The resource role of the Possible Self in times of crisis

On April 24, a research postgraduate seminar "The Resource Role of the Possible Self in Times of Crisis" was held with the participation of postgraduate student Milena Grishutina, a Research Assistant at the Laboratory and a lecturer at the Department of Psychology at the HSE University. Supervisor – Kostenko Vasily , Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow at the Laboratory, Associate Professor of the Department of Psychology, HSE University.

The "possible self" as a component of the self-concept has attracted increasing attention in personality studies in recent years. The agency of the personality, involved in the creation of the Possible Self, together with the sense-forming function of the construct, can activate the resource potential of the personality in crisis situations. In our study, we study under what circumstances in crisis situations (for example, in circumstances of unexpected emigration) certain types of Possible Self can provide a person with support for further planning and development of life, and under what circumstances they can make a negative contribution to a person’s attitude towards his future. The analysis carried out provides information on the conditions under which the possibilities presented by a person play a supporting role in challenging situations, contributing to a positive living of difficult life events. In addition, the study is aimed at a detailed consideration of the types of Possible Self, characterized by restrained agency. The study of the relationship between these possibilities and the characteristics of the potential of the individual will enrich both the theory and the applied field of psychology with new data.