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DOI: 10.24234/wisdom.v21i1.621 Srbuhi GEVORGYAN, Asya BERBERYAN, Hermine BERBERYAN
SELF-ACTUALIZATION AND STRESS RESISTANCE: METHODOLOGICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF STUDYING THE PERSONALITY OF STUDENTS IN THE PROCESS OF DISTANCE LEARNING
The article considers the issues of studying the self-actualization of the personality by the representatives of various conceptual schools. We consider distance learning in the higher education system as a capacity for opportunities, as the implementation of an individual approach in learning, motivating the student to self-learn, freedom from rigid binding to the territory and a certain period of time, objective assessment of learning results. The study's goal is to investigate the connection between the self-actualization of the personality and the level of students' stress resistance in the process of distance learn-
Research methods: questionnaires and testing. Based on theoretical analysis, the methodological basis of the study was determined in relation to the self-actualization of the personality as the highest level of its development in the context of humanistic psychology, distance learning. As a result of an empirical study, the authors of the article revealed the correlation between the ambition for self-actualization and the level of stress resistance. The ambition for self-actualization correlates with the level of assessment of one's effectiveness in distance learning, and there are sex differences according to the criteria of the ambition for self-actualization and the level of stress resistance.
Keywords: self-actualization, methodological aspects, distance learning, student's personality, assessment of one's own effectiveness, stress resistance level.
Abstract
Introduction
ambiguity and multivariance in determining the methodological approaches to studying the nature of the self-actualization phenomenon are reflected. While self-actualization is studied as "objectification-de-objectification" from the philosophical point of view, psychological science examines the essence and structure of self-actualization that dominate in this category, which allows stimulating and defining "interiori-zation-exteriorization"
Relevance of the research topic. The interest in issues related to the self-actualization of the personality in modern scientific psychology is determined by the importance and significance of topics that refer to the study of the external and internal activity of the subject, the use of personal resources for full self-actualization and self-improvement of the personality in the process of its development. The concept of self-actualization is studied as a necessary condition for the development of individuality and the progressive development of society. Currently, the
The formation of a person is considered as the execution of a personal project in the dynamics of the implementation of ontological processes. Heidegger's idea of a world project is presented
in Binswanger's concept in detail: a person seeks to realize his own way of designing destiny, being open in accepting and disclosing his own possibilities. According to Binswanger, the content of the concept of the world project reflects the temporality of Heidegger's characteristic Dasein, which emphasizes the direction towards the future. The methodologically justified term "world project" transfers the emphasis from objectivity to the method of revealing oneself through transcendence.
The creative energy of the paradoxes of real life becomes the basis of philosophical faith and helps to overcome the pessimism caused by the inevitability of loss and the need to submit to merciless circumstances. Here, the key to one's own capabilities and freedom of choice is contained for a person. The personal world of the individual is considered by Jaspers as a concrete fact, taken in the empirical integrity and socio-historical context of development. The objectively existing world provides a person with the space of social relations and traditions to build a path to his own personal world.
Both approaches are not so much a method of scientific research as a specific psychological (one might say more broadly - ontological) practice of working with people, instilling responsibility and freedom in them. The movement from empathy to direct comprehension of the ways of mutual understanding, from special feeling to intuitive cognition of another person due to the phenomenon of openness as the initial condition of their existence is also indicated. Understanding specific human behavior is based on identifying his specific relationship to his world, to the social-objective circumstances of the living environment. It is evident that the humanistic nature of the method contributes to the relevance and perspective of Daseinanalysis both in psychotherapy and in other spheres of human activity. The ideological attitudes of Daseinanalysis contribute to the more humane treatment of a person to a person and a more environmentally friendly attitude towards the world around him. The exis-
tential analysis allows correcting wrong attitudes and developing new attitudes, relations and intentions in patients in a humanistic spirit. The central questions are, "Can I trust my own feelings?" and "How can I know what I want?".
