Professor Klimov has turned 80!

The materials of the interview with Professor E.A. Klimov, held in 2006, are presented. Subject of conversation is the experience of the Dean of the Faculty, the impressions from lecturers, the scientific life of MSU, the comparison of Moscow State University with other universities

The article is devoted to subject-activity concept of professional labour (worked out by E.A. Klimov). The concept is regarded as a theoretical and methodological basis providing a scientific strategy for solving various applied problems daimed at establishing a mutual correspondence of a person and a profession.

Temporal form of multiple processes is synthesized in subject consciousness, it is a complicated, multidimensional and dynamic. А person relies not only on the structure of experience to achieve synchronization of action with the processes in the surrounding world, but also on anticipation, making maximum use of available information, combined with traces of memory. The basis of theoretical concepts of author is formed by the research work with people controlling vehicles.

The Author discusses the subject, main problems, the social status of psychology of labour, engineering psychology and ergonomics, a parity of these directions of the Russian science in the second half of the ХХ—the beginning of the XXIst century.

The preconditions of Individual Style of Activity (ISA) problem formation as well as it’s history of study in psychology of this country are examined. Essential characteristics of ISA conception (suggested by E.A. Klimov) and the peculiarities of different approaches to the study of the phenomenon in 1950—2000 are emphasized. Promising directions for future research are determined.

The author of the article compares a play and creative work as forms of a personality-forming interaction between a child and an adult and shows that a child personality development depends on social position of adults.

The article explains the continuity of domestic proforientational methods, DDQ and «Proforientator». The authors described the scientific and organiziational contributions, made by Professor E.A. Klimov in the development of modern proforientational diagnostic methods. The reader of this article can find the illustration of his contributions to the history of emergence of a computerized test «Proforientator» and the logic of its revising. The authors focus on the block «interests» and secondary scales of modern test in the areas of targeted learning. Analysis of massive empirical material using expert assessment and mathematical statistics, allowed to reasonably prove validity of schoolchildren’ test results with the help of the «Proforientator» test real career, with a precision of up to six areas of targeted learning. Also it was given attention to deal with individual bright cases involving real failed choices of higher education and specialty. The materials described the theoretical basis of domestic proforientational approach, which have been tested in practice.

Article presents results of the research carried out by the author on the basis of student’s works, executed within the special course “The psychology of personality self-determination” at faculty of psychology of the M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University. The consistant interest to professional activity became a subject of the given research. The methods of building up the professional self-consciousness is proposed.

The empirical study of self-regulation means was conducted in employees with different levels of professional experience. The relevance of the study is based on the necessity of scientific data storage concerning human functional state regulation mechanisms. The aim — to reveal main job and organizational factors accepted by employees as the main causes of negative functional states dynamics, to describe the system of self-regulation means and to estimate how typical means correspond to organizational requirements. The results show that the novices tend to activate asocial and aggressive coping behavior as a response to emotional communications with clients and permanent work interruptions. Experienced employees report about more healthy typical coping means that are used in strict conformity with accepted organizational rules.

A cross-cultural study of the motivation of becoming a psychologist among freshmen at MSU and MSU’s branch in Baku is described in the article. It is shown that the formation of this motivation depends on social and cultural settings in which the choice of this profession occurs. In accordance with particular differences between the two groups of the subjects, some recommendations for the maintenance of professional growth are suggested.

In the literature on professional self-determination there is a notion about a successful choice of a profession as conscious, independent and responsible. The analysis of errors of senior pupils when they choose a profession has shown, that the most common reason of errors is low consciousness of the main factors of the choice – «I want» and «I can». Therefore it is necessary to start the psychological support of professional self-determination of teenagers with their personal self-determination as a necessary stage of professional self-determination.

The article shows that the educational sets formulated by prof. Klimov and proved to be effective for training both teachers and psychologists. The author beleifes that three key points of professional training (that is a keen sense of animateness, an ability of obtaining any psychological knowledge required as well as active cognitive position) are common for all human-related professions. The article also briefly describes the “Introduction to profession” course.

The article deals with the statement of the problem of connection between the antedating reflection and the effectiveness of manager’s professional development, with the description of the progress of the research and with the definition of ways of data analysis. This research can enrich scientific psychology to the fundamental concept of the antedating reflection and help practical psychology to work with managerial staff to increase their professional development efficiency. The author puts forward the hypothesis that the antedating reflection contributes professional development of managers by forming conscious position to professional development and career making.