PSYCHOLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT IN FUTURE PSYCHOLOGIST

102 Norwegian Journal of development of the International Science No 166/2025 PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCES PSYCHOLOGICAL PREDICTORS OF PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT IN FUTURE PSYCHOLOGIST Khaziyeva M. Azerbaijan State Pedagogical University https://orcid.org/0009-0005-3139-318X https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17352731 Abstract This article examines the psychological predictors of the development of professional competence in future psychologists. Psychological predictors of the development of professional competence in future psychologists include personality traits such as empathy, humanistic orientation, self-regulation, self-actualization, reflexivity, motivation for self-development, and psychological resilience. Communication skills and the ability to define boundaries of one's own competence are also important. Researching issues of professional training for psychologists, scientists have developed approaches and models for organizing the educational process for future specialists. Three components are identified in the educational training of psychologists: 1) the theoretical foundations of general psychology; 2) the theoretical and methodological features of a particular area of practical psychology; and 3) specialization in a specific area of practical psychology. Keywords: psychology, predictors, development, specialist, component, psychologist, resilience, competence, practice, perception, skills. The relevance of studying the factors that determine the professional qualities of future psychologists is determined by the importance of the profession for modern society, as well as the psychological characteristics of psychological work. Our work explores the possibilities of assessing the development of professional competence in students – future psychologists. Modern education requires a revision of the conditions and content of training qualified specialists in psychology. Mastering the profession at a higher educational institution is carried out through specially organized student learning activities. Its goal is to provide students with the necessary psychological (humanities and specialized) knowledge and skills, to develop and enhance their corresponding personal qualities and abilities, and to introduce them to the fundamentals of professional ethics. Educational standards defining the competencies of psychologists working in various social spheres stipulate that a psychology graduate should be able to organize interpersonal contacts and communication among participants in the educational process, utilize psychological knowledge and technologies in implementing principles and modern scientific approaches to fostering interpersonal relationships in a team, and be able to organize interactions between specialists to solve problems in the field of psychological and pedagogical activity with the goal of creating a system of positive interpersonal relationships, a psychological climate, etc. The issue of preparing practicing psychologists for professional work is one of the most pressing in modern psychology. The full application of acquired theoretical knowledge in practice requires graduates to possess clear skills and a personal readiness to provide psychological assistance. Numerous studies by E.A. Guseinov, N.V. Komusov, A.K. Markov, V.D. Shadrikov, I.V. Kuznetsov, F.E. are devoted to this problem. Vasilyuk and others [1;4;5;8]. The need to train professional psychologists is driven by society's growing need for productive solutions in education, production, management, business, and all aspects of everyday life. Naturally, demands on the quality of specialist training are also increasing. However, the system of training psychological personnel has identified objective trends in the personal and professional development of future psychologists in various life situations. Theoretical literacy is an important, but not sufficient, condition for the professional self-realization of specialists. Effective performance of duties requires experience, individual creativity, and skill [7, pp. 67-68]. At a university, the training process for future psychologists should be aimed at enhancing students' ability to master a range of skills and abilities, as well as mastering the technologies of providing professional assistance [6, pp. 59-60]. The development of future psychologists' psychological qualities depends on many aspects. These aspects primarily comprise theoretical and practical psychological knowledge. During the training process, professional knowledge is formed, which forms a new understanding of the future profession, predicts professional identity, and determines the level of competence. Practical knowledge based on previous work and aimed at developing a system of practical skills and abilities in future specialists. Another important aspect is the personal factor of perception and identification with the future profession, organically woven into the educational process and understood as mandatory. From other perspectives, this issue is explored in L.B. Schneider's concept, where he notes the presence of personal characteristics that are a necessary prerequisite for the successful assimilation of the proposed educational material [4, pp. 40-41]. In developing the problem of readiness for professional activity, a certain step is the concept of personal qualities that are important for professional activity. Norwegian Journal of development of the International Science No 166/2025 103 Numerous studies convincingly demonstrate that the dependence of professionalization on the level of development of