The thesis research studies psychological factors of an personality civic identity. The thesis presents theoretical analysis of scientific approaches investigating the components of civic identity, differentiates the concept of civil identity from other types of identities: national, ethnic, territorial, civilization, linguistic and other.
The main approaches to civic identity interpretations are: behaviouristic (conscious or unconscious copying of others’ characteristics or attributes), cognitivistic (social interactions, which are the basis of socialization), psychoanalytic (an individual’s awareness on the autonomy of his/her own Self and fear to loss it).
We understand civic identity as a subjectively significant experience and awareness on the value of being a state citizen (belonging to a community of state citizens).
The intrinsic characteristics of civic identity differ depending on the approach. In particular, they include the following: civic identity is formed at active interactions with other citizens; critical thinking is needed for it, as well as empathy, as it encourages identification with other citizens despite the fact that they have certain differences; civic identity is formed in the presence of reflection, when an individual participates actively in discussions on the ways of development of the state and society; civic identity means personal loyalty to the state, awareness on not only an individual’s own needs but also society ones, responsible attitude to participation in public life, the ability to critically evaluate people’s behaviour, active participation in law making and enforcement.
Civic identity includes four main components: cognitive (knowledge of belonging to a given social community), value-meaning (acceptance or rejection of a civil community as a membership group), emotional (positive, negative or ambivalent attitudes to the fact of such belonging), and behavioural (actual implementation of one’s ideas on belonging to the community in socially significant actions).
Civic identity means also an individual’s awareness and his/her experience of being a citizen of his/her state and belonging to the community of the state citizens, which enables him/her to act as a member of a collective agent and is manifested through participation in various spheres of the state life: economic, political, social, etc.
A psychological diagnostic toolkit for studying of civic identity formation was developed and tested; it includes four scales: self-attitude, value-motivational component, motivational-semantic component, and general formation of civic identity. The author’s scale model for the determination of civil identity factors was also developed.
