Psychological Media Competence: Basic Content and Structure

The authors suggest introducing the concept “psychological media competence” into psychological terminology. It has become necessary because of the new demands on the professional abilities of an educational psychologist in the new conditions when human development and education are greatly mediated by the new digital media: the Internet and TV. The article stresses the importance of diagnosing the professional competence of a psychologist that enables him/her to understand the mechanisms of a personality‘s formation in a media environment; to define the psychological potential of media content: developing or destructive; to regulate media communication which involves children; and to prepare other participants in the educational process: teachers, children and their parents for the productive and safe functioning in a media environment. The article presents a comparative analysis of the concepts semantically related to “psychological media competence”: “media competence”, “psychological competence” “psychological culture” and “media culture” and defines their place in a metalevel model of psychological media competence. The article studies the components of “media competence” and its levels. It also proposes methods of investigating a psychologist’s readiness to fulfill his/her functions in a media environment. It shows the necessity of an interdisciplinary approach and integration of propositions of different psychological paradigms to the solution of the tasks of personality development in a media environment. The article presents a theoretical description of “psychological media competence”, which, according to the authors, will make it possible to carry out its operationalization, to elaborate programs of development and methods of diagnosing the psychological media competence of participants in the educational process, thus contributing to its effectiveness.