In the phenomenon of existential analysis, one can see two different methodological approaches: anthropocentric, i.e. taking a person as a reference point (a tradition associated with the names of Husserl, Sartre, Binswanger, Jaspers), and ontocentric, i.e. taking being as a reference point (line M. Heidegger - M. Boss). It is important to note the convergence of the positions of the two presented versions in the fundamental issues of humanistic psychology. Both versions actually serve as the basis for psychological practice, which is implemented in many spheres of life, particularly in education. In connection with this methodological division, we note that the anthropocentric direction of existential analysis is more promising to use in the research part of the educational process and the ontocentric one in the field of psychological and pedagogical practice (development of creative potential, ensuring personal and professional growth).
The topic of studying the self-actualization of the student's personality and its types becomes relevant and important since transformations in the social and political, economic, spiritual spheres of modern society lead to drastic changes in professional interaction, in the interests, values and behaviour of people. During the educational activity, students should execute adequate professional self-actualization and self-identification to determine the correspondence of personal qualities and psychological characteristics to the requirements of their chosen profession. In a pandemic, the extreme emerging situation associated with the value of health and safety, with the adoption of a critical decision, the perception and awareness of this fact poses the problem of the meaning of life, the ratio of self-actualization and the level of stress resistance to the individual.
Various conceptual approaches reveal conflicting positions: abilities personal potential are
considered either as a means of adaptation or as a process of consistent achievement of life goals, which cannot be adapted due to its complexity and is a function of individual consciousness, or as a desire for development. In the first two approaches, the personality becomes secondary. A person does not try to develop his talents and inner potential on his own. The contradiction is removed, in our opinion, provided that, when defining the self-realization of a person, it is emphasized that self-realization is expressed in the activity of the subject himself, in the interaction of internal and external factors. This leads to the understanding of self-actualization as a complex self-organizing system that cannot be forced to follow one way or another of its development. Consequently, we do not call any development of personality self-actualization, but only that development that presupposes the high activity of the subject.
Within the framework of the implementation of the education reforms, innovative teaching methods are required, based on Internet video technologies modern multimedia interactive technologies that ensure the effectiveness of the implementation of the higher education system (Ananga, 2020, p. 318). The requirements are primarily met by the distance learning form, the purpose of which can be a reasonable combination of the advantages of virtual and traditional forms of education. This topic is relevant for investigation nowadays when almost everyone in the world is isolated from each other. This issue is interesting to study since a person is protected from external stimuli of his psyche, stressors, how easy or difficult it is for people to overcome this situation.
Distance learning in modern science is in the spotlight of many scientists and researchers. Distance education contains the potential of opportunities, and the question is to what extent the education system, in particular, higher education system, allows to turn opportunities into real advantages that are more difficult to solve in traditional education: the implementation of an indi-
vidual approach to the subjects of educational activity in learning, the use of active forms of learning, motivating students to self-learning, freedom from rigid binding to the territory and a certain period of time, objective assessment of learning outcomes (Ivanov & Yanitskii, 2004).
On a global scale, many universities of the world and the entire educational system have switched to a distance learning format because of the announcement by the World Health Organization epidemic of the new coronavirus pandemic. A drastic change in the format of training has become a forced experiment for the overwhelming majority of universities, which develops the higher education system in the perspective of digitalization. The main problem, in our opinion, is that distance learning has not become a general cultural practice. The transition to distance learning was performed in a limited time frame, exceptionally rigidly, without preliminary preparation, without training procedures for subjects of educational activity. It is definitely difficult to assess forced distance learning, dictated by the necessity of modern conditions. We can say with confidence that stress is one of the main problems of everyday life for a modern person. The list of negative factors affecting the human psyche is long. Nevertheless, unfortunately, it is necessary to state that life without stress is impossible, even if a person completely goes into social self-isolation.
Resilience to stress is an integrative quality, a personality trait. It is characterized by the interaction of motivational, intellectual, emotional components of educational activity, which determine the success of this activity and the development of self-actualization of the individual as a subject of educational activity. The studentship is crucial in the sense that a person acquires knowledge in the professional sphere, receives professional qualities, forms his place in society, determines his professional values and principles. Students socialize more and more and obtain their social status and social role. Stress resistance has a significant impact on all above-
mentioned, since change in the educational style, a new knowledge assessment system, a new social role can cause some stress.
