Abstract: The article is devoted to the problem of strengthening the psychological health of young people in a crisis-transformational situation of the development of society. The purpose of the study was to identify particularly serious sociocultural deformations that negatively affect the psychological status of modern Russian youth. The subject of the research is the psychological health as a phenomenon of the institutional and mental integrity of society. With regard to the development of youth, this phenomenon was considered as an effect and result of its productive socialization, the formation of an adequate picture of the world, positive self-awareness and constructive patterns of life activity. The scientific reflection of the problem is made on the basis of the methodology of sociocultural determination of the psychological development of a person and social groups. The analysis of research and approaches in the field of health psychology is presented. The leading tendencies of deformation of the pisosphere and youth consciousness are shown. The basic levels of identification of sociocultural challenges to the health of the young generation are described: geo-cultural, historical-formational, sociopolitical, political-economic, sociological, psychological. The novelty of the work is caused by the author's conceptual transition from the egocentric paradigm of understanding psychological well-being and health to a culture-centric paradigm based on the life-activity plan of the individual as a full-fledged subject. The obtained results can serve as an important theoretical tool for the analysis of cultural-genetic factors of the psychological health of young people and the development of comprehensive measures to strengthen and maintain it under modern conditions. 

Keywords: information addiction, consumer society, full-fledged subject, self-realization, deformation of the psychosphere, egocentric dominant, youth, psychological health, devaluation of values, socio-cultural challenges

Abstract: The object of research is such psychological categories as aptitudes, gifts and talent. The matter under study is their influence on university educational process. Particular author’s attention is paid to the possibility of assessing and measuring aptitudes as well as their realization in human activity, which includes studies. High importance is given to the problem of developing aptitudes at university both by means of in-class and out-of-class activities The method of research in this article is analysis and comparison of interpretations of the given psychological phenomena as well as own experience of working with students, namely observation and talking to them. The principal author’s conclusions are the following statements. 1) Aptitudes are a potential condition for forming individual’s knowledge and skills. 2) Aptitudes do not guarantee success as they must be realized in activity. 3) Assessing aptitudes is difficult as they do not imply a result, but an opportunity to achieve it under certain conditions. 4) Developing aptitudes is one of the objectives of higher education. The principal factors here are students’ interests, their motivation, methods and approaches to teaching and its organization.The novelty of the article consists in its applying the question of aptitudes, gifts and talent to the aspects of university education process. With its help not only aspects of teaching are revealed but difficulties as well especially in motivating students for studies.

Keywords: knowledge, teacher, discipline, institute, interest, motivation, talent, gifts, aptitudes, activity

Abstract: In article the role of magic thinking in mental development of the child is analyzed. Questions are considered: Whether children believe in magic or only play it? Whether interest in magic is so strong, as well as interest in the new physical phenomena? Whether it is possible to use magic thinking for acquisition by children of useful cognitive skills, or it is suitable only for entertainment? Researches showed that children of preschool and early school age really believe in reality of the magic. Preschool children and younger school students show much stronger interest in research of magic events, than in research of the new physical phenomena. Experiments confirmed the assumption that display of movies with impossible events and beings stimulates some informative functions of children (such as visual comparison and creative thinking) in much bigger degree, than display of the movie with equally interesting, but possible events and beings. At last, it was shown that inclusion of trade brands in a context of the impossible promotes the subsequent recognition of brands in much bigger degree, than inclusion of similar brands a context of equally interesting possible events. Prospects of use of magic thinking in school practice are discussed. Novelty: (1) The role of children's magic thinking in acquisition by children of knowledge and useful cognitive skills is for the first time considered; (2) The analysis of a problem about a ratio of children's magic thinking and training in scientific subjects is new; (3) The idea about creation of "alternative textbooks" – textbooks on physics, biology, psychology and other disciplines in which known laws of the nature wouldn't be observed is put forward, and were broken. Conclusions: (1) Involvement of children in magic thinking stimulates some informative functions of children (such as visual comparison and creative thinking) in much bigger degree, than display of the movie with equally interesting, but possible events and beings (effect "advantages impossible over possible"; (2) The effect reason "advantages impossible over possible" that the thinking about the possible involves only a narrow circle of mental functions (perception and short-term memory). On the contrary, the thinking about the impossible involves all palette of such functions (perception, memory, thinking, imagination and emotions) that provides stronger activation at the child of some useful skills; (3) Magic thinking of the child - not "false understanding of reality" and not a hindrance to scientific thinking, and the new, yet not mastered by psychology material for optimization of mental development and training.

Abstract: The author of the article presents a review of modern practical researches of children with the mental regardation (delay of the development of cognitive abilities such as attention, memory, cogitation and imagination). The author of the article makes an assumption that the delay in development can be better overcome if the delay is conditioned by the environmental but not genetic factor. The results of the research show that different researchers have manged to develop cognitive abilities of children with mental regardation, however, healthy children usually demonstrate better results after taking special classes of mental development. Therefore it is very difficult for children with mental regardation to cover the gap between them and healthy children. However, children with mental regardation demonstrate pretty good results when they take creative imagination development classes including art, musical and dancing classes. Imagination is a creative ability and creative abilities are determined genetically, too. Therefore the author recommends to develop creative abilities when working with children with mental regardation. 

Keywords: clinical psychology, abilities, cognitive processes, children, mental regardation, cogitation, memory, imagination, attention, environmental factor