The author discusses the problem of practical application of E. Ericson's conception for diagnosing social psychological processes in contemporary society, presenting his own view on the ratio of onto- and sociogenetic development and detailing Eriscon's approach to the problem. The author suggests an original approach to studying social psychological balance in contemporary society, complete with a set of techniques for empirical studies of individual social psychological development, and presents findings of a study of social psychological development of Russian students obtained as a result of constructing the differential of social psychological development.