Essential Characteristics of the Concepts of “Family” and “Marriage” in the Russian Worldview Across Four Generations
https://doi.org/10.26907/2541-7738.2024.5.80-94
Abstract
This article examines the evolution of the concepts of “family” and “marriage” in the Russian worldview across four generations: children (41 respondents, with significant differences observed between the groups aged 5–7 and 10–13 years, as well as preschoolers (under 7 years) generally lacking a fully developed concept of “marriage”), young adults (24 respondents aged 19–24 years), middle-aged adults (32 respondents aged 42–55 years), and seniors (14 respondents aged 66–80 years). The respondents were asked about their five reactions (words and/or word combinations) to the stimuli family and marriage. The analysis of these reactions reveals that both concepts have a complex structure, which can be best described as a frame consisting of slots (groups of related semantic reactions), and unfold over time as a series of changes: preschoolers are normally concrete thinkers with a straightforward idea of family, a result of their age-specific naïve worldview → children aged 10–13 years attain an ability to abstract from reality, but still depend on their immediate experiences → young adults, starting to live on their own, have an abstract, idealized model of family and marriage → middle-aged adults and seniors associate family and marriage with their personal life experiences.
About the Authors
M. A. Elivanova
Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia; St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
St. Petersburg, 191086; St. Petersburg, 190000
V. A. Semushina
St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
St. Petersburg, 190000
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Review
For citations:
Elivanova M.A., Semushina V.A. Essential Characteristics of the Concepts of “Family” and “Marriage” in the Russian Worldview Across Four Generations. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta Seriya Gumanitarnye Nauki. 2024;166(5):80-94. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.26907/2541-7738.2024.5.80-94
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