Cultural self-identification. Theoretical and methodological foundations of the study of cultural identity

Identity (lat. identicalcus - identical, identical) - the individual’s awareness of his belonging to one or another social and personal position within social roles and ego states.

This structure is formed in the process of integration and reintegration at the intrapsychic level of the results of resolving basic psychosocial crises, each of which corresponds to a certain age stage of personality development. In the case of a positive resolution of a particular crisis, the individual acquires a specific ego-power, which not only determines the functionality of the personality, but also contributes to it. further development. Otherwise, a specific form of alienation arises - a kind of “contribution” to the confusion of identity. However, it must be borne in mind that in conditions, for example, of a totalitarian society, the negative identity of an individual can have an objectively vital character in both personal and social aspects, expressed in accepting the role of a human rights activist, dissident, reformer.

It must be said that with regard to the empirical validation of the psychosocial concept in general and the study of identity in particular, this is significantly complicated by the breadth and multidimensionality of psychological reality described by E. Erikson. In this regard, foreign psychological science has repeatedly attempted to adapt the concept of “identity” to instrumental research methods, which often reduced it to private and secondary manifestations.

At the same time, his idea that “a given hypothetical structure manifests itself phenomenologically through observable patterns of problem solving” seems extremely important. If we expand this approach somewhat and add that identity is phenomenologically manifested not only through the “problem solving pattern” (which, in itself, is certainly true), but also through other observable and measurable aspects of the individual’s functioning, both socially and intrapersonally. level, we get a certain opportunity for an indirect empirical study of identity without artificially dissecting the concept itself.

At the same time, the status model of identity proposed by D. Marcia, although attractive to many researchers, especially in the field of developmental psychology, is precisely due to its “digestibility”, from the point of view of the instrumental dimension this phenomenon, raises many questions in terms of whether the reality described by this model corresponds to the true content of the concept of “identity” in its original form. This also includes the typologies of identity proposed by these and other authors as “testing points” that reflect a certain phase of the dynamic process of development.

E. Erickson himself, speaking about the relationship personal history individual and society within the framework of the concepts of identity and identity crisis, notes that "... it would be clearly wrong to transfer to what we are studying some terms of individual and social psychology, often applied to identity or to identity disorders, such as self-image, image" I", self-esteem - on the one hand, and role conflict, loss of role - on the other, although this moment joining forces -- best method research on these common problems. But this approach lacks a theory of human development that would try to come closer to the phenomenon, clarifying its origins and direction."

It is characteristic that already in later studies of representatives of the same symbolic interactionism there has been a tendency towards the integration of the concepts of personal and social identity.

In this logic, personal and social identities no longer appear as different parts or aspects of a single identity, but as different points in the process of development of the latter.

In Russian psychology there is currently a kind of boom in research related to the issue of identity. Over the past five years, a number of dissertations have been defended in our country, the issues of which are in one way or another connected with the psychosocial approach. As a result of these studies, it was revealed whole line characteristics of psycho social development personalities in Russian society, the relationship between individual development and basic social institutions, the role of identity in the process of individual adaptation in conditions of social change, features of the formation and integration into the holistic structure of professional, ethnic and other significant identifications of an individual.

At the same time, it is impossible not to notice that some authors, under the influence of a peculiar “fashion”, use the concept of “identity”, which is becoming increasingly popular in scientific use, in relation to the description of phenomena and processes, both strictly psychological and sociological, cultural, etc., not directly related to the psychological reality described by E. Erikson in terms of identity. As a consequence, conceptual and categorical apparatus psychosocial concept in national science remains today largely blurred and unformed. Terminological confusion associated with the relationship between the concepts of “identity” and “identification” is very common. This is often due to the authors’ desire for stylistic elegance and reluctance to repeat the same word, even at the expense of the semantic correctness of the use of terms.

