The new issue of “Social Psychology and Society” (No. 2, 2026) opens with an editorial by the journal's Editor-in-Chief, Doctor of Science (Psychology), Professor N.N. Tolstykh, entitled “Social Psychology: the 21st Century Has Begun”. The article reviews papers published in the journal over the past decade, demonstrating how their topics reflect the major trends in the development of contemporary society.
The current issue further confirms this conclusion.
Most of the articles in the “Theoretical Research” section address one of today's most pressing issues—digitalization. M.Yu. Popov presents an integrative model of the impact of online risks on adolescent mental health in convergent reality. E.N. Volkova offers a theoretical interpretation of adolescents' communication with chatbots as a new socio-psychological phenomenon, while Ya.P. Zverovskaya and O.B. Krushelnitskaya examine the socio-psychological mechanisms underlying the formation of young people's professional identity in the context of the digitalization of labor.
Another article in this section focuses on professional self-determination. E.Yu. Litvinova, A.V. Pogodina, M.A. Kharchenko, and E.V. Khramov analyze and systematize psychological approaches to the phenomenon of career change developed in Russian and international research.
Digitalization is also explored in the “Empirical Research” section. V.I. Pishchik and D.V. Satalkin investigate decision-making by representatives of Generations Y and Z in a digital environment, while E.A. Sorokoumova, A.Yu. Kochneva, and E.I. Cherdymova examine leadership functions in the negotiation process in the context of the introduction of artificial intelligence technology.
The topic of leadership is further explored by O.A. Samolyanov and colleagues, who investigate civil servants' perceptions of the qualities of a human-centric leader and their role in unlocking employees' potential.
A.A. Gudzovskaya presents an experimental study of the dynamics of group identification under conditions of group success and failure, as well as the influence of the basic type of social identity on these dynamics.
T.O. Gordeeva, O.A. Sychev, and E.V. Dvorskaya address the question of why adolescents from intact families report greater life satisfaction than their peers from single-parent and blended families.
The “Methodological Tools” section includes two articles. M.A. Odintsova, N.P. Radchikova, E.M. Semyonova, and L.A. Komin present the “Short Version of the Family Resilience Assessment Scale (FRAS20-RIIA) for Adolescents Aged 13–18”, while T.Yu. Bazarov and A.F. Gasimov introduce the newly developed “Method for Assessing the Quality of Personality Responsiveness (SOKOL)”.
In the “Critique and Bibliography” section, E.P. Belinskaya reviews the book by E. Illouz and E. Cabanas, “Manufacturing Happy Citizens: How the Science and Industry of Happiness Control Our Lives” (Moscow: AST Publishers, 2023. 352 p.).
The “Scientific Life” section features a report by P.A. Babanin and S.A. Nikulin on the annual conference in memory of M.Yu. Kondratyev, "Social Psychology: Theory and Practice”, held on May 14–15, 2026, at Moscow State University of Psychology and Education.
Listen to episodes of the PsyJournals LIVE podcast, where the authors discuss their research:
Dmitry Vladimirovich Saltalkin on the specifics of decision-making based on Y and Z characteristics in a digital environment
Elena Vladimirovna Dvorskaya on the role of family in children's well-being
Anastasia Yuryevna Kochneva on the use of artificial intelligence in the negotiation process
Maria Antonovna Odintsova on the "Short Version of the Family Reliability Assessment Scale (FRAS20-RIIA)" methodology for adolescents aged 13-18
Anton Faritovich Gasimov on the "Method for Assessing the Quality of Personality Responsiveness (SOKOL)" methodology
Enjoy reading!