The article addresses the problem of a current trend in foreign and domestic psychological science which is self-regulation among professionals working under extreme conditions. Self regulation in risk situations plays a crucial role in making decisions and choosing strategies of behavior under conditions of uncertainty, which is not only a rational process implemented by cognitive mechanisms but also an emotional process including people’s attitudes toward a situation. A set of extreme professions includes service of managers in the penitentiary service, which is associated with emotionally intense social activity and involves a constant presence of pronounced negative stressors. Studying the problem of self-regulation related to the interaction of managers with the socium of extreme nature focuses on answering the key question: What psychological and situational factors contribute to a sufficient level of self-regulation for successful activities under stress conditions? To analyze the system of self-regulation among managers in the penitentiary service we conducted a research using 6 standardized psychodiagnostic technique: Behaviour Self-Regulation Style (V. I. Morosanova, E. M. Konoz); Burnout Assessment, adapted by A. A. Rukavishnikov; Personal Aggressiveness and Propensity to Conflicts (E. P. Ilyin and P. A. Kovalev); Rapid Evaluation of Management Potential (N. P. Fetiskin, V. V. Kozlov, G. M. Manuylov); Evaluation of Communicative and Organizational Aptitudes (V. V. Sinyavsky and B. A. Fedorishin); Orientation Styles of Professional Communication (N. P. Fetiskin, V. V. Kozlov, G. M. Manuylov). The principal assumption in this research was that the structure of individual features of self-regulation (a self-regulation style) and its levels was determined by one’s personal characteristics and professional-environmental factors. The study objectives were: to identify the relationship between the level of self-regulation, overall mental state, and management potential in managers involved in extreme activity (working in the penitentiary service); to reveal psychological factors for optimization of managerial competencies under extreme conditions of professional activity; and to identify main difficulties and competence deficiencies for subsequent corrective and psychotherapeutic interventions. The research conducted enabled us: to study in details the peculiarities of self-regulation, overall mental state, and management potential among managers in the penitentiary system; and to determine which system components require intentional development in order to mitigate deficiencies and to increase the effectiveness of managers.

Key words: self-regulation; manager; professional competence; extreme profession; penitentiary service.

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