In addition, the quality of a number of works is affected by the difficulties noted above associated with the direct empirical study of identity. However, in recent years, fairly reliable standardized methods have appeared in the arsenal of researchers and practicing psychologists that make it possible to identify the qualitative features of individual psychosocial development and personal identity. These include, first of all, “The Inventory of Psychosocial Balance (IPB)” by J. Domino and the concept of “cultural identity”

The concept of “identity” is widely used today in ethnology, psychology, cultural and social anthropology. In my understanding, it means a person’s awareness of his belonging to a group, allowing him to determine his place in the sociocultural space and freely navigate the world around him. The need for identity is caused by the fact that every person needs a certain orderliness in his life, which he can only obtain in a community of other people. To do this, he must voluntarily accept the prevailing elements of consciousness in a given community, tastes, habits, norms, values and other means of communication adopted by the people around him. Understanding all these manifestations social life group gives a person’s life an orderly and predictable character, and also involuntarily makes him involved in a particular culture. Therefore, the essence of cultural identity lies in a person’s conscious acceptance of appropriate cultural norms and patterns of behavior, value orientations and language, understanding one’s “I” from the standpoint of those cultural characteristics, which are accepted in a given society, in self-identification with the cultural patterns of this particular society.

Cultural identity has a decisive influence on the process of intercultural communication. It presupposes a set of certain stable qualities, thanks to which certain cultural phenomena or people evoke in us a feeling of sympathy or antipathy. Depending on this, we choose the appropriate type, manner and form of communication with them.

Ethnic identity

The intensive development of intercultural contacts makes actual problem not only cultural, but also ethnic identity. This is caused by a number of reasons. Firstly, in modern conditions, as before, cultural forms of life necessarily presuppose that a person belongs not only to any social cultural group, but also to the ethnic community. “Among numerous sociocultural groups, the most stable are ethnic groups that are stable over time. Thanks to this, an ethnic group is the most reliable group for a person, which can provide him with the necessary security and support in life.

Secondly, the consequence of stormy and diverse cultural contacts is a feeling of instability in the surrounding world. When the world ceases to be understandable, the search begins for something that would help restore its integrity and orderliness, and protect it from difficulties. In these circumstances everything more people(even young people) begin to seek support in the time-tested values of their ethnic group, which in these circumstances turn out to be the most reliable and understandable. The result is an increased sense of intra-group unity and solidarity. Through awareness of their belonging to ethnic groups, people strive to find a way out of the state of social helplessness, to feel like part of a community that will provide them with a value orientation in a dynamic world and protect them from great adversity.

Thirdly, the pattern of development of any culture has always been continuity in the transmission and preservation of its values, since humanity needs to self-reproduce and self-regulate. This has always happened within ethnic groups through connections between generations. If this had not happened, humanity would not have developed."

The content of ethnic identity consists of various kinds of ethnosocial ideas, shared to one degree or another by members of a given ethnic group. These ideas are formed in the process of intracultural socialization and in interaction with other peoples. A significant part of these ideas is the result of awareness of common history, culture, traditions, place of origin and statehood. Ethnosocial representations reflect opinions, convictions, beliefs, and ideas that are expressed in myths, legends, historical narratives, and everyday forms of thinking and behavior. Central location Among ethnosocial representations, images of one’s own and other ethnic groups occupy a place. The totality of this knowledge binds the members of a given ethnic group and serves as the basis for its difference from other ethnic groups.

Ethnic identity is not only the acceptance of certain group ideas, a willingness to think similarly and shared ethnic feelings. It also means building a system of relationships and actions in various interethnic contacts. With its help, a person determines his place in a multiethnic society and learns ways of behavior within and outside his group.

For every person, ethnic identity means awareness of his belonging to a certain ethnic community. With its help, a person identifies with the ideals and standards of his ethnic group and divides other peoples into those similar and dissimilar to his ethnic group. As a result, the uniqueness and originality of one’s ethnic group and its culture is revealed and realized. However, ethnic identity is not only an awareness of one’s identity with an ethnic community, but also an assessment of the significance of membership in it. In addition, it gives a person the widest opportunities for self-realization. These opportunities are based on emotional connections with the ethnic community and moral obligations towards it.

