Socio-psychological Literature Research Articles

Соціально-психологічні особливості подолання студентами складних життєвих ситуацій

The article examines the problem of overcoming complex life situations, including crisis situations of the individual and his or her socio-psychological features, by modern students. In the socio-psychological literature of the last decade, the topic of overcoming crisis, extreme and difficult life circumstances is of great interest. The content of the concepts of difficult life situations, crises and crisis situations is revealed. Features of crisis situations, types (strategies) of "overcoming" (mastering) behavior are determined. The main stages of the social and psychological overcoming of difficult situations by an individual are characterized and the key tasks faced by a person in difficult situations are defined: 1. To establish the meaning of the situation (understand what happened) and determine its meaning for yourself. 2. A person's reaction to the demands of a difficult or crisis situation and an individual's attempt to resist it. 3. The need to maintain relationships with family members, friends, other people, those who are able to provide support. 4. To keep a "reasonable" emotional balance, to manage negative feelings arising as a result of adverse circumstances and situations. 5. To save and maintain "self-image", social identity, self-confidence. The search for social support is manifested in asking other people for advice and help in a stressful situation. The task of overcoming negative life circumstances is to either overcome difficulties, or reduce their negative consequences, or avoid these difficulties, or endure them. Crisis is a turning point, a transitional moment, a critical point of development, a period in which a person's sensitivity to the world, the system of relations to oneself and others is sharpened. The gradual solution of the assigned tasks leads to successful overcoming of a difficult situation. The leading coping strategies used by modern students to overcome difficult life situations are the search for social support, acceptance of responsibility, problem solving planning, positive reassessment, task solving, optimism, giving meaning.

Improvement of professional competencies and personnel competences in the BANI world on the example of civil servants through the development of their emotional intelligence

Like in most countries around the world, Ukrainian civil servants were not prepared for the long-term changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and, in 2022, for operating under martial law conditions. The new realities forced them to adapt to the BANI world. A survey conducted among a sample of civil servants revealed that gender parity is not ensured in Ukraine's public service field, which became an additional research direction. The article presents the results of a research study based on a survey aimed at determining the influence of emotional intelligence on the competencies and capabilities of civil servants, with the efficiency of their work as the measuring criterion. The respondents evaluated the effectiveness of various forms and means of distance learning for different categories of civil servants. The study identified specific perspectives on work effectiveness based on components of emotional intelligence. Additionally, based on their experience, the survey participants recognized online training as an essential method for developing competencies and competences of civil servants. The research employed the following methods: theoretical analysis and synthesis of socio-psychological literature related to the research topic, psychodiagnostics, and statistical methods.

Социально-психологический анализ основных проблем психологии правовых отношений

The social psychology of legal relations is a new scientific field. It develops at the meeting point of social and legal psychology. The main scientific problem in studying legal relations is associated with understanding the essence of law. Two leading directions have emerged in legal science: the doctrine of the natural and the social nature of law. In psychological terms, these doctrines reflect one of the main issues of psychology about the relationship between the biological and the social in the human psyche. The concept of the natural origin of law gives psychologists the opportunity to study law from the perspective of the biological foundations of the human psyche. The concept of the social nature of law (positive law) is linked to social psychology and orients psychologists towards the study of legal relations. In legal reality, there is a close relationship between natural law and positive law, which emphasises the unity of the biological and social essence of human beings.
 Theoretical analysis of the aspects of legal relations is determined by actual problems. Interest in the problems of legal relations is caused by the need to form a state governed by the rule of law and to establish a new system of legal relations in the global community. The Western legal and social psychology pays not much attention to the legal relations. The article analyses the concept of «legal relations» on the basis of national legal and socio-psychological literature. There is no consensus in jurisprudence regarding the definition of «legal relations». Legal relations are a form of social relations. Problems in the formation of consolidated legal relations are linked to insufficient knowledge in the field of law, especially among young people. When studying legal relations it is necessary to take into account psychological peculiarities of legal behavior. The article examines two socio-psychological aspects of the formation of legal relations. The first aspect is the interrelation of psyche and law, the second aspect is the connection of law with morality and ethics. The unity of law, morality and ethics is determined by the necessity of not only legal but also moral regulation of behavior. Philosophical and legal literature has comprehensively analysed the relationship between law and the human psyche. G. W. F. Hegel emphasised the psychological nature of law, since the phenomenon of law emerges as a result of the spiritual activity of a person. On this basis public legal relations originate. In Russian science, the doctrine of natural law and the relationship between psyche and law was developed by L. I. Petrazhitsky who focused his attention on the study of motives of legal behavior and developed the classification of human emotions. Positive law is psychologically expressed in the concepts of duty, responsibility and obligation. A socio-psychological analysis shows that the structure of legal relations is made up of cognitive, communicative and behavioral components. The social nature of law is determined by the moral foundations of society. Morality shapes the ideal of human behavior, while law determines the requirements for achieving that ideal.