General Concepts of Self-Actualization
In the philosophical and methodological aspect, the theory of personality self-actualization is presented in the works of L. I. Antropova, L. G. Bryleva, I. A. Vintin, N. L. Kulik, K. Ch. Mu-khametdzhanov and others. In psychology and pedagogics, the theory of self-actualization is developed by A. G. Asmolov, E. I. Isaev, P. I. Pidkasisty, V. I. Slobodchikov, L. M. Fridman, G. A. Tsukerman and others. Acmeology, a whole scientific branch, is based on the theory of self-actualization - (A. A. Bodalev, A. A. Der-kach, M. I. Dyachenko, N. V. Kuzmina and others). The ideas of the theory of self-actualization are actively implemented in practical humanistic and existential psychotherapy, logopsychothera-py (B. S. Bratus, N. L. Karpova, Yu. B. Nekra-sova, and others). Most researchers consider the theory of self-actualization to be the central link of modern scientific, humanitarian knowledge consider the prerequisites and stages of this process at different age stages and in different conditions.
A significant direction in the study of personality self-actualization is the consideration of this process in relation to professional development (E. F. Zeer, E. A. Klimov, L. M. Mitina, N. S. Pryazhnikov and others). In addition to mastering the technological and activity components in this process, the spiritual-personal and motivational-value components play a significant role, implying the formation of social responsibility and the desire for self-realization in professional activity. The study by E. V. Smal and Yu. P. Po-varenkov indicate that although self-actualization covers the entire system of an individual's life, it can be especially vividly manifested in professional activity, to which a person devotes most of his life. Considering the general and professional
self-actualization of the student's personality in the process of studying at the university, E. V. Smal emphasizes that at some stages of professional development, professional self-actualization becomes decisive for the personality.
Representatives of various psychological schools have studied the self-actualization of the personality. However, there is still no single concept of self-actualization. The methodological side of the problem of studying the self-actualization of the personality consists of an insufficient definition of this phenomenon. At the present stage of developing ideas about self-actualization, it seems impossible even to classify this concept by form - whether it is a phenomenon, a process, a need, property or something else. Some researchers consider self-actualization a phenomenon caused by the inherent predestination of human nature to be a self-actualizing being, while others, denying this predestination, prefer to talk about procedural determination. The difficulty of studying self-realization also lies in the fact that we can observe only its procedural results (Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, 1991, p. 74).
Theoretical opposing ideas are also noticeable in conceptual and methodological issues that relate to the nature of self-actualization and the mechanisms of implementation, the nature of the conditions and the characteristics of those factors that affect its effectiveness. Important determinants of a person's self-actualization are psychological, pedagogical, physiological, and social. Cognitive mental processes, personal qualities and emotional characteristics act as psychological conditions that contribute to a high level of success of self-realization. Other factors that determine self-actualization are social determinants. Socialization institutions belong to that system. They provide role relationships and positions for participants to cause self-actualization of the personality; however, they sometimes prevent its manifestations. Self-actualization is manifested in the implementation of a humanitarian goal, a special mission, in the following areas:
social and economic, social and political, pedagogical, and other socially useful activities. Self-actualization of the personality stimulates spiritual growth, and it determines the disclosure of personal potential at the early stages, i.e. such traits as responsibility, conscientiousness, curiosity, purposefulness, sociability, diligence, initiative, creativity, spirituality, morality, etc. Consequently, the self-actualization of personality can be the basis for opportunities for regulating self-realization, which reflects its consistency, integrity, and content in certain manifestations.
Currently, in the conditions of modern reality, in the process of modernization of education and globalization transformations, it is essential to implement innovative educational methods and technologies in order to create and develop new social and pedagogical and psychological relationships that would create psychologically favourable conditions for self-actualization, self-realization, and self-improvement of students. Self-knowledge and self-actualization for a person is an assessment, reflection in relation to his own personality, including self-knowledge, and the ability to evaluate their own capabilities and qualities. The very fact of this assessment is due to the ability to be critical, self-criticism, demanding of his personality, his achievements and his success, as well as evaluating his unproduc-tivity and failures (Leontiev, 2006). This, to a certain extent, has an impact on the productivity and effectiveness of educational activity and personal development in general. Self-actualization is a conscious and meaningful act of choosing, asserting a worldview position in problematic for a student situation (Korostyleva, 1997; Kudinov, 2007).