Ethnic identity is very important for intercultural communication. It is well known that there is no ahistorical, non-national personality; every person belongs to one or another ethnic group. basis social status each individual is his cultural or ethnic background. A newborn does not have the opportunity to choose his nationality. With birth in a certain ethnic environment, his personality is formed in accordance with the attitudes and traditions of his environment. No problem ethnic self-determination in a person if his parents belong to the same ethnic group and his life path passes through it. Such a person easily and painlessly identifies himself with his ethnic community, since the mechanism for the formation of ethnic attitudes and behavioral stereotypes here is imitation. In the process of everyday life, he learns the language, culture, traditions, social and ethnic norms of his native ethnic environment, and develops the necessary skills of communication with other peoples and cultures.

Personal identity

The essence of personal identity is revealed most fully if we turn to those common features and characteristics of people that do not depend on their cultural or ethnic background. For example, we are united in a number of psychological and physical characteristics. We all have a heart, lungs, brain and other organs; we are made up of the same chemical elements; our nature makes us seek pleasure and avoid pain. Every human being uses a large number of energy to avoid physical discomfort, but if we experience pain, then we all suffer equally. We are the same because we solve the same problems of our existence.

To a certain extent, intercultural communication can be considered as a relationship of opposing identities, in which the identities of the interlocutors are included in each other. Thus, the unknown and unfamiliar in the identity of the interlocutor becomes familiar and understandable, which allows us to expect appropriate types of behavior and actions from him. The interaction of identities facilitates the coordination of relationships in communication and determines its type and mechanism. Thus, for a long time, “gallantry” served as the main type of relationship between a man and a woman in the cultures of many European nations. In accordance with this type, the distribution of roles in communication between the sexes took place (the activity of a man, a conqueror and a seducer, encountered a reaction from the opposite sex in the form of coquetry), presupposed an appropriate communication scenario (intrigue, tricks, seduction, etc.) and an appropriate rhetoric of communication. This kind of relationship of identities serves as the foundation of communication and influences its content.

At the same time, one or another type of identity can create obstacles to communication. Depending on the identity of the interlocutor, his style of speech, topics of communication, and forms of gestures may seem appropriate or unacceptable. Thus, the identity of the communication participants determines the scope and content of their communication. Thus, the diversity of ethnic identities, which is one of the main foundations of intercultural communication, is at the same time an obstacle to it. Observations and experiments of ethnological scientists show that during dinners, receptions and other similar events interpersonal relationships participants add up according to ethnicity. Conscious efforts to mix representatives of different ethnic groups did not produce any effect, since after a while ethnically homogeneous communication groups spontaneously arose again.

Thus, in intercultural communication, cultural identity has a dual function. It allows communicants to form a certain idea about each other, mutually predict the behavior and views of their interlocutors, i.e. facilitates communication. But at the same time, its restrictive nature quickly manifests itself, according to which confrontations and conflicts arise in the process of communication. The restrictive nature of cultural identity is aimed at rationalizing communication, that is, at limiting the communication process to the framework of possible mutual understanding and excluding from it those aspects of communication that can lead to conflict.

Issues related to the prospects for the existence of ethnic minorities and their interaction with the majority of the population are relevant not only for Eastern European countries, but also for most developed European countries. The unification of Europe and the desire for European independence go hand in hand with the revival of the quest for national independence. In addition, European countries were faced with the problem of a massive influx of workers - emigrants from Mediterranean countries and refugees, which contributed to the transformation of Western European countries from mono-national to multi-ethnic.

Today almost every European country can be called multicultural. At the same time, multinationalism and multiethnicity, as a rule, coexist and mutually influence each other. In every country there are groups that want to maintain their cultural independence and demand recognition from the majority of the population. In this regard, the structure of minority rights in Lately the contours of a new right are revealed - the right to cultural independence.

Before you start analyzing this right, we should focus on two concepts - multinationalism and multiethnicity. The first concept usually refers to situations where cultural groups live in territorially distinct areas, such as ethnic Hungarians in Romania. The second concept concerns a situation where members of an ethnic group are scattered throughout the country, such as the Turks in Holland. In connection with the above, it can be argued that multiculturalism is a phenomenon characteristic of all of Europe.

