In this paper authors describe offered course “Basics of communication”: its educational purposes and basic principles are listed, the content of five sections are described, and the forms of control knowledge are indicated. It is analyzed three years’ experience of conducting this discipline at Faculty of Psychology of Tashkent branch of MSU named after M.V. Lomonosov. It is concluded the positive role of the designed course in the professional development of studentspsychologists. It is given a list of promising directions of further improvement course in order to improve its effectiveness in addressing the identified problems of communication and communicative competence at the initial stage of professional socialization of psychologists.

Psychological studies in social perception (named also person perception, or interpersonal cognition) are reviewed in the paper. Special interest is given to social perception in electronic — computer and Internet mediated- interaction, first of all in social networking. Construction of self-presentations is listed among the main psychological mechanisms of social perception management. It is shown that networkers often develop multiple and alternative self-presentations which include verbal as well as visual and audio materials. Self-presentations form the basis for network identities, or virtual identities; networkers often experiment (play, in their own words) with their identities by changing elements of self-presentations. The paper proceeds to empirical exposure of differences between real-life and electronic identities.

In the article experimental investigations, performed in virtual reality (VR) systems, are considered. Perspective modifications of research paradigm in cognitive, orga4 nizational, social, clinical psychology are described. The possibility of application of VR technology in educational psychology, psychotherapy and psychological rehabilitation are discussed.