Self-actualization as an important personal category is such personal development that can free a person from the fear of the "Jonah" complex, that is, the fear of growth and from imaginary, invented by a person, not always conscious, spontaneously arising problems in his life, which can, in their turn, cause neurotic states. Self-actualization is not the absence of problems but
the movement from transient or unreal problems to real problems (Kienko & Morozova, 2011, p. 249).
Conceptual approaches to the phenomenon of self-actualization. Self-actualization in psychology is interpreted in different ways depending on various conceptual approaches. All these conceptual approaches are divided into three groups.
The first group includes the theories in which human life is considered an adaptation to the internal and external world. This is a primarily behavioural and psychoanalytic theory and other concepts of biologization, which make this person utterly dependent on the control of the external world, events and stimuli that occur in it. Internal factors play a secondary role in this theory and are mostly ignored. Supporters of this theory reject the concept of an independent person guided by internal inclinations. For behaviourists, human development is a reaction to the environment.
While behaviourists are supporters of external influence on a person's self-actualization, the supporters of the psychoanalytic concept claim that a person's self-actualization is based on internal motivation. The core point of this theory was formulated by A. Adler. He was the first to speak about the concepts of "self-realization" "self-actualization" in modern psychological theories. In his works, he used the terms "ambition for perfection" and "ambition for superiority" as interrelated. Adler did not formulate the term "self-realization", but he recognized that since a person is a rational being, he can plan his actions manage them, realizing that all his actions will lead to self-realization. According to Adler's theory, a person can act independently as an individual. Since he has a creative Self, he can correctly analyze his ability to set a goal and choose ways to achieve it. Adler portrays a person as an inherently inferior being, striving for self-improvement and the fight against inferiority (Adler, 2013). The concept of psychosexual development is also based on a subjective predisposition. This concept was introduced by
S. Freud. Freud's psychosexual development is also an adaptation based on self-actualization, but it was not originally intended for this (Freud, 2003). It should be noted that modern researchers B. Klochko, E.V. Galazhinskii (1999, p. 4) think that this theory, to put it mildly, is not entirely justified.
Quite an interesting approach is the approach by E. Fromm, developed in the context of psychoanalysis based on humanism. In his concept of radical humanistic psychoanalysis, Fromm draws attention to the dual nature of man. According to Fromm, the whole process of self-realization for a person is an attempt to move from a lower stage to a higher one, to stop being an animal and try to become a human. This means that this is an internal struggle of a person between an animal and a person inside (Franken, 1998). Based on this, in behaviourism and psychoanalysis, self-actualization is used as an adaptation to the external environment, which is possible due to the self-realization of hidden human abilities and talents. That is, self-actualization is understood as a struggle for survival through adaptation. Human abilities are considered here means of adaptation. The personality becomes secondary. A person does not try to develop his talents and inner potential by himself.
The second group includes most cognitive and gestalt theories. Prominent representatives of these theories are J. Murray with the theory of needs J. McClelland with the theory of achievement motivation. These theories radically differ from the first presented theories since here, and a person is represented as a subject who wants to develop certain personality structures. At the same time, although a person is active, he has no ambition for self-actualization. The development of human potential occurs "in parallel" with implementing the main motivation (Ivanov & Ya-nitskii, 2004). This is how the authors think about the problem of development, self-actualization and self-realization J. Piaget, W. Dember, R. White, R. Earl, etc. This theory is based on the idea that people and animals are motivated by the
existing need for successful interaction with the environment. One of the main growth theories is that people are imperfect and are not born with developed abilities. This theory describes the mechanism of motivation for growth and skill acquisition as a mismatch between how a person is developing at the moment and how he should develop for a more successful adaptation. According to the authors of the theory, such inconsistency leads to internal stress, which a person tries to relieve by developing new skills and abilities. The authors believe that mild negative stress is an effective condition, similar to unpleasant senses of hunger or thirst. Those feelings are the engine through which a person performs certain actions. With the help of words, a person performs several actions to create more or less comfortable conditions (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1992, p. 62). Other researchers, especially D. Shapiro, J. Schwartz, J. Austin, think that a person's ambition for control is the main need of a person. The ability of a person to manage the surrounding world is a necessary condition for survival, peace and successful adaptation in society. Without a sense of control, people lose self-confidence and cannot effectively cope with even minor problems (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1992, p. 575). Research by J. Rotter shows that a person has a sense of control at different levels. Rotter divides the human perception of control into internal and external. This means that people can achieve a higher or lower level of control during cognitive activity. According to the Rotter classification, control can be both internal and external (Elkon-in, 1971).
