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STRUCTURE AND TYPES OF EVERYDAY REPRESENTATIONS OF ENEMY AND FRIEND

Vera Labunskaya

Abstract

The aim of our research was to study the representations of real personalities, who belong to a certain society or social stratum etc. The everyday representations of Enemy and Friend are formed within the everyday communication, and because this type of representations include the following components: Representations about the relation system of Friend and Enemy towards the Other; Representations of Enemy’s and Friend’s appearance; Representations of the gender specific characteristics of Enemy and Friend. Hypotheses of the research: We suggested that the ratio of the different types of the representations of Enemy and Friend during the different life periods is mediated by different attitudes towards life stages and degree of the life satisfaction. Research Methods: 1. Questionnaire «Identification of the Other as Enemy or Friend» of Labunskaya V., Tulinova D.; 2. Modification of Timothy Leary’s «Interpersonal Behavior Circle»; 3. Gender semantic differential, developed on the basis of «The Bem Sex Role Inventory»; 4. Questionnaire «Value and Content Interpretation of The Appearance Components» of Labunskaya V.; 5. Life Satisfaction Scale of Neugarten et al Panina N.V; 6. Time Attitude Scale of J. Nuttin, adapted by K. Mouzdibaev. Research subjects: 500 (300 females and 200 males) participants at different stages of the life span took part in our research: youth, adulthood, maturity. Results of research: A comparative analysis of the Representations of respondents at different stages of life, the factor analysis and the procedure of the interquartile range of the factor weights of the combined indexes of the attitude intensity, evaluation of appearance, masculinity and femininity within each factor and specified the types of the representations showed: at the stage of youth prevails Representation of the Enemy, as a man dominantnom, authoritarian, self-serving , with not enough attractive appearance, as a man, with maskulinnym type of gender identity. At the stage of maturity of the Enemy appeared as authoritarian, selfish, aggressive, very unfriendly, masculine. Hes ugly, unattractive appearance; at the stage of youth prevails Representation of the Friend, as a man with an attractive appearance, as a sincere person with the negative-positive (ambivalentnym) relationship to other, as a man with androginnym type of gender identity. At the stage of maturity prevails Representation of the Friend, as a man very kind, friendly, with feminnym type of gender identity, as a man with attractive appearance, with a harmonious expressive behavior. Three types of the representations about the Enemy: 1.«Enemy – traitor»; 2. «Enemy – adversary»; 3.«Enemy – aggressor»; and two types of representations of Friend: 1. «Friend as a kind and sincere person»; 2. «Friend as a nice person». The attitudes towards different life stages have a direct impact on the socio-psychological contents of the representations of Enemy and Friend.

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