Experiences in Activities and Psychological Resources of Students

<p><strong>Context and relevance</strong>. In examining activity experiences, the authors rely on their study on the theory of self-determination, where the question of the connection between experiences in activity and psychological resources remains open. The aim of the study was to examine experiences in educational and professional activity as well as in psychological resources of students. <strong>Hypothesis</strong>. Students whose profile of typical experiences in the process of educational and professional activities is close to optimal will be characterized by a higher level of self-control and self-compassion, as well as lower rates of emotional burnout. <strong>Methods and materials</strong>: One hundred sixty-five university students aged 18 to 22 (M = 19,1, SD = 0,96) participated in the study. The following methods were used: 'Diagnostics of Experiences in Professional Activity' (E.N. Osin, D.A. Leontiev), 'Self-Compassion' (K. Neff, adapted by K.A. Chistopolskaya, E.N. Osin et al.), 'Brief Self-Control Scale' (T.O. Gordeeva, E.N. Osin), and the 'Emotional Burnout Questionnaire' (K. Maslach, S. Jackson, adapted by N.E. Vodopyanova). The <strong>results</strong> showed that the components of optimal experience (pleasure, sense) are positively associated with compassionate attitude towards oneself and self-control, while the experience of emptiness in activity is associated with emotional burnout and negative attitude towards oneself, especially in a situation of failure. It was revealed that students whose profile of typical experiences in the process of educational and professional activity is close to optimal have a greater ability to manage their behavior, emotions and high emotional tone. <strong>Conclusions.</strong> It is shown that studying students' experiences and their psychological resources is promising. The obtained results set the task for the higher education: to find individual trajectories of students' professional development.</p>