Peculiarities of Motivation to Pursue a Career in Psychology among the Cadets of Higher Educational Institutions of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs

Introduction. The results of the empirical study of features of law enforcement students’ motivation to the career of a psychologist within the Ministry of Internal Affairs system determine the most effective ways to develop professional expertise during their studies. The aim of the research is to identify and substantiate the characteristics of motivation among the students of the Ministry of Internal Affairs institutes to pursue a career as a psychologist. Materials and Methods. The study covered thirty-four cadets of the Institute of Psychology of Service of the V. Ya. Kikot' Moscow University of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs and thirty-four students of the faculty of legal psychology of Moscow State University. The authors employed the following techniques of psychodiagnostics: “Study of motivation to learning at university”, “Establishing the motive in choosing a profession”, “Study of motives to learning among psychology and pedagogy students”. Results and Discussion. The peculiarities of motivation to future activity among cadets of law enforcement institutes are as following: pursuing the profession of a psychologist, inner individual motives and external negative motives. The study has revealed a distinct focus of cadets of the Ministry of Internal Affairs institutes on mastering the profession of a psychologist, which proves their striving to acquire professional knowledge and special practical skills as well as their conscious attitude toward their future service. Conclusions. The cadets primarily focus on negative external factors in their studies and service, which indicates the intensity of a collective motive, but does not show targeting at a positive result and professional growth.