Pasternak N.A. Individual differences related to development the ability to act “in the mind”

The study aims to identify individual differences related to the peculiarities of the development of the ability to act “in the mind”. The relevance of such work is due to the need to find resources to manage a person's behavior in difficult life situations and when faced with uncertainty. The data of psychological studies have been summarized, showing a relationship between the development of the ability to act “in the mind” and arbitrariness, conscious planning, analytical abilities, and Image-Building. An empirical study was conducted, revealing a relationship between the level of development of the ability to act “in the mind” and the level of development of rational thinking (r = 0.597; p < 0.01): subjects with a low level of development of the ability to act “in the mind” are much more likely to assess their level of rational thinking as low or medium; with a high level of development of the ability to act “in the mind” – as medium or high. It is also shown that there is a relationship between the level of development of the ability to act “in the mind” and the use of coping behavioral strategies - self-control (0.582), seeking social support (0.503), and “escape, avoidance” (0.424). This fact is associated with the possibility of identifying a preferred strategy of behavior in a difficult life situation with a sufficiently developed ability to act “in the mind”. It is also shown that with a low level of development of the ability to act “in the mind”, it is much more common to classify oneself as a group of people with a high degree of affective empathy. This fact is explained by the phenomenon of cognitive egocentrism and the development of compensatory capacity for affective empathy in this regard. It is assumed that taking into account the personality traits associated with the development of the ability to act “in the mind” will help in the process of self-determination of an older teenager, actualization of his personal resource when mastering his own behavior in a difficult life situation.

Key words: the ability to act “in the mind”, personality typology, arbitrariness, style of thinking, self-determination

For citation: Pasternak, N.A. (2024). Individual differences related to development the ability to act “in the mind”. New Psychological Research, No. 2, 100–111. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2024_04_02_05