psychological and personal qualities that meet the requirements of the performed activity must be developed precisely during the training process, so that the subsequent process of adaptation to the workplace does not create discomfort. Psychologist A.K. Markov cites psychological observation, thinking, selfcontrol, listening skills, empathy, and creativity as key professionally important qualities. Psychologists are characterized by a willingness to engage with others, the ability to maintain emotional self-control during interactions, the ability to emotionally engage others, intelligence, high sensitivity, responsibility, and independent decision-making [5, pp. 53-54]. Disclosing the specifics of the professional development of psychology students, I would like to emphasize the importance of developing their ability to deeply and accurately understand the nuances of their inner world, as well as their ability to communicate and empathize with others. On the one hand, when interacting with a client, a psychologist must be able to navigate uncharted territory (with the client's individuality, with new subjective truths, with someone else's reality) and, experiencing a state of uncertainty, try to do something never done before (after all, every person is unique, and therefore, each individual approach is unique). On the other hand, this work is carried out on a daily basis, with its continuity (each meeting is a continuation of the previous one), and its routine (many clients, repetitive work) [3, pp. 11-12]. The need to train professional psychologists is driven by society's growing need for productive solutions in education, production, management, business, and all aspects of everyday life. Naturally, demands on the quality of specialist training are also increasing. However, the system of training psychological personnel has identified objective trends in the personal and professional development of future psychologists in various life situations. Theoretical literacy is an important, but not sufficient, condition for the professional self-realization of specialists. Effective performance of duties requires experience, individual creativity, and skill [7, pp. 67-68]. At a university, the training process for future psychologists should be aimed at enhancing students' ability to master a range of skills and abilities, as well as mastering the technologies of providing professional assistance [6, pp. 59-60]. The development of future psychologists' psychological qualities depends on many aspects. These aspects primarily comprise theoretical and practical psychological knowledge. During the training process, professional knowledge is formed, which forms a new understanding of the future profession, predicts professional identity, and determines the level of competence. Practical – based on previous work and aimed at developing a system of practical skills and abilities in future specialists. Another important aspect is the personal factor of perception and identification with the future profession, organically woven into the educational process and understood as mandatory. From other perspectives, this issue is explored in L.B. Schneider's concept, where he notes the presence of personal characteristics that are a necessary prerequisite for the successful assimilation of the proposed educational material [4, pp. 40-41]. In developing the problem of readiness for professional activity, a certain step is the concept of personal qualities that are important for professional activity. Numerous studies convincingly demonstrate that the dependence of professionalization on the level of development of psychological and personal qualities that meet the requirements of the performed activity must be developed precisely during the training process, so that the subsequent process of adaptation to the workplace does not create discomfort. Psychologist A.K. Markov cites psychological observation, thinking, selfcontrol, listening skills, empathy, and creativity as key professionally important qualities. Psychologists are characterized by a willingness to engage with others, the ability to maintain emotional self-control during interactions, the ability to emotionally engage others, intelligence, high sensitivity, responsibility, and independent decision-making [5, pp. 53-54]. Disclosing the specifics of the professional development of psychology students, I would like to emphasize the importance of developing their ability to deeply and accurately understand the nuances of their inner world, as well as their ability to communicate and empathize with others. On the one hand, when interacting with a client, a psychologist must be able to navigate uncharted territory (with the client's individuality, with new subjective truths, with someone else's reality) and, experiencing a state of uncertainty, try to do something never done before (after all, every person is unique, and therefore, each individual approach is unique). On the other hand, this work is carried out on a daily basis, with its continuity (each meeting is a continuation of the previous one), and its routine (many clients, repetitive work) [3, pp. 11-12]. Thus, psychological knowledge in the development of future psychologists reveals the specialist's creative potential. The ability to interact with others is essential for a psychologist. The training process must emphasize the future psychologist's psychological capabilities, striving not only to foster their creative development but also to develop mutual understanding. Moreover, not only creativity but also the ability to cocreate with others is important. Mastery of this skill does not come immediately; for beginning and future specialists, it is based on creative readiness for