Russian companies with state participation lack transparency.

A new study by HSE researchers has uncovered a new brain mechanism that generates cognitive dissonance – a mental discomfort experienced by a person who simultaneously holds two or more contradictory beliefs or values, or experiences difficulties in making decisions. The results of the study have been published in the paper ‘Open Access Neural Mechanisms of Cognitive Dissonance (Revised): an EEG Study’in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Most CEOs of Russian credit institutions hold two degrees, have spent at least ten years working in the banking sector, and do not have international work experience, according to HSE researchers.

A comparative cross-cultural study conducted by the HSE International Laboratory of Positive Psychology of Personality and Motivation has found that Russians tend to be as open with their friends as Americans, but unlike Americans, Russians prefer to hide their happiness when talking to strangers or government officials.

Postgraduate courses should be of interest not only to future professors, but also to those who choose business or employment outside academia.

According to HSE researchers, men with a high 2D:4D ratio (i.e. those whose index finger is longer than their ring finger) tend to be better educated. These findings are presented in the paper «2D: 4D and lifetime educational outcomes: Evidence from the Russian RLMS survey» in Personality and Individual Differences.

According to Glasgow and HSE/Northumbria researchers, repetition of non-verbs as well as verbs can boost the effect of syntactic priming, i.e. the likelihood of people reproducing the structure of the utterance they have just heard.

Europeans tend to be tolerant towards immigrants of their own ethnicity, but not always willing to live next to ethnic outsiders.

Several studies have indicated that schizophrenic patients are likely to show high levels of nicotine dependence. Scientists from Higher School of Economics (HSE), Institut Pasteur, the CNRS, Inserm and the ENS employed a mouse model to elucidate how nicotine influences cells in the prefrontal cortex. They visualized how nicotine has a direct impact on the restoration of normal activity in nerve cells (neurons) involved in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia. These findings were published in a paper that appeared in the journal Nature Medicine.

The 1917 October Socialist Revolution evokes a dual symbolism in the minds of young Russians.

Researchers from the Higher School of Economics (HSE) have developed a novel system for assessing the potential of renewable energy resources. This method can help to assess the future exploitable technical potential of wind and solar PV energy, as well as their capacity to replace exiting generation assets. Furthermore, it can forecast fossil fuel savings and facilitate reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Their research has been published in journal Energy: “Wind and Solar PV Technical Potentials: Measurement Methodology and Assessments for Russia”.

A Russian translation of Christian Welzel's Freedom Rising has been released.