R. Franken described that the management strategy and the strategy of self-actualization, self-realization of internal potential differ significantly in western and eastern civilizations. In western culture, people exercise active control: they try to change external circumstances to reduce anxiety. In eastern countries, people try to rely on self-control to adapt to external circumstances (Franken, 1998).
According to A. Bandura, a sense of control is
necessary for active human development, based on his research on self-efficacy. First, a person begins to evaluate whether his desire leads to what he aspired to. This type is called waiting for the result. The author shows that if a person is not sure that his actions will lead to a good result, he will not strive for this goal (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1992, p. 579). These conclusions are very similar to the opinion of A. Maslow, who claims that a person always chooses between security and development. Whoever chooses the path of development always takes risks. In this case, safe development is impossible. Bandura rightly notes that people choose development after a thorough analysis and are quite confident in manageability and lack of risk.
G. Murray emphasizes the need to achieve high standards, competitiveness, superiority over others, hard work and victory (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1992). He thinks that the attractiveness of achievements is not to find what you want but to develop and apply skills. In other words, the process itself is a motivation to achieve. J. McClelland proved that a person's desire to "do something better" is the main engine of self-improvement. Moreover, motivation for action is not a material or moral aspect in the form of remuneration or approval but simply the result of the process (Popova, A. F. & Popova, A. A., 2016). According to G. Latham and E. Locke, self-realization is the process of consistent achievement of life goals. The degree of correspondence between the initial and achieved levels of self-actualization, self-realization can be considered as satisfaction with self-realization at the moment (Ivanov & Yanitskii, 2004).
The third group of theories, including humanistic psychology, activity psychology, acmeology and others, considers self-actualization a separate phenomenon that cannot be adapted because of its complexity and is a function of individual consciousness. The modern concept of self-actualization is considered primarily from the point of view of these areas.
A. Maslow played an important role in the
study of self-actualization, having conducted several extensive studies on the satisfaction of human needs and human development. Maslow used the term "self-actualization" to refer to the execution process. Maslow characterized these two concepts as necessity and process (Maslow, 1965; Chiang & Maslow, 1969). Maslow claimed that only psychologically balanced people could reach self-actualization. Maslow described a dilemma that any person faced: to choose security or development. And each person solves this problem for himself. To live in safety and not to move from a place or to choose development and to move forward. As a result of development, a person's capabilities, abilities, knowledge and experience expand. A weaker person is fixated on ensuring security. His neurotic nature of the character and many protective mechanisms allow him to feel fully protected. Such a person does not need development (Mas-low, 1971, p. 89). Having analyzed the behaviour of outstanding people, A. Maslow identified several signs of self-realization. According to K. Rogers (1995): "Humans require acceptance, and given acceptance, they move toward self-actualization" (p. 9). According to Rogers' theory, the ambition for self-actualization is a process of realizing a person's potential throughout life to become a fully functioning personality. In an attempt to achieve this, a person lives a life that is filled with meaning, search and excitement. A self-actualizing person lives existentially, naturally enjoying every moment of life and fully participating in every moment of it. According to Rogers, every person is initially motivated simply by the fact that he lives and any special motivational constructs or specific drives to understand why a person is active are required. Along with a positive point of view on human nature, Rogers hypothesized that behaviour is inspired and regulated by a certain unifying motive, which he called the trend of actualization. "This seems to be inherent in the organism, just as we find a similar tendency in the human-animal to develop and mature physically, provided mini-
mally satisfactory conditions are provided" (Rogers, 1995, p. 63). Frankl defined self-actualization as "the fulfillment of the available possibilities, or potentialities, within the subject, one might well call it potentialism" (Pytell, 2015, p. 173). Thus, according to V. Frankl, self-actualization results from a person's fulfillment of his destiny. V. Frankl (1962) saw the idea of self-actualization as the search for and achievement of the meaning of life, which must necessarily be associated with something external to a person -either with love for another person or with the activity that a person is engaged in.
