conscious and active attitude of the person not to succumb to the influence of various factors, to critically evaluate the advice and suggestions of other people, to act on the basis of one’s views and beliefs. The problem of independence is studied in different areas of developmental (Erikson, Vygotsky, Elkonin), pedagogical (Lerner) psychology and in the works of existential psychologists, where the phenomenon of independence is closely intertwined with the problem of freedom (E. Fromm, V. Frankl, etc.)