Innovation in Education: Tools and Technologies

The article presents a summary of the analytical research into the development of individual cognitive maps among two categories of students — students of civil and military higher education institutions. The purpose of the research was to study the vision of their own career prospects after graduation from the university. The researchers focused on the behavioral reactions and self-evaluation patterns reflected in individual cognitive maps of reality, the socio-psychological analysis of which was tested with the methodology developed by G.N. Malyuchenko and V.M. Smirnova. It has been established that the “chaotic” model is dominant among students of civil higher education institutions, while the “organismic” model is more typical of military students. It has been found that individual cognitive maps are largely dependent on the self-evaluation of a particular individual, which indicates the possibility of correction of the relationship between individual world view and personal self-evaluation. Cognitive maps and mindsets can become more productive, whereas latent or potential needs for self-fulfillment are likely to transform into active aspirations for self-study and forming an image of the future.