R. Assagioli (2002) proposed to add a new context of this phenomenon, which has a higher spiritual colouring - self-actualization as self-comprehension, experience and awareness of oneself as a synthesizing spiritual Center, achieved as a result of long-term spiritual practice (p. 55). The concept of "restlessness" in the theory of E. Erickson is close to the concept of self-actualization - it is a very broad concept that covers both parental relationships and most of what is meant by "productivity" or "creativity" (Erikson, 1994). It is close to the concept of self-actualization in the sense of striving to become as good as possible. That is, the personality ceases to grow and enrich itself to the extent that it is "calmed down". Erickson calls the latter "stagnation" (Erikson, 1968).
Thus, "biologizing" theories present self-realization as an ordinary adaptation to the environment but emphasize that it is unconscious. The theories that motivate a person to grow and self-educate pay special attention to the ambition for conscious achievements. They consider a person's life a process of gradual achievement of the goals. In humanistic theories, self-realization is considered a manifestation of individuality. Perhaps the most accurate definition of self-realization should be sought between the two approaches. As an autonomous mental mechanism, self-realization is provided by the mutual reinforcement of various needs (if we follow biologizing theories), it is strengthened by personal
needs to do something better (in the theory of "growth"), a person understands his function (in the humanistic theory). Speaking conditionally, the ambition for self-realization is a sum of all motivations, in the basis of which three classical levels of the human psyche are described: individuum, personal, and individual (Hjelle & Ziegler, 1992; Frydenberg & Lewis, 1993).
Soviet psychologists (A. N. Leontiev, B. G. Ananyev, L. S. Vygotsky, S. L. Rubinstein) touched upon the topic of personal self-realization as an integral part of the concept of "self-determination", and this orientation was characteristic of Soviet science until the 1990s (Erik-son, 1994). L. S. Vygotsky correlated the concepts "life" and "self-realization". He thought that a person who has created his own individual life philosophy is already capable of self-realization, which outwardly appears as a desire "...to reach his personal goals, passions and interests only in direct contact with the world" (Vygotskii, 1999, p. 128). According to the classical, cultural and historical theory of L. S. Vygotsky, the personality does not "mature" from internal prerequisites but is "formed", completed on the biological foundation of the system of social relations in which a person develops. Higher mental functions are not innate in a person from birth but are only laid down in the form of potential. In the process of socialization, due to the interaction of natural and social factors, there is a transition of the potential into the actual. The most important mechanism, in this case, is the interiorization of the cultural experience of humanity by a person. In this case, individuality is not just created but self-realized, self-developed. The process of development in this situation acts as a process of self-realization and is realized in the process of creative activity with the help of exteriorization (the transition of the internal into the external action).
In his works, D. A. Leontiev connects the problem of self-realization with the questions about nature, origin and character of a person's creative forces, while he understands creative
self-realization as one of the leading driving forces of a developed personality, which encourages and directs it in its activities. He identifies three levels of analysis of the problem of personal self-realization: sociological, philosophical, and psychological. At the sociological level, questions about the ways and methods of personal self-realization are determined and solved. Questions about the nature of a person, about the possibility of its exteriorization, about the essence of the process of self-realization are solved at the philosophical level. The object of the study is a person accepted as a generic being and humanity as a whole. At the psychological level, personal qualities and specific external conditions that allow this person to self-actualize successfully are analyzed (Leontiev, 2006, p. 73).
Studying the problem of self-actualization of the individual, S. L. Rubinstein used the concept of "the top of life". He wrote: "A person who has done something significant becomes, in a certain sense, a different person. Of course, in order to do something significant, you need to have some internal capabilities for this" (Rubinshtein, 1969, p. 246). Of great importance is the thesis of S.L. Rubinstein about the need to study the peaks in the activities of not only outstanding people but also an "ordinary person": "every person, every human personality has its own history. One can even say that a person is a person only because he has his own history" (Rubinshtein, 1969, p. 106).
