The article presents data from a study whose purpose was to establish whether there is a connection between the needs of a person in communicating with other people and the reasons for which he gets a pet, and also to determine whether there are differences in interpersonal needs in people who voluntarily and happily become the owner of a home animal and those who do not see themselves as owners. To determine the main reasons underlying the interaction of humans with animals, an author’s questionnaire was developed. As a result of mathematical data processing, significant relationships were established between different types of social needs and the reasons for animal ownership. In addition, the differences between the social needs of those who cannot imagine their life without pets and those who do not see themselves as owners of animals were analyzed.

The changes that have affected all spheres of society have also affected the existing stereotypes of gender behaviour, so the issue of the place and role of men and women in society focuses on research on the aspirations, interests and preferences of both sexes. Gender issues are studied in an interdisciplinary aspect, so recently there have been many studies in which the subject of discussion concerns different fields of science - psychology, philosophy, linguistics, journalism, sociology, political science and many others. To study the gender sphere of concept of contemporary periodicals for women and men, the following scientific methods are considered: descriptive method, analysis, content analysis, questionnaire, comparative method and induction. However, an attempt has been made to analyze different approaches to the study of concepts (in particular, gender). There are many different definitions of the concept, which indicates the complexity and ambiguity of the “concept” meaning, but there is a limit to the scientific description and understanding of the concept. The gender sphere of concept is a system of interactions of maximum concepts of man and woman, as well as their derivatives, which are called gender and social roles in society performed by man and woman. Concepts, sphere of concept include gender features, which allow a gender approach to study the gender sphere of concept of contemporary periodicals for women and men. The study of the gender sphere of concept within the framework of contemporary gender-labelled publications allows to identify and correlate metagender and gender concepts that appear in society.

This article describes the socio-psychological training with horses "Ippo-training", aimed at the development of social competence of the participants, including interper- sonal perception, nonverbal means of communication, self-confidence, responsibility and commitment. The theoretical foundations of ippo-training from the points of social and animal psychology are examined. In particular, the author reveals the behavioral features of horses as social animals, the hierarchical structure of the herd, in which a person may be involved as the leader, which enables to find theoretical and behavioral similarities with the life of people in the society. The author indicates the main purpose of this type of work, results of ippo-training and variants of training for different types of participants — family, corporate or public ippo training. The article also provides guide- lines for conducting the training, technical requirements, qualifications which leaders need (psychologists and horsemen), safety techniques and an exemplary work plan.

In 2020, the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical workers who are fighting for the lives and health of patients in the "red zones" were on the front line in this struggle. The huge level of responsibility, the increasing duration of shifts, difficult working conditions, fears for their health and the health of their loved ones, and many other factors determined the fact that doctors themselves began to need support for their physical and psychological well-being. The purpose of our work was to study the level of perceived stress in the context of the features of coping strategies in medical professionals with different practical experience (students, practicing doctors) in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The total number of study participants was 59 people, including 35 experienced medical workers aged 33 to 72 years (M=47,88; SD=9,44) and 24 medical students aged 20 to 29 years (M=24,16; SD=3,21) without professional experience, but who voluntarily went to work in the "red zones" during the pandemic. As a result of the study, data were obtained on high levels of perceived stress and overstrain by medical professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic, which is especially pronounced in students. The differences between experienced doctors and medical students were revealed according to the criterion of their preference for certain coping strategies, namely, the predominance of "Escape–avoidance" coping among students. The connection of dominant coping behavior strategies with the level of perceived stress is also established: students who resort to confrontational coping experience a higher level of perceived stress, and a decrease in their level of overexertion is associated with a greater degree of self-control strategy. Experienced doctors do not have both of these connections.