Alumni connectedness and its role in intention to contribute to higher education institutions

ABSTRACT This study proposes a new giving behavior model for higher education institutions (HEI), featuring alumni connectedness as a primary predictor. This contrasts with previous studies that measured variables that showed an inconsistent influence as predictors of alumni’s desire to contribute. Alumni connectedness, built from socio-psychological literature, is a multidimensional variable that can capture the complexity of the alumni-university relationship. Connectedness consists of relatability, dependency and a sense of community, which combine students’ experiences with university services while at university and afterward This research utilized an online survey that yielded 642 usable responses to validate the model. The model testing results indicate that connectedness significantly influences alumni’s intentions to contribute. Extending relationship marketing principles, this model may assist in restructuring alumni databases by classifying different degrees of alumni connectedness. The differences in connectedness level can help design more contextual alumni marketing programs.

Features of the sociocultural identity of a modern student

Introduction. The study of the basic characteristics of the sociocultural identity of a modern student as value and semantic foundations of personal development is relevant due to the cultural and moral transformations of modern society and the practical need to change the system of education in higher education.Aim. The current research aims to reveal the sociocultural characteristics by which a modern student describes himself/herself when compared with a group and to identify groups, communities, which is the subject of identification for the student.Methodology and research methods. The authors used a quantitative approach to the collection and analysis of the data obtained. This made it possible to cover a large sample and obtain statistically reliable results. The theoretical methods of research were historiographical and comparative types of analysis (allowed to formulate the initial provisions of the study); conceptual and terminological analysis of philosophical, psychological, psychological-pedagogical, socio-psychological literature (used to describe the categorical field of the problem); systematisation and conceptualisation of scientific ideas. The following empirical methods were applied: questionnaires, testing. Data processing methods: methods of mathematical statistics (descriptive statistics, Student’s T-test, one-factor analysis of variance).Results. The article contains the results of an empirical study of the sociocultural identity of students. The authors defined the foundations of the ideas of modern youth about themselves. In particular, students describe themselves through belonging to family, profession, gender and national groups. The authors identified the groups with which the respondents identify themselves: this is a family and a circle of friends. Moreover, the authors revealed that the socio-cultural identity of students has gender, age differences, and depends on the direction of training at the university. The role of the presented results in the modern international scientific discourse was analysed.Scientific novelty. The authors conceptualised the concept of sociocultural identity and described the mechanisms of its formation; identified the main components in the structure of sociocultural identity of young people; established gender, age and educational differences in the characteristics of sociocultural identity of students; identified dominant groups in the process of identification of a young person with a high degree of significance.Practical significance. The results of the study can be used as a spiritual and moral, value-oriented basis of the education programme in higher education.

Conceptualising and Building Trust to Enhance the Engagement and Achievement of Under-Served Students

This conceptual article asserts the importance of building and sustaining trust between higher education students and practitioners within the online environment. Instilling trust can construct sustainable learning environments that are abundant with collaborative inquiry and dialogue. In this article, we highlight and investigate the conceptual construct of trust and its antecedents. Considering the nature and purpose of interpersonal trust in student-instructor relationships within online higher education institutions, we explore several factors (in particular, performativity, casualisation of teaching staff, neoliberalism, non-traditional student identities, and the digital divide) which influence the development of trust. We also investigate the role of trust in influencing student engagement and achievement, in terms of attainment of academic goals. Notably, we highlight the importance of further inquiry into methods of rapport-building in higher education. Theoretical foundations have been drawn from Indigenous scholarship as well as organisational and socio-psychological literature. We close by welcoming further discussion and reflection on institutional practices and performance measures in the digital environment, particularly in terms of whether they allow instructors to embed relational aspects and elicit cognitive and affective trust from their students.