the professional work of a psychologist. Therefore, readiness for professional work in future psychologists is essential and can be revealed through such categories as subjectivity and self-actualization [2; 5]. Research by modern scientists indicates that it is advisable for future psychologists to study the best recognized practitioners, thereby developing the foundations of their professional skills. The result of professional development in an educational institution is the formation of an internal systemic understanding of the functional tasks and responsibilities in immediate professional activity. This internal construct can be called a theoretical model. It includes: the formation and development of professional thinking; Socially active po- 104 Norwegian Journal of development of the International Science No 166/2025 sition; self-education and its psychological and pedagogical foundations of organization; professional competence; ability to think critically, predict one's activities, implement innovations; capacity for professional creativity; presence of general and psychological culture [3; 6]. The intrapersonal potential of a practical psychologist should be assessed according to the following system of parameters: physical health (the profession of a psychologist is associated with the expenditure of emotions and the manifestation of energy, which is unacceptable for people with disabilities), somatic diseases, which also make it problematic to engage in psychological activities; mental health (the presence of accentuations, mental defects and deviations that can negatively affect the psychologist's clients is unacceptable); the presence of a normative level of intelligence, especially verbal (intelligence is the main feature and potential in understanding a social situation, the clients who find themselves in it, in order to draw adequate conclusions); the presence of self-regulation skills (especially when the work of practicing psychologists is associated with problematic categories of the population); emotional endurance [7; 8]. The subjective characteristics of students majoring in psychology are correlated with indicators of selfesteem and life-purpose orientations, as well as indicators of reflection, unlike the subjective characteristics of students pursuing other professions. This indicates the indirect nature of their subjective activity. Their desire for self-improvement is associated with psychological autonomy and a positive view of human nature, reflecting a clear interest in humanity as a whole. However, the desire for self-improvement and selfsufficiency, as well as an overly positive view of human nature, can have varying consequences for the development of a psychologist's personal maturity, which is also linked to their moral and ethical level. The psychological profile of a student majoring in psychology is characterized by a moderate level of general subjectivity and a high level of life creativity (usually a "transformer" or "harmonizer"). As they master the profession, their tendency to focus on the external world intensifies, while trial and error in personal selfchange gives way to purposeful self-improvement. The subjectivity of a future psychologist is mediated by a desire for self-affirmation and developed self-reflection. A psychologist's personality structure is also linked to their moral and ethical psychology. An important challenge in ensuring the moral credibility of representatives of helping professions is ensuring their level of morality aligns with the average ethical standards of society, while the ethical standards of helping professions are much higher. This creates the phenomenon of a double ethical standard. It is no coincidence that emotional burnout, closely linked to the professional's ideological position, often occurs among helping professionals. Among the key professionally important qualities of a psychologist is a prosocial orientation, understood as the individual's value disposition toward helping others. However, an empirical study of first-year students indicates the immaturity of their worldview in this regard [5; 7]. The topic of ethical regulation of the professional activity of a practicing psychologist is mandatory in undergraduate training programs. However, it is impossible to apply general ethical principles to the diversity of psychologists' functions in a way that would effectively resolve all difficult situations. Such professional activities of a psychologist as education, psychodiagnostics, and psychoprophylaxis can effectively implement. References: 1. Huseynov E.A., Исследование психологических аспектов влияющих на процесс обучения студентов, Monograph, Baku: Adil oglu, 2009, 231 p. 2. Huseynov E.A., Исследование психологических аспектов, влияющих на процесс подготовки будущих специалистов в ВУЗе // Moscow University Bulletin, Series 20, Pedagogical Education, Moscow, 2012, No. 2, pp. 62-69. 3. Komusova N.V., Развитие мотивации к овладению профессией в период обучения в вузе // Abstract of a Candidate of Psychological Sciences Dissertation (19.00.07), Moscow: 1983, 16 p. 4. Zimnyaya I.A. Ключевые компетентности как результативно-целевая основа компетентностного подхода в образовании. Moscow: Research Center for Quality Problems in Specialist Training, 2004, 42 p. 5. Markova, A.K. Психология профессионализма. Moscow: International Humanitarian Foundation "Knowledge," 1996, 312 p. 6. Shadrikov, V.D., Kuznetsova, I.V., Формируем профессиональную компетентность // Handbook of the Deputy School Principal. Moscow: MCFER, 2012, No. 8, pp. 58-69. 7. Sekun, V.I. Индивидуально – психологические особенности и взаимоотношения студентов. Minsk, 2006, 125 p. 8. 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