Research On The Professional Identity And Self-exploration Process Of Interdisciplinary Masters Of Psychology

With the expansion of graduate enrollment, graduate students soared and the number of interdisciplinary graduate is increasing. Graduate student phase is more professional and career-orientated than that of undergraduate phase. Professional identity of graduate students will affect their emotions, behaviors, the enthusiasm and involvement of learning, thus affecting the quality of postgraduate training. Compared to non-interdisciplinary masters of psychology, the major foundation of interdisciplinary masters of psychology is more weak. What’s more, their knowledge and understanding of major is lesser, so their professional identity may face more challenges. The purpose of this study aims to explore the degree, characteristics and trend of the professional identity in interdisciplinary masters of psychology, and non-interdisciplinary masters of psychology are compared in detail. In addition, this study will discuss their self-exploration process and coping style.Quantitative research and qualitative research methods were used in this study. Quantitative study adopted the professional identity questionnaire of Panbo Qin in 2009. Sample is from 136 psychology graduates of the H university, including 69 interdisciplinary masters of psychology and 67 non-interdisciplinary masters of psychology. Qualitative study used self-designed semi-structured interview outline to interview 17 subjects(8 males and 9 females) in depth about entry motivation, learning adaptation and professional knowledge, problem solving and coping style, learning harvest and self growth, prospect evaluation and future planning, etc. The results are as follows:1. Among the four dimensions of professional identity of interdisciplinary masters of psychology, emotional professional identity had the highest scores, the scores of cognitive dimension follows, which were significantly higher than those of the behaviour and appropriateness dimension. This reveals that interdisciplinary masters of psychology have a higher degree of emotional preferences to their major.2. There was no significant difference in professional identity level as a whole between interdisciplinary and non-interdisciplinary masters of psychology. On the behavior dimension of professional identity, the scores of interdisciplinary masters of psychology is significantly higher than that of non-interdisciplinary masters of psychology. This shows that interdisciplinary masters of psychology have better major performance and higher initiative commitment.3. Based on the cognitive dissonance theory, this study made a dynamic analysis of the cases and found that in the process of continuous cognitive revaluation and cognitive conversion, professional identity exists two orientations-outward and inward-different orientations will affect their experience of revaluation and then directions.4. In the self-exploration process of interdisciplinary masters of psychology, when their professional identity is affected by external or internal conflicts and challenges, they often take these strategies:initiatively seek recognition, be responsible for their own choices, balance the ideal and the reality, cognitive revaluation and be adhere to the faith. The adjustment process is also a process of experiencing cognitive dysfunction and restoring balance. Most subjects tend to take active coping style and take less negative avoidant coping style, or only take passive behaviors at a certain stage, but can quickly adjust themselves and initiatively seek help. So they were in a good adaptation.5. " Grade two" had a special significance for academic masters:this is not only a reasonable delay of the transition period, but also a "trap" period when it is very easy to waste a lot of time. For the other professional masters, the lack of this year made them less time for professional learning and self-exploration.