Culture is not homogeneous in its essence, it is dynamic, it is created, destroyed, and rebuilt. It is itself multiple and includes elements of other cultures. "The process of interaction often leads to changes that are viewed as values by members of a cultural group. Preserving a culture may turn into a desire to preserve the image of a culture, but it can also deprive that culture of the opportunity to develop."

The right to preserve cultural identity means that there must be legal protection for the preservation of a group's cultural identity from the dominant majority. In doing so, one would have to consider the question of minorities within minorities and, ultimately, of individuals within minorities. This problem is characteristic of both dispersed and compact multiculturalism, because each community is characterized by multiculturalism and there is always a question of individual identity.

Therefore, it should be recognized that the collective right to preserve cultural identity is possible subject to respect for the freedom of choice of the individual. Individual people don't have to obey cultural characteristics larger group in the minority. It would be inconsistent for groups to adhere to the right to live their own cultural life in their own way and do not allow individual members of these groups to live as they see fit.

So, people must maintain their cultural identity. The principle of autonomy directs people to live in accordance with their cultural practices. The right to preserve cultural identity may be a just response to the need for political recognition of cultural identity. However, there are some problems regarding the object of this right, which is difficult to define, especially in situations involving dispersed multiculturalism. Moreover, in a number of cases, the preservation of cultural practices may not be acceptable, although members of the political community are asked to consider the value of minority traditions. If the value of a given cultural practice is recognized, a positive and negative right to preserve cultural identity should be established. If the practice is not recognized as valuable, it is necessary to recognize the protection of negative law from the interference of others.

Cultural identity.

There is a fairly wide range of interpretations of identity associated with various scientific traditions. Two strategic lines of theoretical interpretation of identity as a result of the identification process are identified.

The first goes back to psychological science, the second was formed within the framework of sociology. A special place is occupied by sociopsychological interpretations of identity in the works of E. Erikson. The second - actually sociological - line reflects four approaches: the structural functionalism of T. Parsons, the phenomenological sociology of knowledge of P. Bourdieu.

The cultural consequences of expanding contacts between representatives of different countries and cultures are expressed, among other things, in the gradual erasure of cultural identity. This is especially obvious for youth culture, which wears the same jeans, listens to the same music, and worships the same “stars” of sports, cinema, and pop music. However, on the part of older generations, a natural reaction to this process was the desire to preserve the existing features and differences of their culture. Therefore, today in intercultural communication the problem of cultural identity, that is, a person’s belonging to a particular culture, is of particular relevance. It should be noted that the right to preserve culture or cultural identity contains some contradictions that cannot be underestimated both from the point of view of the object of the law and from the point of view of the law enforcer. Without going into detail about these contradictions, it should be noted that in general these problems are more relevant in situations involving diffuse multiculturalism compared to compact multiculturalism.

The problem of cultural identity cannot be considered outside the ethnic context. Note that around the problems of ethnic identity in modern foreign literature there is intense debate. Their main themes are real or mythological origin, as well as the nature of the components that make up the specificity of ethnic identity in contrast to other forms of identity. “The concept of “identity” is widely used today in ethnology, psychology, cultural and social anthropology. In the most general sense, it means a person’s awareness of his belonging to a group, allowing him to determine his place in the sociocultural space and freely navigate the world around him. Necessity in identity is caused by the fact that each person needs a certain orderliness in his life, which he can only obtain in a community of other people.To do this, he must voluntarily accept the prevailing elements of consciousness, tastes, habits, norms, values and other means of communication in this community, accepted by the people around him. The assimilation of all these manifestations of the social life of the group gives a person’s life an orderly and predictable character, and also involuntarily makes him involved in a particular culture. Therefore, the essence of cultural identity lies in the person’s conscious acceptance of relevant cultural norms and patterns of behavior, value orientations and language, understanding one’s “I” from the standpoint of those cultural characteristics that are accepted in a given society, in self-identification with the cultural patterns of this particular society. Cultural identity has a decisive influence on the process of intercultural communication. It presupposes a set of certain stable qualities, thanks to which certain cultural phenomena or people evoke in us a feeling of sympathy or antipathy. Depending on this, we choose the appropriate type, manner and form of communication with them." "Cultural identity is based on the division of representatives of all cultures into “us” and “strangers.” Such division can lead to both cooperative and adversarial relationships. In this regard, cultural identity can be considered as one of important tools which influences the communication process itself."

