The aim of this study was to identify the relationships between self-assessed readiness to risk, implicit theories of risk and personal risk readiness in the following comparative analysis of samples: 1) medical versus non-medical students (the latter also specializing in a “human-to-human” type of profession) and 2) medical students versus practicing doctors. Differences in the measured variables were analyzed between the two student groups and the sample of doctors (the latter was compared with medical students). For each of the three groups, the relationships between all the measured variables were identified and the intergroup differences in the established relationships were described. It is identifies that the doctors to a greater extent rather than medical students perceive risk as “insufficiency of rationality” and as “an impossibility to prognosticate”. For medical students, an implicit theory of “hedonistic risk” is expressed to a greater extent than in case with the doctors. For all three samples, links are established between self-assessed readiness to risk and the implicit theory of “deliberate risk”. But only for medical students, this self-assessment is significantly associated with the implicit theory of “hedonistic risk”.

The article presents a socio-psychological study of professional activities and personal qualities of the TV presenter, the methodological basis of which are the principles of an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. Under this approach the task of sociological and socio-psychological research of popularity- publicity of TV presenters is solve. Besides, the relationship of personal and professional characteristics of TV presenters is studied. The main methods of research were: the sociological survey (2110 people), the socio-psychological method of “a focus group” (67 people), the method of “expert evaluation”, the content analysis and psychodiagnostic method of studying the psychology of a personality - personal multi-factor methodology by R. Cattell (16 PF, Form C). In the conclusions there is a correlation between the professional and individual-personal qualities of TV presenters. It is shown that the viewer perceives the TV presenter holistically and generalized. The main professional and personal characteristics are the expressed social and interpersonal sociability of the TV presenter. They promote the communicative type of a dialog with the television audience.

The article raises the question of collectivity as a factor of group integration during holidays. According to the theoretical analysis holidays as a socio-cultural phenomenon have collective nature by its origin. The aim of the study was to find out what the modern individual’s picture of celebration can look like and whether this picture includes any signs of collective orientation, reflecting the desire to unite with the others. The results of the empirical study processed by content analysis enabled to identify the components that make up the picture of the holiday. It was confirmed that these components contain signs of collectivity. It is concluded that manifestations of collectivity during holidays are of great importance as they stimulate group integration and reinforce the sense of identity of each member of the group. The latter is the basis for perceiving real unity.

The study of the attitude towards leisure in the conditions of the economic crisis was conducted on a sample of residents of different regions of Russia (with the exception of the capital region). Four empirical types were identified, which differ in the leading function of leisure for an individual and the readiness to preserve this type of activity in difficult economic conditions. Out of these four two types correspond to the ones previously identified in the capital region, and the other two are specific. For the specific types there is a tendency to preserve leisure for two reasons: due to the high importance of leisure in life or in connection with the optimistic perception of the current economic situation.

The influence of biological sex on the male and female social roles was studied by the variance analysis. The representatives of the four types of partnerships were observed: premarital, de facto marriage, the young and the mature marriage. The first type is characterized by the severity of the women’s requirements to their partner’s participation in the organization of everyday life. In the de facto marriage women more actively than men executed the role of sexual partner, while men - the role of the organizer of the family subculture. In young families there was a gender asymmetry of family parenting roles - the responsibility was shifted to the mother. In mature families the householder role was more important for women than for men. Long-term marital relationships had contributed to the fact that women had higher marital status and therefore a higher level of authority than their marital partners.

This article deals with the question of which psychological variables accompany the process of interpersonal interaction in small groups from the point of view of cognitive structures of separate individuals filling it. We reviewed a number of theoretical approaches found in the scientific literature on the problem, described the empirical study and made conclusions. The novelty lies in the fact that the self-perception of the members of the group with different sociometric status and those of the personal and cognitive features and traits that the members of the group are given through a system of opinions relative to each other is being studied.

The article presents the results of research of the value orientations and ideas about their future of senior pupils studying in the classes with different profiles (humanities, technical, gymnasium and class of general development). Substantial account of complex totality of senior schoolchildren’s choice of values and ideas about the future is given. It is shown that the choice of some values by senior pupils is alike in terminal and instrumental values. In their understanding of future the authors identified some differences in the choice of tangibles, family values, as well as the value of a good person in all four classes (technical and humanities, as well as gymnasium and class of general development). Ways for developing modern senior pupils’ choice of values are given, values concerning getting education and choosing a profession being the most important.

The article represents the results of the analysis of the development of the positive identity of adolescents, high school students and first-year college students differing in the degree of its intensity at different age. It is revealed that a positive social identity is represented the most brightly at all ages. For the teenage school students the positive behavioral identity is the most characteristic among the components of the interpersonal identity. It is established that the gender positive identity at this age period is poorly presented. Among the first-year college students, despite the same age with the 10-form school students, their positive personal and professional identities are less presented. The results of the research of positive identity have shown that it plays a very important role for adolescents and young men of 13-17 years in their life and life activity. The obtained results are of practical importance for creating conditions for the socialization of adolescents, senior school and college students.

The article presents the results of the empirical study that explored the influence of the adaptive potential of the personality on the psychological well-being of students. The article concentrates on interpreting the model of the person’s adaptive potential, which includes four components: psycho-physiological, psycho-social, psychical and regulatory. The article discloses the possibilities of using the structural modeling method for studying these concepts. The conducted research has shown that the adaptive potential of the personality is connected with the psychological well-being of students and can exert influence on him.

The article presents the deviant approach to one of the key problems of modernity - the psychological security of a young person. Personality and its psychological safety are considered in epistemological, functional, axiological and ontological terms. At the same time psychological defense is used to refer to any model of behavior that eliminates the moral and psychological discomfort of the individual. For self-security, six strategies are presented. Specificity of the phenomenon of psychological security of a young person, in the author’s opinion, lies in the recognition by the individual of his uniqueness, ability and readiness to develop his spiritual, moral and activity-constructive potential, harmonious relations and tolerance, regardless of the system of social relations what social status it has. It is pointed out that the psychological security of the individual - the unconditional value of human existence and one of its dominant needs - requires special attention from the patriotic authorities and the progressively-minded society, since other personal values can be realized if only personal security is ensured.

The article is devoted to the problem of consumers’ price perception, which is insufficiently developed in psychology. Emphasis is placed on the perception of price by the Muscovites who live in the vast metropolis and often perceive pricing as a state policy. The article shows that the influence of psychological factors on consumers’ activities is maximal in price perception. Among such factors are such effects as: the effect of the unique value of the product, the complexity of comparison; cost-sharing the purchase order; “price-quality” and ordinal effects.