Personal self-development of future psychologists

Statement of the problem. The article is devoted to the study of the problem of personal self-development of future psychologists. To achieve success in their professional activities, it is very important for future psychologists to know and evaluate their personal resources, focusing on the characteristics of personal self-development, so that, gaining life experience, harmoniously approach optimal states, flexibly acquire new forms in the process of development during adolescence, where the very process of self-formation is transformed into a bright and intense action, when civic maturity sets in and social roles change. Changing social roles, as a rule, occurs heterochronously, some roles are assimilated earlier, others later, therefore, an individual’s assessment of his/her resources is often incorrect. The noted specificity of personal self-development in adolescence raises the question of the need to analyze the personal self-development of future psychologists and describe its typological features for the formation and development of professional competencies. The purpose of the article is to present the results of a study on the characteristics of the personal self-development of future psychologists. The methodology of the study is based on the materials of scientific works of Russian and foreign scientists on the problem of personal self-development. The following diagnostic tools were used: the Life Style Index (LSI) technique, Lazarus coping test, the Behavior Self-Regulation Style test (V.I. Morosanova), the Meaningful Orientation test (D.A. Leontiev) the test of motivation for achieving success by T. Ehlers. Cluster analysis (single link method) was used in the analysis of empirical materials. Research results. Significant differences in the characteristics of personal self-development among students with different levels in terms of the general indicator of life meaningfulness are highlighted. Students with a low level of life-purpose orientation (LPO) have a tendency to use the mechanism of protection, i.e., “reactive formation” and “substitution”. It was revealed that in groups of students with a high level of LPO, the overall tension of psychological defenses increases by the 4th year. It has been established that the process of personal self-development among students with an average level of LPO is characterized by a weak connection between psychological defenses and coping strategies. It is noted that in all courses, future psychologists with different levels of LPO rarely use the “denial” defense mechanism. Conclusion. It is concluded that the results of the study indicate the need to develop technologies for working with psychological defenses in the educational process of future psychologists.