The book consists of two sections. The first presents essays on the psychology of art. In these essays, the problem of perception and understanding by the viewer of paintings is investigated. In the second, the reader will find an example of a figurative and symbolic analysis of a work of art based on Robert Altman's film "Vincent and Theo." The third raises the problem of the development of creative imagination in ontogenesis. The fourth essay illustrates the possibilities of using figurative and symbolic analysis to study social processes .. he second part includes three essays on the psychology of personality. In the first two of them, the authors turn to the history of philosophical and psychological teachings on the identity of the person and the problem of an ideal person. The third one presents the results of a study of the relationship between the formation of the professional identity of the teacher - researcher and continuous personal timeframe. Here, by a continuous personal time is understood the connection between the past (the availability of plans for professional development in youth), the present (choice of an educational institution to obtain the desired professio