Emotional intelligence peculiarities of civil servants of Ukraine

Our work is aimed at studying of emotional intelligence features and leadership qualities of civil servants of Ukraine. The object of study is the emotional intelligence of civil servants. The research methods: theoretical analysis and generalization of socio-psychological literature on the topic of research, psychodiagnostics, and mathematical and statistical methods. The importance of emotional intelligence, leadership qualities in the context of the management model is investigated in the work. The components and mechanisms of influence of emotional intelligence through the manifestation of interpersonal understanding of emotions, empathy, emotional awareness are revealed here. Having conducted an empirical study, we can claim that more than 40% of surveyed civil servants, regardless of age, position, and work experience have an average level of emotional intelligence, which implies their competence in knowing their own emotions and the emotions of others. It was established that almost 50% of respondents demonstrate leadership qualities at the level of above-average, while a highly effective type of leadership is chosen by more than 40% of respondents. The obtained data provide an opportunity to further develop training programs aimed at developing and expanding leadership skills through the improvement of emotional intelligence, the implementation of more humane actions that preserve the human potential of the organization.

Early maturation or infantilization: The paradox of modern childhood events

The article claims the relevance of the study of boundaries and events at the end of childhood based on autobiographical memory. The authors analyze the concepts of childhood sociality, childhood events, early maturation, and infantilization, based on the ideas of E.E. Sapogova about the units of analysis of the autobiographical narrative as well as P. Shtompka concerning events as components of the agent-structural reality of society, through which the latter is not only organized, but also disclosed. They consider the traditions of studying the events of childhood related to the identification of important episodes or processes of childhood based on the analysis of publications in foreign journals, as well as in Russian socio-psychological literature. The article discusses the results of an empirical study conducted by online survey in 2018 (N = 774). The study revealed that modern children have a paradoxical phenomenon of simultaneous early maturation and prolonged childhood in the youth age. One of the key findings of the research is that childhood events are characterized by eclecticism. Another finding is that there are groups with accelerated maturation (poor children, children from single-parent families, and children in urban areas). The factors influencing the lag behind the typical situation are gender, family composition, socio-economic situation, and territory of residence. On the basis of comparing the conventional generations Y and Z, it was determined that the growth of contradictions and accumulation of three groups of explanatory models reveal the essence of elicited paradoxes in the development of childhood. The deconstruction of the problematic approach to understanding the eventful childhood of boys and girls who do not desire to mature is substantiated. The authors demonstrate the necessity of such research oriented on identifying actual generational differences in concrete societal patterns of childhood, which determine the sociability of childhood for a certain period as well as the reconsideration of current traditional models of the periodization of childhood.

Эмпирические типы социальной зрелости молодых людей

The paper presents the results of an empirical study aimed at the identification of empirical types of social maturity in young people; its relevance is due to the lack of typology of social maturity in modern socio-psychological literature. The study was performed on a sample of young people aged 18 to 30 years old (347 people, including 178 women and 169 men). We assumed that there are various empirical types of social maturity in young people depending on the evaluation of actualized personal and social resources, the orientation of social experiences, value orientations, and behavioral activity. We used methods based on the comprehensive program developed by A. B. Kupreichenko and A. L. Zhuravlev, as well as L. M. Smirnov’s method “Basic Values and Disvalues of Russians”. The aim of this study was to distinguish the main types of social maturity from an integrative position, reflecting the view of this phenomenon as a compound, including not only socially oriented, but also individual psychological components. It is shown that the systematic approach to the study of social maturity allows us to present this phenomenon as a unified socio-psychological construct. The following components are distinguished as components of social maturity analyzed in the study: cognitive, value, emotional and conative ones. Five empirical types of social maturity were found: “ascetic”, “ambitious”, “not actualized”, “asocial”, “socially mature”. The distinguished types of social maturity are differentiated according to the grounds of the social maturity components. In the future, these types can also become the basis for creating methodological tools that diagnose parameters distinguishing subjects with different manifestation and orientation of the social maturity phenomenon.

