ANALYSIS OF THE CONCEPT OF «IMAGE OF THE FUTURE» IN THE CONTEXT OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

Abstract. The article contains an analyzes of the concept of "image of the future" in the psychology of health. The development of this concept is a necessery aspect of investigations in the field of health psychology, espesialy for the health-saving activity and adherence to treatment. The relevance of this topic is due to the nature of the course of the disease, its widespread occurrence in the present and a high dependence on selfhealth-saving activity of the individual. It is assumed that the image of the future is a factor in the planning and goal-setting of health-preserving activities and, as a product of self-consciousness of an individual, can perform a regulatory function. Further analysis implies compliance with this provision. The image of the future is seen as a representation, a product of self-awareness, fixing possible consequences of persone's activity, reflecting a holistic view of the achievements and results of potential future events that embody a person's expectations those are associated with the past experience and actions in the present. The concept of the image of the future is compared with the concepts of “life path”, “time perspective”, “perspective of future time ”, “psychological future”. The independence of the notion “image of the future” is shown, its distinctive features are described, which substantiates the advantage of its use. It is assumed that under the conditions of the disease in patients with osteochondrosis of the spine, a modification of the image of the future occurs, which may affect its adherence to treatment. The concept of "image of the future" is also compared with the concepts of "internal picture of health" and "internal picture of the disease." It is concluded that these concepts are related in the presence of a wider semantic field of the concept “image of the future”.