The fact is that at the very first contacts with representatives of other cultures, a person quickly becomes convinced that they react differently to certain phenomena of the surrounding world, they have their own value systems and norms of behavior, which differ significantly from those accepted in his culture. IN this kind situations of discrepancy or discrepancy between any phenomena of another culture and those accepted in “one’s” culture, the concept of “alien” arises.

Anyone who encountered a foreign culture experienced previously unknown feelings and sensations. When speakers of different cultures enter into communication, representatives of each of them adhere to the position of naive realism in their perception of another culture. It seems to them that the style and way of life are the only possible and correct ones, that the values that guide their lives are equally understandable and accessible to all other people. And only when faced with representatives of other cultures, discovering that the usual patterns of behavior are incomprehensible to them, the individual begins to think about the reasons for his failures.

The range of these experiences is also quite wide - from simple surprise to active indignation and protest. At the same time, each of the communication partners is not aware of the culturally specific views of the world of their partner and, as a result, “something that goes without saying” collides with the “thing that goes without saying” of the other side. As a result, the idea of a “stranger” arises - foreign, unfamiliar and unusual. Every person, when faced with a foreign culture, first of all notices many unusual and strange things. Statement and awareness of cultural differences become the starting point for understanding the reasons for inadequacy in a communication situation.

Based on this circumstance, in intercultural communication the concept of “stranger” acquires key significance. The problem is that a scientific definition of this concept has not yet been formulated. In all cases of use and use, it is understood at the ordinary level, i.e. by highlighting and listing its characteristic features and properties. With this approach, the concept of “stranger” has several concepts and meanings: alien, foreign, unusual, life-threatening, ominous.

The presented semantic variants of the concept “alien” allow us to consider it in its most broad meaning, like everything that is beyond the limits of self-evident phenomena. And, conversely, the opposite concept of “one’s own” implies that circle of phenomena that is familiar and self-evident.

Cultural self-identification is one of the most important stages and the processes of the cultural structure of any community. It all comes down to the fact that people are not just mechanical carriers of certain needs and interests, but also psychological individuals, which, among other characteristics, requires their predominantly group existence. The main reasons for this kind of need are studied in social psychology where developed interesting concepts, explaining this “strange” necessity of a person Rozin V.M. Culturology.M., 2001

From the perspective of anthropology, the origin of this need is connected, firstly, with the fact that in a team a person feels his life is more reliably protected, has more prospects for social realization, sees more opportunities for his participation in biological and social reproduction, etc. And in -secondly, man is a sensual, emotional being; constantly needs to express some of his own feelings in relation to other people and feels the need to be the object of the manifestation of their emotions towards himself, the object of complimentary attitude, approval, praise from people whose opinion is important to him (such a circle of people is called “reference group" or "significant others"). Thus, a person needs, firstly, a group form of life activity as more reliable and, secondly, self-identification (self-identification) with a given group - a feeling of being an integral part of the collective, a nominal co-owner of collective property, and most importantly - a being , socially in demand and approved by this group. Of course, in different societies, being at different stages of social development, this individual need has different intensity and is expressed in different forms.

