Intrapersonal conflict in the structure of professional self-determination of higher education students

Abstract

Since the professional future of a person in modern society can be characterised by certain uncertainty and dynamic changes, individual career trajectories are characterised by great variability and multidimensionality. The consequence is that a modern person experiences an intrapersonal conflict when choosing a path of professional self-determination. Intrapersonal conflict is considered as a negative experience with a pronounced character, which is the result of a prolonged struggle of certain elements of the inner world of the individual, which reflects the contradictory connections of the individual with the social environment, and slows down the adoption of relevant decisions. This conflict is of two types: functional or dysfunctional, depending on how and what decision a person makes, and whether he or she makes it at all. The author made an attempt to determine which groups of applicants were more likely to experience intrapersonal conflict, to what extent intrapersonal conflict affects the choice of profession, and how they coped with it. The study confirmed the hypothesis: everyone has experienced intrapersonal conflict, and those who have overcome it now feel comfortable and have an easier time with professional self-identification. This is confirmed by the fact that applicants with low levels of anxiety and high levels of self-esteem, as well as no avoidance motives, have a formed professional identity. Respondents with a high level of anxiety and a high level of avoidance motives demonstrate a crisis of choice. A person who is in search of alternative options for his or her further professional development and makes active efforts to leave the profession by making a meaningful decision about his or her own future finds himself or herself in this state.