Семантична диференціація поняття «сучасний психолог» у сприйнятті педагогів і батьків

Висвітлюється проблематика розуміння та розроблення понять “імідж”, “імідж психолога”, “образ психолога”. Звертається увага на те, що в сучасній соціально-психологічній літературі немає єдиного підходу до розуміння та визначення поняття “імідж”. Акцентовано проблему браку ґрунтовних досліджень іміджу практичного психолога в умовах професійної діяльності. Розглянуто особливості формування професійного іміджу загалом та іміджу практичного психолога зокрема. З’ясовано, що професійний імідж психолога будується на підставі знань про образ ідеального (в очах реципієнтів) психолога. Проаналізовано роботи, в яких розглядається формування іміджу практичного психолога у свідомості різних соціальних груп. Як основний інструмент дослідження значеннєвої характеристики образу психолога використано метод психосемантики – метод семантичного диференціала. Образ психолога досліджувався на прикладі представників певних соціальних груп, а саме педагогічних працівників та батьків учнів закладів загальної середньої освіти і вихованців закладів дошкільної освіти м. Києва та Київської обл. Наведено результати експериментального дослідження, у якому взяли участь 125 осіб. Дослідження змістового аспекту образу психолога дало змогу виділити й описати характерні особливості семантичної диференціації педагогічними працівниками та батьками учнів/вихованців закладів освіти ключового поняття – “сучасний психолог”. Виявлено загальну тенденцію позитивного оцінювання образу психолога. На підставі факторного аналізу визначено особливості оцінювання сучасного психолога його потенційними клієнтами.

Effects of family involvement on the monitoring of CEO compensation

This study examines the effectiveness of CEO compensation monitoring depending on the extent of family involvement in the firm. Considering the contradictory evidence on the effects of family involvement on CEO compensation reported by the literature to date, we adopt a procedural conception of CEO monitoring – that reflect processes and rules used in family firms for the alignment of CEO incentives structure to the firm interests –, to test four hypotheses derived from agency and socioemotional wealth (SEW) perspectives. Using a sample of 357 family and non-family Spanish companies, the results show that CEO compensation monitoring is inversely related to family status, and the relationship between CEO compensation monitoring and firm performance is stronger in firms where family influence is higher. In addition, we found that the presence of a family CEO negatively affects the implementation of economically instrumental monitoring mechanisms, decoupling CEO compensation from firm performance. Our research, aligned with recent socio-psychological literature on the study of processes of family firm’s management policies, thus contributes to a better understanding of the setting of CEO compensation in family firms as a result of a combination of common bonds and mutual expectations based on emotions and values with contractual and financial factors.

An alternative approach to understanding doping behavior: A pilot study applying the Q-method to doping research

BackgroundPrevention plays an important role in the fight against doping. A lot of research in the field of doping and anti-doping has been conducted. Yet, there is still a lack of knowledge in understanding the various and multi-level impacting factors of doping behavior. Therefore, this paper aimed to apply the Q-method to doping research to identify items that potentially differentiate between athletes who dope and those who do not and to assess whether these items resemble constructs previously identified in socio-psychological literature to be predictive for doping intention, susceptibility, and behavior. As a secondary goal, we aimed to evaluate whether the Q-method method might be a suitable approach to doping prevention research. MethodsFive doped and five matched non-doped elite athletes from different sports were investigated. Each athlete completed three separate Q-sorts by indicating his/her degree of agreement with a total of 175 items on an 11-point Likert scale. Items stem from 13 different constructs such as attitudes towards doping, training/coach climate and moral disengagement. ResultsResults showed that the Q-sorts clearly differentiate two types of athletes (non-doped and doped athletes). In total, only 15 (out of 175) items differentiated between the two groups, stemming from the constructs attitudes, sportspersonship, goal orientation and situational temptation/doping susceptibility. ConclusionsThese results might be an initial indicator of items that differentiate between distinct types of athletes (doped and non-doped), and suggest that the Q-method might be a useful tool to differentiate these groups of athletes. However, further research to validate the items is needed before implementation into doping prevention strategies.