At the primitive and early class stages, such a need for self-identification with the collective may be due to the fear of real death behind the fence social customs. At later stages of social development, the phenomenon of individuality and sovereignty of the human person (anthropocentricity) begins to gain greater significance; However, we should not forget that freedom and individual originality have meaning only in society; on a desert island there is simply no one to demonstrate their freedom and individuality. Therefore, in the course of sociocultural progress, personality development is determined by two general trends: individualization and positive social identity. But this is all about the problem of individual self-identification in society. Let's not forget that there is also the issue of group self-identification of the team as a whole. What is self-identification? This is awareness on a rational level (although intuitive feelings in this matter are also not on the level last place) the existing unity of a given group of people on one or another basis (ethnic, religious, political, etc.). This rationalization of the group “We” is achieved at the level of tradition in the presence of developed self-awareness with the help of the ideological system dominant in the community. I emphasize that we're talking about not about a promising premonition of the potential possibility of unification, but about an already taking place act of living together, because the development of common cultural traits(language, customs, morals, etc.) requires that people actually live “elbow to elbow” for at least two or three generations. As already mentioned, there can be many factual grounds for the emergence of a feeling of collective solidarity of a group of people, and most often the basis for the formation of such a feeling is not one, but several parallel and interconnected grounds. The external manifestation of identity is the way it is marked.

Obviously, the set of such signs depends on the basis on which this solidarity is carried out, which determines the nature of the emblems of group identity. In an ethnic community, it is a set of everyday elements of tools, clothing, jewelry, ceremonies, rituals, folklore works, language and its dialects, etc. A person, “colored” with these attributes, not necessarily one hundred percent, but mostly feels his involvement or belonging to a given ethnic group.

In a religious community, a set of such markers can also include elements of clothing, public ritualized and special ceremonial behavior when performing religious actions, observance of rituals and holidays, elements of sacred utensils worn on the body or stored in the house, head shaving, tattoos, circumcision and other incisions on the skin etc. I want to emphasize that the presence of all these markers does not mean that this person deeply religious; he simply emphasizes his identification with a given religious community. A community of a political type, of course, develops its own specific marking emblem (heraldry, uniform, ceremonial, ritual paraphernalia etc.).

The problem of social self-identification seems to be an independent issue. Some psychological dominants of such self-identification were partially discussed in the article Social consolidation and cultural localization. Social identity, the classical theory of which was developed by A. Teshfel, is the correlation of oneself with a group; it is a self-image in group characteristics. Identifying oneself with one group or another is one of the components of the “I” image, which helps a person navigate the sociocultural space. A person needs a certain orderliness of the world in which he lives, and this orderliness is given to him by the community, demanding in return from the individual only the manifestation of social discipline and adequacy, political loyalty and cultural competence (i.e. knowledge freehold sociocultural norms and languages of communication accepted in this community). It can be assumed that, to some extent, the need for social self-identification with a pack is inherited by man from his animal ancestors. Perhaps the following comparison will be correct: just as culture, by definition, is never “nobody’s,” but only the culture of a specific historical community, in the same way there are no “nobody’s” people. A person is not always aware of the parameters of his cultural identity, but the entire set of elements of consciousness, behavior, tastes, habits, assessments, languages and other means of communication, etc., which he has acquired throughout his life, involuntarily make him involved in a particular culture (not only ethnic, social, professional, etc. Radugina A.A. “Culturology”, course of lectures, publishing house “CENTER”, M. 2003

The problem of a person’s cultural identity lies, first of all, in her conscious acceptance of cultural norms and patterns of behavior and consciousness of a system of values and language, awareness of her “I” from the standpoint of these cultural characteristics that are accepted in a given society, manifestation of loyalty to them, self-identification with these cultural patterns as marking not only society, but also the individual himself.

It is important to note that one of the basic human needs consists of various relationships with the outside world, in collective life activity, which is realized through the individual’s self-identification with any ideas, values, social groups and cultures. This kind of self-identification is defined in science by the concept of “identity.” This concept has a rather long history. Up until the 1960s. it had limited use, and by the introduction and widespread dissemination in interdisciplinary scientific circulation the term owes to the works of the American psychologist Erik Erikson (1902-1994). It is worth noting that he argued that identity is the foundation of any personality and an indicator of its psychosocial well-being, including the following points:

the internal identity of the subject when perceiving the surrounding world, feeling time and space, in other words, the feeling and awareness of oneself as a unique autonomous individuality;
the identity of personal and socially accepted worldviews - personal identity and mental well-being;
a sense of inclusion of a person’s self in any community - group identity.

