MENTALITY AS A LEADING ETHNOPSYCHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTIC

Abstract

Mentality is an important ethnopsychological phenomenon, which is an integral ethnopsychological feature of nation and determines its essential features. It is a certain psychological structure, which forms the value system and norms of life as an individual, as the nation. It appears as the integral valuable characteristic of social community. It Includes a set of values, symbolic, conscious and subconscious feelings, ideas and leads to the appropriate patterns of behavior, activities, lifestyle of the group.Habits, desire, symbols tradition, intuitive unconscious belong to mentality and they exist at the level of unconscious mental processes. It combines rational features and irrational ones. This is the way, the type of thinking, which is revealed in cognitive, emotional and volitional processes.The structure of mentality consists of three components: emotional, cognitive and behavioral. Emotional component of mentality consists of emotional states and experiences. Emotional component gives some energy charge to mentality, stimulates the cognitive and behavioral activity.Cognitive component of mentality consists of knowledge of objects and the situation of life, which are the result of an individual life experience and learning. It allows people to navigate in different situations. Behavioral component — is a component, which is expressed in action and acts of ethnic group. Due to behavioral component the values of ethnic group are implemented.So mentality is a system of ideas and values that stimulate and regulate the behavior in the socio-cultural realities of being, it is a specific reflection of reality, which caused by the process of life of ethnic group in specific geographic, historical and cultural conditions.