SPECIFICS OF PSYCHOLOGY STUDENTS ATTITUDES TOWARD THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The COVID-19 pandemic has completely changed the lives of all people on the planet. It contributed to the digitalization of everyday life, which affected the work of the adult generation and the studies of schoolchildren and students, as well as even leisure activities. The profession of a psychologist involves a wide range of communications, what under the circumstances impels to use online services in their work. The study involved 60 respondents aged 18 to 22 years. Among them were students of the Faculty of Preschool Pedagogy and Psychology of the Moscow State Pedagogical University. A new questionnaire was used with standard answers within the Leuckart scale about attitudes towards the COVID-19 pandemic, communication during a pandemic, and distance learning. Psychology students demonstrated a high readiness to switch to a remote format of study and work, if necessary. The results of the study confirmed that the majority of psychology students have a responsible attitude towards the COVID-19 pandemic. It may be due to the fact that they are studying at a pedagogical university and they are influenced by the professional environment. Only a third of the respondents show nihilistic views regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, it was shown that there is a direct relationship between the nature of the attitude towards the pandemic and the willingness to switch to distance learning. Students who have demonstrated a responsible attitude towards the pandemic also have a positive attitude towards distance learning. On the contrary, students who had a nihilistic attitude towards the disease, respectively, show a negative attitude towards online learning. That was probably because the respondents who showed a responsible attitude to the COVID-19 pandemic turned out to be more adaptive and able to gain positive experience from a stressful life situation.