User decision-making in transitions to electrified, autonomous, shared or reduced mobility

Mobility affords a range of benefits, but there are environmental, social and economic problems associated with current transport systems. Innovations to address these issues include novel technologies (e.g., electric and autonomous vehicles; EVs, AVs), and new business models and social practices (e.g., shared mobility). Yet, far more attention by policy-makers and researchers has been paid to the technical aspects of a low-carbon mobility transition than to social or psychological aspects, or the role of the user. In this paper, we integrate insights from the multi-level perspective on transitions and socio-psychological literature and draw on transport expert interview (N = 11) data, to examine (a) what influences current attitudes and behaviours in respect of EVs and AVs, and shared mobility, and (b) how this may change in the years to come. We argue that technological change may be most compatible with the transport regime (dominated by personal car-based mobility) but potentially affords a narrower range of sustainability benefits, while mobility substitution (e.g., reducing the need to travel through tele-working or -shopping) may be most challenging for both policy-makers and publics, while potentially addressing a wider range of sustainability problems associated with the transport regime. Shared mobility options sit somewhere in between and challenge certain aspects of the regime (e.g., status associated with car ownership) while offering certain environmental, social and economic benefits. For all three areas of innovation, policy interventions need to address the needs, preferences, experiences and identities of users if they are to be effective and sustainable.

Направления социально-педагогической работы с семьями, воспитывающими детей с ограниченными возможностями

The aim of this article is to describe the main activities of the rehabilitation center with families bringing up the children with disabilities. Methods. Analysis of socio-psychological literature on the problem of social and pedagogical work with disabled children, systematization and characterization of the activities of rehabilitation institutions. Conclusion. In the current socio-economic conditions that have developed in theRussian Federation, it is necessary to intensify the activity of rehabilitation institutions for people with disabilities, to popularize the activities of specialists in the social sphere, to optimize the educational potential of families bringing up the children with disabilities.

MOTIVATIONAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS ON LITERATURE IN CONTEXT OF D. MCCLELLAND’S THEORY

Introduction. The main motives of human behavior are formed at the primary school age. Several factors play a determining role in children’s development: up-bringing in the family, style of teaching at school, quality of popular literature and other sources of information, and, in particular, school textbooks. The special importance is given to the content quality of school textbooks. The influence of school textbooks is determined by the fact that school children should necessarily get familiar with the printed materials, resulting, as a consequence, in accepting the patterns of social interaction and motive-codes introduced there. Due to high constructivist potential of school textbooks, it seems necessary to carry out content analysis of textbooks’ for the purpose of identifying the influence on certain motive trends formation in schoolchildren. The aim of the publication is to present the methodology of motivational analysis of school textbooks on literature and the results of its approbation when studying the motivational content of Ukrainian textbooks for primary school. Methodology and research methods . The research methodology is based on comparative, socio-constructivist, sociocultural and system-activity approaches to implementation of educational process and preparation of didactic materials. Scientific methods involve: analysis and synthesis of the content of sociological, socio-psychological, pedagogical and methodical literature; content analysis of educational texts. Results and scientific novelty . The author’s methodology of motivational content analysis of primary school textbooks on literature developed in the context of D. McClelland’s theory is described. As the main categories of motivational content analysis of texts, the motives of behavior introduced by D. McClelland (achievements, affiliation, positive and negative power, avoidance of failure) as well as the motives of self-expression and refusal of affiliation have been used. As a result of the analysis of Ukrainian textbooks on literature for the 2nd–5th forms, it has been revealed that the affiliation motive occurred to be the dominant one, which has a positive motivational tendency. Among negative motivational tendencies have been discovered: low level of representation of motives of achievement and self-expression; a relatively high frequency of using negative motive of power (numerous examples of manipulating people for own self-affirmation, authoritarianism of literature characters, use weakness of subordinates, etc.) and the motive of failure avoidance (the person's inability/unwillingness to work hard self-removal under difficulties). It has been concluded that high level of negative motives in primary school textbooks could indirectly influence the formation of passive life attitudes of primary school children. Practical significance . The proposed author's methodology might be useful for the organization of comparative intercountry studies on identification of specific differences in training of children in different countries. The results of the research could also serve as one of the strongest justifications for the need to update and reform the system of elementary school education.

