The development of civil society in Ukraine requires an active political position on the part of all subjects of public relations; active creative and positive orientation of actions. The basis of this process is political activity and political participation. The problem of studying the political activity of young people - from 18 to 35 years old - is especially relevant. In this regard, it is important to highlight the socio-psychological factors of active political activity, and especially the individual psychological characteristics and psychological characteristics of the microenvironment. As an object of the article, the realities of the political and socio-cultural life of the West in the 1960s and 1970s, when these factors were manifested against the background of the general activity of the youth of the West, were summarized. It is the political activity and participation of young people in various movements and associations that have determined the configuration of political and social processes. Then came the end of the Cold War, the collapse of the USSR, and this story became a general activity of the world's youth, including the youth of Ukraine. Retrospection and historiography make it possible to assess the place of psychology, political psychology in the study of these processes. Psychological science has been enriched with such achievements that they can be used as an example of solving broader problems - as a study of the phenomenon of political and socio-cultural participation of young people in solving urgent everyday problems, especially in modern crises and challenges. Keywords: psychology, political psychology, political activity and political participation, the West in the 1960s and 1970s.