The issues related to self-actualization in the teaching of students in the process of distance education are important for the purposes of the current research. Thus, here are the basic principles of distance education: • Humanistic teaching principle. The point of this principle is that the educational process is addressed to the student in order to create the most favourable conditions for students to master the accumulated experience, which consists in the content of training, mastering the chosen profession, in order to develop and to show creative individuality, high civil, mo-
ral, intellectual qualities that provide the student with social security, existence in safety and comfort.
• The principle of interactivity implies both the contact of students with teachers, with the help of the means of new information achievements and students with each other. According to experience, students' contact with each other is more intense than the interaction between a student and a teacher.
• The principle of self-actualization. The main task of distance learning is to reveal the intellectual and creative potential of students.
• The principle of a personality-oriented approach means relying on the positive qualities of the student's personality, on incentive methods, and not methods of punishment in any form. This principle is especially important for distance learning (Berberyan, 2018; Berberyan, 2020).
In the educational system, a person who is capable of self-education is in demand. The continuity of education is a social order of society. Distance learning can provide a systematic educational development of the individual. Distance learning, in reality, is a personality-oriented form of learning (Tomassini & Zanazzi, 2014; Butcher & Rose-Adams, 2015). It represents the freedom of choice of the teacher (tutor) the selection of educational material depending on students' information needs. When comparing it with the correspondence form, the means of communication for distance learning are as operational as possible, and the training programs and courses are flexible and individual (Butcher & RoseAdams, 2015; Garanina & Maltseva, 2016; Ras-torgueva, 2014).
Methodology
In the course of the current study, three hypotheses were formulated:
Hypothesis 1. There is a correlation between the ambition for self-actualization and the level of stress resistance.
Hypothesis 2. There is a correlation between the ambition for self-actualization and the level
of assessment of one's own effectiveness in the process of distance learning among students.
Hypothesis 3. The ambition for self-actualization and the level of stress resistance differ depending on the student's gender.
The goal of the study is to investigate the connection between the self-actualization of the personality and the level of stress resistance in the process of distance learning among students.
The methodological bases of the current research are the conceptual foundations of the professional formation of the personality and activity by K. S. Abulkhanova-Slavskaya, B. G. Ananyev, A. G. Asmolov, S. D. Smirnov, the development of modern informational and com-municational technologies (A. A. Andreev, E. S. Polat, M. Yu. Bukharkina, M. V. Moiseeva, etc.); the concept of stress by H. Selye. The absolute theoretical basis of personal and professional development is the research by the representatives of humanistic psychology on the problems of self-actualization: A. Maslow, C. Rogers and other scientists.
Research methods: questionnaires and testing, including:
1. Test to assess the level of self-actualization of the individual (SAMOAL) by E. Shostrom, in the adaptation of A. V. Lazukin.
2. Test "Self-assessment of stress resistance" by S. Cohen and G. Williamson.
3. The author's method for identifying the atti
tude of students to distance learning.
The empirical basis of the research. The participants of the research were 85 students from various universities in Armenia. The students represent various professional training directions, learning in the distance form of training. The respondents were divided into two homogeneous groups considering sex differences: 43 female and 42 male.
Results and Discussion
The method of studying the level of self-actualization (SAT) is designed to diagnose the level of self-actualization of the individual. This methodology consists of 14 scales, 126 points. The methodology has basic scales and additional scales, which include a block of values, a block of feelings, a block of self-perception, a block of human concept, a block of interpersonal sensitivity, a block of attitude to cognition. The average indicators of the components that fill the concept of "self-actualization" in two groups of subjects: in the group of females (group 1) and in the group of males (group 2) were compared. The analysis of "self-actualization" from the point of view of sex difference seemed interesting (Fig. 1). In general, the study has not shown significant differences in the level of self-actualization by gender.
Figure 1. The results of the assessment of the students' ambition for self-actualization as measured by SAMOAL.