The formation of identity, according to Erikson, takes place in the form of successive psychosocial crises: a teenage crisis, farewell to the “illusions of youth,” a midlife crisis, disappointment in the people around you, in your profession, in yourself. Of these, the most painful and most common, perhaps, will be the youth crisis, when a young person actually faces the restrictive mechanisms of culture and begins to perceive them exclusively as repressive, infringing on his body.

Since the second half of the 1970s. the concept of identity has firmly entered the lexicon of all social sciences and humanities. Today the concept is widely used in cultural studies. In the very in a general sense it means a person’s awareness of his belonging to any sociocultural group, which allows him to determine his place in the sociocultural space and easily navigate the world around him. The need for identity is caused by the fact that every person needs order in his life, which he can only receive in a community of other people. It is worth saying that for this he must voluntarily accept the prevailing elements of consciousness in a given community, tastes, habits, norms, values and other means of interaction accepted by the people around him.

Since each individual will simultaneously be a member of several social and cultural communities, depending on the type of group affiliation, it is customary to distinguish different kinds identities - professional, civil, ethnic. political, religious and cultural.

An individual’s belonging to any culture or cultural group, which forms a person’s value attitude towards himself, other people, society and the world as a whole.

We can say that the essence of cultural identity lies in the individual’s conscious acceptance of current cultural norms and patterns of behavior, value orientations and language, in understanding his Self from the standpoint of those cultural characteristics that are accepted in a given society, in self-identification of oneself with the cultural patterns of that particular society .

Cultural identity presupposes the formation of stable qualities in an individual, thanks to which certain cultural phenomena or people evoke sympathy or antipathy in him, depending on which he chooses the type, manner and form of communication.

In cultural studies, it will be an axiom that each person acts as a bearer of the culture in which he grew up and was formed as a person. Although in Everyday life he usually doesn’t notice it, taking it for granted specific featuresϲʙᴏher culture, however, when meeting with representatives of other cultures, these features become obvious and the person realizes that there are other forms of experiences, types of behavior, ways of thinking that differ significantly from the usual and known ones. Various impressions about the world are transformed in a person’s mind into ideas, attitudes, stereotypes, expectations, which ultimately become for him regulators of his personal behavior and communication.

Based on comparison and contrast of positions, opinions various groups and communities identified in the process of interaction with them, the formation of a person’s personal identity occurs - the totality of knowledge and ideas of the individual about his place and role as a member of the current sociocultural group, about their abilities and business qualities. In other words, cultural identity is based on the division of representatives of all cultures into “them” and “strangers”. In contacts, a person quickly becomes convinced that “strangers” react differently to certain phenomena of the surrounding world; they have their own value systems and norms of behavior, which differ significantly from those accepted in his native culture. In situations of this kind, when some phenomena of another culture do not coincide with those accepted in “their” culture, the concept of “alien” arises. At the same time, a scientific definition of this concept has not yet been formulated. In all variants of its use and use, it is understood at an ordinary level - by highlighting and listing the most characteristic features and properties of the term. With this approach, “stranger” is understood as:

non-local, foreign, located outside the borders of the native culture;
strange, unusual, contrasting with the usual and familiar surroundings;
unfamiliar, unknown and inaccessible to knowledge;
supernatural, omnipotent, before whom man is powerless;
ominous, life-threatening.

The listed semantic variants of the concept “alien” allow us to define it in its very in a broad sense: “alien” - ϶ᴛᴏ everything that is beyond the boundaries of self-evident, familiar and known phenomena or ideas; on the contrary, the opposite concept “ϲʙᴏй” implies that range of phenomena of the surrounding world, which is perceived as familiar, habitual, and taken for granted.

