“Transitional” periods in the literature, characterized by rapid changes in the socio-political and spiritual-cultural spheres, determine a new vision of person, emphasizing person's inner complexity and versatility. Such situation stimulates the search for innovative methods of psychologism. In the article it is highlighted the originality of the psychologism P. Merimee's and M. Kotsyubynskyi's short stories through the prism of permanent, typical features of European psychological prose. It is noted that in P. Merimee's psychologism was conditioned by historical and social influence and had an analytical character, which is characterized by the conditioning of the inner self by external factors and causes of the bourgeois or exotic environment. In the literary texts of the French writer, whose realism has acquired romantic color, romantic elements (folklore, ethnic exotics, fantastic, fiction, dream motive, strong personality image , elements of Orientalism, etc.) are used to deepen the general psychologization of works. It is proved that P. Merimee uses an indirect form of psychologism to depict the inner world of his characters, using such means as mimic, gestures, movements, action, author's irony, subtext, silence and so on. M. Kotsyubynskyi's psychologism, taking into account the achievements of Ukrainian and Western European psychological prose, acquires a modern character. The writer's attention is transferred to human private «microcosm», person's psycho-emotional sphere. In his short stories M. Kotsyubynskyi used together with the traditional indirect form of psychologism the direct form, which becomes dominant for his work. To recreate the psychology of his characters, the writer uses such innovative means for his time as the replacement of external events with internal, attention is focused on the intensity of the characters' inner experiences, associative jumps, the writer's inner monologue approaching the “stream of consciousness”, etc.