2. Studies of the student's stress tolerance were conducted using a self-assessment and stress tolerance test by S. Cohen and G. Williamson. With the help of this test, a complete and differentiated picture of the relationship of stress
resistance was revealed. As a result of applying this technique, the following data were obtained, which show the self-assessment of students' stress tolerance (see Fig. 2).
11st group ■ 2nd group
Figure 2. The results of self-assessment of the students' general stress tolerance.
Based on the results of the questionnaire:
Figure 3. Results of the questionnaire on the question of satisfaction with the learning process in the distance format by students.
A very important question related to satisfaction with the online learning process: more than a
third part of students noted that they are not satisfied.
Figure 4. Results of the questionnaire on difficulties that students face in the process of distance learning.
The problems associated with the difficulties of learning online are assessed by students as follows: difficulties in communication (30.4%), the difficulty of performing practical classes
(16.1%), difficulties in mastering the material (14.3%), the remaining problems are slightly expressed.
Figure 5. The results of the questionnaire on the quality of distance learning of students.
Students evaluate the quality of education using distance learning: doubts (32, 1 %), negative
(32, 1%), positive (32, 1%).
Figure 6. The results of the questionnaire on the effectiveness of distance learning of students.
Accordingly, the effectiveness of distance learning is estimated as average (39.3%), low
(33.9%) among students.
Figure 7. The results of the questionnaire on the issue of evaluating their own effectiveness in the process of distance learning by students.
Mathematical processing of the results of the empirical study was performed by calculating the Pearson correlation coefficient. According to the first hypothesis, a correlation between the ambition for self-actualization and the level of stress tolerance was estimated, resulting in 0.43, i.e., there is an average positive correlation. The hypothesis was confirmed.
According to hypothesis 2, the ambition for self-actualization correlates with the level of evaluation of one's own effectiveness in the pro-
cess of distance learning (the correlation coefficient is 0, 51). According to hypothesis 3, it has been confirmed that there are sex differences in the criteria of striving for self-actualization and the level of stress tolerance.
The study of self-actualization scales has shown the following results. Male respondents have a predominance on the scales of orientation in time, a view of human nature, autonomy, spontaneity, contact, flexibility in communication. Female students have higher results on the
scales of value, creativity, self-understanding, autosympathy.
The 1st group's students assess their stressful situation perfectly. This suggests that students can objectively assess their stress state and cope with it (Selye, 1936). As a result of this study, the following results have been revealed: the 2nd group's students assess their stressful situation at an average level. This suggests that students can cope with stressful situations, excluding some specific cases.
The assessment of their own work in the framework of distance learning in half of the cases was satisfactory (41.1%), then the students were divided into groups: good (27%) and excellent (29%). Thus, the effectiveness of distance learning largely depends on students, as they themselves, in half of the cases, assess their work as satisfactory; the awareness of distance learning as a joint work would lead to the solution of many problems that arise in online learning.
Conclusion
The modern educational system is developing in the conditions of globalization and an ever-increasing amount of information necessary for a person who is able to operate with a huge array of knowledge in various fields of human activity. The education system includes a wide range of information, communication and virtual technologies aimed at using the powerful potential of students, deepening the content of education, expanding their knowledge, including implementing training in the aspect of individualiza-tion and differentiation. The formation of a student's personality his self-actualization is successfully carried out through interactive learning technologies, with active dialogue interaction of all subjects of the educational process in an information-communicative educational environment.
1. As a result of the theoretical analysis, the theoretical and methodological basis of the study
was determined in relation to the self-actuali-
zation of the individual as the highest level of its development in the context of humanistic psychology, distance learning, the connection between self-actualization and stress resistance.
2. As a result of an empirical study, it was discovered that according to the 1st hypothesis, there was a correlation between the ambition for self-actualization and the level of stress tolerance - 0.43, i.e. there was an average positive correlation. Consistent with hypothesis 2, the ambition for self-actualization correlated with the level of evaluation of one's own effectiveness in the process of distance learning (the correlation coefficient is 0,51). Consistent with the 3rd hypothesis, there were gender differences in the criteria of striving for self-actualization and the level of stress tolerance.
Acknowledgements
The work was supported by the Science
Committee of RA, in the frames of the research
project № 10-2/21T-03.
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