To the Question of the Three System Theory: Culture and Psychology. American Anthropology Experience As Applied to Orthodox Culturology

The article raises the question of the relation between culture and psychology that used to be one of the key issues in American cultural anthropology. The tendency to view an individual as culture projection that was typical for the anthropology in the first half of the 20th century, did not find empirical confirmation. In the following years there appeared the “two system” theory within the framework of which the psychological and cultural phenomena exist as two independent sets. In the end of the 20th century there emerged again the tendency to overcome the barrier between culture and psychology. In the article the author analyzes the new attempts to establish the connection between the cultural and psychological issues in their interaction within the framework of the allied subjects, – psychological anthropology, cognitive anthropology and cultural psychology. The author suggests her own approach to the problem of culture and psychology based on the Orthodox doctrine of the composition of man.

Psychological anthropology and medical anthropology: a brief history of ideas and concepts

This paper sets out to briefly explore the definitions of two interrelated subfields of cultural anthropology; psychological anthropology and medical anthropology. This exploration will argue that culture and the individual are intimately intertwined. The theoretical evolution within psychological anthropology will be presented, from the bio-moral classifications of the ‘primitive’ to modern ‘experience near’ ethnographies, and fluid understanding of personhood. Theoretical and methodological approaches to mental health will be discussed briefly. Finally, the conclusion will ask the question: what is the future for medical and psychological anthropology?

Culture, politics and being more equal than others in COVID-19: some psychological anthropology perspectives

The COVID-19 pandemic changed how we view the world, human behaviour, and societal structures and institutions. The emerging subdiscipline of psychological anthropology is well placed to provide a perspective on the way individuals and communities are affected by and respond to the pandemic, as well as the fallout from government responses and prevention strategies. Moreover, this viewpoint enables insights into the workings of societal structures and agents of power in the context of a health crisis that is worsened by poverty, inequality, and structural violence. How communities respond and adapt to the ‘new normal’ are critical to holding governing structures accountable in situations where poor leadership, mismanagement, and unethical behaviour have been evident.

PSYCHOLOGICAL COMPONENT OF HEALTH-SAVING COMPETENCE OF FUTURE TEACHERS: RESEARCH RESULTS

The article is devoted to the problems of psychological and pedagogical training. The urgency of the problem is due to lack of knowledge in society about effective mechanisms for maintaining, strengthening and restoring mental health in conditions of constant physical and intellectual overload, stress, social unrest, as evidenced by numerous facts of nervous breakdowns and psychosomatic diseases. The article highlights the quantitative and qualitative results of an empirical study of the psychological component of health competence in future teachers according to certain criteria - cognitive, motivational-value, activity and reflexive. The indicators of each of these criteria are described, as well as the used diagnostic tools for their study are described. It was found that the respondents do not have a high enough level of formation of the psychological component of health competence according to cognitive and reflexive criteria, which indicates the need for intensive work on the formation of deep knowledge of future teachers on the essence of "mental health" and ability to reflect in order to preserve and strengthen their own mental health and the health of children. Based on these results, the main ways and prospects for improving the level of formation of the psychological component of health competence of students on cognitive and reflexive criteria in the process of studying the course "Psychological Anthropology" were identified.