Мотивационные и личностные предпосылки жизненного призванияMotivational and Personal Premises of Life Calling

In recent years scholars are increasingly interested in the concept of life calling. Stemming from religious background, this ancient idea emerged into the modern concept focused on self-actualization. Despite salience of the concept of calling for different cultures, research involves mainly Western samples. Additionally, the mechanisms underlying the process of its discernment remain obscure. In the present research we attempted to address those gaps. The research contains two studies and a report on the practical application of the findings. In Study 1, qualitative document analysis, was used to examine open-ended responses from HSE and MEPhI students (N = 104) regarding their concept of calling. The results indicated that they saw it as something more than a mere job, were intrinsically motivated to find it and dedicate themselves to it, and associated calling with the usage of their abilities. Study 2 examined temporal relationships between calling, life meaning, and personal life position (awareness, agency, and authenticity). Data were collected at two time points nine weeks apart from a sample of HSE students (N = 61). Hierarchical regressions’ results revealed that perceived deficit of meaning in life is one of the main factors motivating individuals to actively search for their callings, and a sense of harmony between oneself and one’s actual course of life contributes to the increase in the sense of calling. The report on practical applications includes general recommendations for practitioners, as well as the results of preliminary test of an intervention aimed at helping college students to discern their callings. Additionally, results of the investigation of personal characteristics of individuals in active search for calling are presented and discussed.