Abstract

In this article the authors comment and discuss the results of the expert 16 definitions of the term “competence”. The participants were 45 psychologists of higher qualification (candidates and doctors of Sciences) — members of the Internet community of psychologists on the website www.ht.ru. They judged all definitions by means of 7 different rating scales. The resulting data cube 45×16×7 was analyzed by factor and cluster analysis. It was revealed 2 significant factor reflecting the level of popularity of definitions (the first factor), as well as the proximity-distance from the pole of terminological Russian national tradition (the second factor), mainly related to the concepts of “PVK” (PIQ in English “professionally important qualities”) and “ZUN” (KAZ in English — “Knowledge Ability-Skills”). Rating of the definitions by academic specialists was appeared to be close to the national tradition and evaluation of psychologists-practitioners closer to the Western tradition. Using cluster analysis discovered 4 robust clusters: 1) the competence as an area of authority and responsibility, 2) competence is the same as “PVK”, 3) the competence as mobilization the knowledge and skills to solve a specific task, 4) competences are descriptive units (elements) of effective professional activity. The most promising and creative approach, according to the authors, is the third cluster, in which an attempt is made to search a synthesis of the domestic (based on activity theory) and Western (behavioral approach) conceptual-terminological traditions.