenom-
enon in depth.

SYSTEMNESS (SYSTEMATISM) [sisternnost']

The term used by Pavlov to express the idea that all the neural points in the brain a r e interrelated
s o that any influence on one part of the brain has an effect (to greater o r l e s s e r extent) on all other parts
of the brain. Systernness also applies to conditioned reflexes which a r e interrelated with one another. (See
F i r s t and second signalling systems and Reflex.)

TEMPERAMENT [temperament1
One of the determinants of personality. (Other determinants of the same order include demands, in-
terests, and capacities.') Pavlov distinguished four different temperaments drawn from Greek tradition.
(See Typology of higher nervous activity.) Temperament i s considered to be determined by both genetic
and environmental factors.

TEMPORARY CONNECTION [vremennaya svyaz']

Hypothetical connection between two a r e a s of excited cortex, one representing the unconditioned stim-
ulus, the-other representing the conditioned stimulus. Excitation tends toilow f r o m the former to the latter
until, with multiple pairings, a new pathway i s formed, a temporary connection which disappears gradually
when the conditioned stimulus i s presented many times alone (extinction). The t e r m i s often used synony-
mously with "conditioned reflex."

TYPOLOGY OF HIGHER NERVOUS ACTIVITY [tipologiya]

There are, according to Pavlov, four types of temperament which correspond to four TYPES of ner-
vous system. The type of nervous system i s determined in a given individual by the degree to which three
- STRENGTH, BALANCE, and MOBILITY.
properties of nervous activity a r e present o r absent, viz.,

type of type of properties of nervous processes

temperament nervous system strength balance mobility

choleric impulsive strong unbalanced

sanguine active strong balanced mobile
phlegmatic tranquil strong balanced inert
melancholy weak weak
 VOL. IV, NO. 3-4 15
A second typology often confused with the Pavlovian typology was developed by Ivanov-Smolenskiy. This
also consists of four types: labile, inert, excitable, and inhibitory, which a r e operationally defined in t e r m s
of the rapidity of formation of positive and inhibitory reflexes. o or
a fuller discussion see the article by
Teplov and Nebylitzyn in this issue. - ~ditor.]

UNIVERSITY [universitet]
Administratively subordinate to the Ministry of Higher Education, a university i s divided into FACUL-
TIES (roughly equivalent to uschools") of which the Philosophy and Biology Faculties a r e two. Each fac-
ulty has i t s own dean and i s divided into KAFEDRAS. Kafedra i s often translated "chair," although it prob-
ably corresponds more to the "department" in American universities. [ ~ a f e d r ai s translated a s "Depart-
ment" in this journal. - ~ d i t o r ]The kafedra i s headed by a CHIEF and may have several professors,
each head of his own laboratory with a staff of two to a dozen SCIENTIFIC WORKERS. The term "scien-
tific worker" is used to include personnel from the level of aspirant upward, and is a common basis of de-
scribing the size of a laboratory o r institute.
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