THE IMPACT OF EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE ON SELF-PRESENTATION TACTICS OF STUDENTS MAJORING IN PSYCHOLOGY

The society currently places an increasing demand for the educational domain, the quality of bachelor's programs and the level of competencies underlying professional development. There has been an increased demand for qualified psychology graduates capable of solving challenging problems through such personal and professional qualities as emotional intelligence (EI) and self-presentation. The study proves the significance of emotional intelligence and self-presentation tactics for the development of personal and professional qualities of a competitive university student. The research pioneers the interconnection between the components of emotional intelligence (the N. Hall test and the D. V. Lyusin questionnaire test Emln) and self-presentation tactics (the S. Lee, B. Quigley scale). The analysis of various points of view on the subject of the study allows us to define emotional intelligence as a combination of cognitive and non-cognitive skills, given the personal characteristics of the individual. Based on this view we can determine the following structural components: perceiving and understanding emotions, managing emotions and using emotions in thinking and other cognitive activities. These components of emotional intelligence influence the optimization of professional training of future psychologists in modern university, whereby they involve the formation of students' professional core competencies enabling them to be competitive in their professional activities. General intelligence is a factor of academic achievements, whereas developed emotional intelligence and self-presentation contribute to the success in life and profession. This research deals with modern educational paradigms, wherein a series of general and specific competencies are translated into particular requirements a professional psychologist is to meet. However, it does not include the students' EI formation and self-presentation abilities necessary for future competitive professionals. The Institute of Psychology and Pedagogy, (Tyumen, Russia) provides the evidence base of the research. The study involves 147 students aged from 17 to 22 (I-IV years of education) majoring in psychology. The research includes three objectives: - to review theoretical and empirical studies in this area; - to diagnose the structural components of emotional intelligence, as well as the students’self-presentation tactics; - to carry out a comparative analysis of empirical data and draw conclusions. The survey of the students has shown that the subjects with high and low levels of emotional awareness tend to resort to intimidation and managing emotions as well as such assertive self-presentation tactics as entitlement and blasting. The students with developed abilities to manage their emotions more frequently manifest their strengths and past achievements. The subjects with low and high abilities to control their emotional states tend to provide negative and critical evaluations of others. The authors emphasize the research prospects of individual human resources where emotional intelligence, as one of the components of the behavioral control, is seen as a predictor of various self-presentation tactics, protective and assertive in particular