Svetlana Strokova
Moscow State University
Thesis: Self-regulation and social support in difficult life situation
Download presentation (PDF 692 KB)
Research Supervisor: Prof. Dmitry Leontiev
The representatives of the framework of cultural-historical and activity theory are sure that the specifics of personality is the result of complicated combination of different conditions of living, including especially the family situation. At the beginning of our existence our family is the whole world for us, so our estimation of the world is depend on the relationships in the family. And our future life is the result of our estimation of the family. What is the family for the person? Is he or she an important member of the family? Is his/her family normal or abnormal and how is it valued by his/her closest relatives? The answer to all of these questions is connected to the phenomenon of family identity. The first one who has mentioned family identity was N. Akkerman. Every scientist considers that it is very necessary to investigate this phenomenon, but nobody has ever investigated it seriously. I suppose that in different types of families the members would have different parameters of family identity, so we are going to check this hypothesis. There should be a correlation between type, functional-structuralistical characteristic and family identity. The main question for now is the definition of the term «family identity», searching for its parameters and characteristics, because nobody has ever done it. Also it’s important to create an instrument for researching family identity.
I think, that the Summer University can help me with the solving this problem. The cultural-historical theory is the theoretical basis of my scientific work. A family is a reflection of the whole cultural-historical situation in the territory, where the family lives. And the identity with the first and the main group in the person’s life is very important for him/her and for understanding mechanisms of family functioning. Nowadays scientists talk about the changing of family model; and old family roles, old functions, connected to this roles are not so actual like before, that’s why we can talk about the changing of the family image for each person. I think, that the ISCAR Summer University can help me in analyzing the present family images, and in structuring of the definition of the term and all the theoretical aspects of this phenomenon. I’d like to share my results of the pilot experiment that is being led by me now and receive recommendations about the main experiment that i am planning to lead the next year. I think, that this Summer University is a very interesting and informative event, so I’d like to take part in it very much.