PERSONAL READINESS OF PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS OF VARIOUS SPECIALIZATIONS TO PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY

Abstract

Professional self-determination of a specialist consists of two aspects: mastering of necessary competences and professionally important qualities, and formation of his motivation, attitude, and intension to implement professional activity – all this can be collectively called personal readiness to professional activity. The first aspect has been studied in sufficient detail; the second has been developed and empirically investigated to a lesser extent. Our research is exploratory in nature and its goal is to identify the features of personal readiness for professional activity of psychology students of different specialties. We also offer an instrument to assess students’ personal readiness for professional activity. The study was conducted on the students of Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow, Russia), 50 respondents: 13 5th year students of «psychology of service activity», 11 5th year students of «psychology and pedagogy of deviant behavior», 11 3rd year students of «psychology of service activity», and 15 3rd year students of «psychology and pedagogy of deviant behavior». The average age was 21, 5 years old. In the study we used the author’s questionnaire to determine the attitude to the chosen specialty and subjective readiness to work in it in the future; semi-structured interview aimed at determining the status of identity J. Marcia. The content of the reflexive component is not connected with a course of study, and does not differ at 3 and 5 courses. In third-year students the status «moratorium» is more often combined with the attitude type «disappointed» and «seeking», the status «identity» – with the types «confident» and «hesitant». Psychologists of both specialties do not differ in the distribution of professional identity statuses. There is no specific type of attitude and identity status among graduate students of both specialties. Among the students of «psychology and pedagogy of deviant behavior» the type «hesitant» is more frequent. Among the students of «psychology of service activity» with the status of «moratorium» the type of attitude «disappointed» is more frequent. Among the students of «psychology and pedagogy of deviant behavior» with the status of «identity» types «confident», «hesitant» and «seeking» are more common.