Gender Differences in Vote Choice: Social Cues and Social Harmony as Heuristics

Some parties are more popular among men, while other parties attract more female voters. This article proposes that these differences can be partially explained by two recurring gender differences in the socio-psychological literature. It argues that men’s generally lower sensitivity to social cues makes them more likely to vote for stigmatized and small parties, whereas women’s greater concern with social harmony is expected to make them less likely to vote for extreme parties. The models are tested at the individual and party levels using three waves of Comparative Study of Electoral Systems data from twenty-eight countries.Ceteris paribus, men are more likely than women to vote for parties that are socially stigmatized or ideologically extreme. This has consequences for the current understanding of gender gaps in voting, and reiterates that voting has important social aspects.

Bridging the entrepreneurial intention-behaviour gap: the role of commitment and implementation intention

Since 1980s, many authors have studied the entrepreneurial process based on the intention models developed in the sociopsychological literature. Determinants of intention were defined, but as shown by Ajzen (1987), no direct link was established between intention and action: intentions were found to explain only about 30% of the variance in behaviour. Some authors tried to bridge this gap, by focusing more specifically on environmental factors. Our paper is in line with works by Shane et al. (2003), in studying factors at the micro level. Drawing on the sociopsychological literature, it focuses on two psychological factors that can explain why some people with entrepreneurial intentions act when others do not. As it addresses the missing link between entrepreneurial intention and behaviour from a sociopsychological approach, the main contribution of this theoretical paper is to enhance our knowledge of the entrepreneurial process, in order to improve the training and support of nascent entrepreneurs.

Perceptions and Responses to Conflict: Comparing Men and Women in Recreational Settings

This study explored if incidence of and coping response to recreation conflict differed between men and women. The socio-psychological literature offers inconclusive evidence on this, and two hypotheses have emerged. The situational hypothesis attributes coping differences to the nature of the conflict whereas the dispositional hypothesis attributes coping differences to inherent differences between men and women. To test these two hypotheses, data were collected from 521 cross-country skiers and 451 hikers. Factor analysis, t-tests, and analysis of covariance found that men reported more visitor interaction and trail quality conflicts than did women while hiking, but only more trail quality conflicts when cross-country skiing. In their response to conflict, no significant difference in coping strategies emerged between men and women. Findings provide tentative support for the situational hypothesis of coping, strengthen the existing research on coping, and add to the literature on women's recreational experiences.

Consumer Acceptance of New Food Technologies: Causes and Roots of Controversies

The literature abounds with evidence that consumers are critical of many new technologies used in modern food production. Influenced by the work on risk perception and technology acceptance in the 1980s, research has aimed to better understand the controversy around new food technologies. Whereas early contributions focused on risk perception and the lay-expert divide in objective and subjective risk perception, more recent research has turned to the role of emotions, moral judgments, and worldviews. This article takes stock of the theory and findings in this literature. In addition to providing an overview of the developments in the economic and sociopsychological literature, the review discusses selected topics related to consumer preferences for food technology and the determinants of food technology acceptance.

Capabilities and social cohesion

The paper connects the concepts of well-being and social cohesion. By using Sen's capability approach to well-being, and analysing the socio-psychological literature on cohesiveness in groups and communities, we explain when social cohesion has positive effects on the development of social capabilities and human well-being. Furthermore, we discuss cases and conditions in which stronger social cohesion may delay the achievement of the kind of goals Sen has in mind. Finally, we suggest a multidimensional idea of social cohesion, which is well-suited to the well-being perspective here endorsed. Copyright The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Cambridge Political Economy Society. All rights reserved., Oxford University Press.