Psychological hardiness in a lecturer’s profession

- Корніяка, Ольга Миколаївна (2019) Psychological hardiness in a lecturer’s profession Актуальні проблеми психології: Психофізіологія. Психологія праці. Експериментальна психологія, 19 (5). pp. 93-110. ISSN 2072-4772

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Abstract

The lecturer profession is one of the most communicative demanding and emotional professions by its nature. Scientific-pedagogical interactions in the “lecturer-students’ system and interpersonal communications with colleagues are often associated with emotional stress and even psychological trauma, which can lead to emotional exhaustion and decreased professional efficiency. In these circumstances, it is important to develop psychological hardiness as a professionally important quality of lecturers and a defining personal resource to master own behaviour in stressful situations. The performed theoretical study covers the twenty-year period of the research on psychological hardiness; its conclusion is that this concept should be considered as a measure of an individual’s ability to withstand stressful situations and to maintain internal balance without reducing of activity successfulness. However, so far, researchers have not come to a common position as for the “psychological hardiness” definition. In addition, in the scientific literature, this phenomenon is often referred to various terms, such as: “hardiness” (S. Maddi), psychological health, vitality, self-efficacy (A. Bandura), a key personal variable, personal (personal-professional) potential (D.A. Leontiev), adaptation potential (A.G. Maklakov), internal key resource (V.M. Loginova), personal disposition, etc. The article notes that the scientific approaches to “psychological hardiness” understanding are diverse. Scientists understand this psychological phenomenon as an integrative formation, as a quality, a property, a personal trait, a key variable, and as an individual’s basic core; or as a system of an individual’s firm beliefs, values, a special class of “spiritual” abilities; or as a factor in psychophysiological state regulation, a measure of the ability to “overcome oneself” (D.A. Leontiev); or “the ability to turn problem situations into new opportunities” (S.A. Bogomaz) and, finally, as an agent’s key resource (potential). The national and foreign authors also investigate the essential links of psychological hardiness with other personal traits; they have theoretically substantiated the determinants of an agent’s psychological stability and hardiness in difficult, stressful conditions. The correlations of psychological hardiness with psychological readiness for professional work, professional behaviour, professional identity of future professionals, etc. were also determined. The analysed scientific approaches disclosing the content of psychological hardiness have enabled us to consider this psychological phenomenon as a system of a person’s stable value beliefs about him/herself and the world around him/her, and, in the context of professional work, as a professionally important personal characteristic, as a determining internal resource, in the terms of professional self-fulfilment promotion. In determining the psychological hardiness structure, scientists rely on S. Maddi’s research. In the classical version, psychological hardiness consists, firstly, of the transformational coping; secondly, an attitude of others based on psychological hardiness; thirdly, hardiness settings: a) commitment, b) control, c) challenge. Scientists identify (L.V. Kulikov, 2004) three signs of psychological hardiness: resilience, stability; balance, conformity; resistance. High development of each of psychological hardiness structural components, their coherence and interdependence are important for life activity and professional work (initiative, autonomy), full-fledged activity implementation, an individuals’ psychological hardiness manifestation in stressful conditions of social and professional interaction. If we speak on psychological hardiness in a profession, a specialist with a developed commitment component receives pleasure from his/her own work, with a developed control component is able to selects important activities, to influence on their results, and with a developed challenge component assimilates actively “knowledge from experience” for their further use in work. Psychological hardiness in the profession is considered by us as a professionally important characteristic of the individual, which helps to overcome professional difficulties and preserve / restore the effectiveness of professional activity. The theoretical study of this psychological phenomenon shows a correlation between the “psychological hardiness” notion and an individual’s overall self-efficacy, optimal performance, psychological well-being, successful adaptation and vitality.

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