Only through the awareness of the “stranger”, “the other”, does the formation of ideas about “them” occur. If there is no such opposition, a person has no need to realize himself and form his own identity. This applies to all forms of personal identity, but will be especially clear in the formation of cultural (ethnic) identity.

When a loss of identity occurs, a person feels absolute alienation to the world around him. Usually ϶ᴛᴏ happens during age crises identity and is expressed in such painful sensations as depersonalization, marginalization, psychological pathology, antisocial behavior, etc. Loss of identity is also possible due to rapid changes in the sociocultural environment, which a person does not have time to realize. In this case, the identity crisis can become widespread, giving rise to “lost generations.” At the same time, such crises can also have positive consequences, making it easier to consolidate achievements scientific and technological progress, integration of new cultural forms and values, thereby expanding a person’s adaptive capabilities.

Identity is an individual’s self-identification with certain ideas, values, social groups and cultures. The theory of ICC was coined by the American psychologist Erik Erikson. Broad concept: Cultural identity is a person’s awareness of his belonging to any sociocultural group, allowing him to determine his place in the sociocultural space and freely navigate the world around him. A narrow concept: cultural identity is an individual’s belonging to any culture, but it forms a value-based attitude towards oneself, other people, society and the world in general.

The essence is the following: in the conscious acceptance of a person, the corresponding cultural norms and patterns of behavior, values, language, understanding of oneself from the standpoint of cultural characteristics accepted in society and one’s self-identification with the cultural patterns of a given society.

The meanings of cultural identity in the ICC:

1. Formation in a person of certain stable character traits, qualities that help him evaluate certain cultural phenomena from the standpoint of likes and dislikes.

ICC can be considered as a relationship opposing identity, as a result of such interaction, the unfamiliar in the partner becomes understandable to us and allows us to predict his behavior, that is, the 1st function of cultural identification in ICC - cultural identity facilitates the process of communication, determines its type and mechanism. 2nd function - cultural identity is also limited in nature, according to which conflicts may arise in the ICC process.

Cultural identity is based on the division of all cultures into “us” and “strangers”.

The concept of stranger arises in the process of communication, when a person realizes that there are people who react differently to the world around them. Also, the concept of alien arises in connection with the appearance of the term “naive realism” - this life position, according to which the styles and ways of life of people especially represented by other cultures are considered not correct, but their own - the only true and possible.

“Alien” – 1. Non-local, located outside the borders of the native culture. 2. Strange, unusual, contrasting with surrounding phenomena. 3. Unknown, inaccessible to knowledge. 4. Supernatural, before which a person is powerless. 5. Ominous, life-threatening.

“Own” is familiar, self-evident.

Based on these concepts, an ethnocentric position of people arises.

The perception of “outsider” varies culturally depending on the following factors: 1. age. 2. education. 3.Life experience. 4. Behavioral settings.

In the main types of reactions to a foreign culture: 1. Denial different cultures. 2.Protecting one's own cultural superiority. 3. Minimizing cultural differences. 4. Acceptance of existence cultural development. 5.Adoption into a foreign culture. 6.Integration into a foreign culture.

Conclusion: In order to overcome negative reactions to the phenomena of a foreign culture, it is necessary to overcome cultural isolation (naive realism and ethnocentric positions).

The concept of “identity” is widely used today in ethnology, psychology, cultural and social anthropology. In the most general understanding, it means a person’s awareness of his belonging to a group, allowing him to determine his place in the sociocultural space and freely navigate the world around him. The need for identity is caused by the fact that every person needs a certain orderliness in his life, which he can only obtain in a community of other people. To do this, he must voluntarily accept the prevailing elements of consciousness in a given community, tastes, habits, norms, values and other means of communication adopted by the people around him. The assimilation of all these manifestations of the social life of a group gives a person’s life an orderly and predictable character, and also involuntarily makes him involved in a particular culture. Therefore, the essence of cultural identity lies in a person’s conscious acceptance of appropriate cultural norms and patterns of behavior, value orientations and language, understanding of one’s “I” from the standpoint of those cultural characteristics that are accepted in a given society, in self-identification with the cultural patterns of this particular society.