Psycholinguistic methodology for studying universal human values

Zhamaletdinova E.Kh.

Lecturer at the Department of Linguistics of Professional Communication
in the field of humanities and applied sciences, IGPN MSLU
e-mail: khamitovich@gmail.com

 

The content of universal human values in the consciousness of a national culture is characterized by its multifaceted and multi-dimensional nature. From a psychological perspective, the term "value" can describe a reality that is not solely related to human needs. This implies that value can be interpreted broadly: from a social norm perceived by the individual to the meaning of life [Leontiev, 1996].

Values are a psychological resource of an individual that helps to define goals, interact with the outside world and, in general, one’s way of life.

Furthermore, a value is a persistent belief that a particular pattern of personal behavior is preferable to another [Rokeach, 1973].

From a sociological perspective, the connections between the social system and the individual are based on values [Grigoriev et al., 2018], as they are reproduced in the patterns of a given culture, taking root in the consciousness of the next generation and influencing the socialization process. Thus, the individual follows the set of values already established in the social group into which they are born. The transmission of values is the key to the stability of social systems [Parsons, 2002].

However, there is an opinion that some values are transformed values of a social group, since individual interpretations of group values vary. This difference depends on the individual's social identity and the values of the small groups of which he or she is a member [Kluckhohn, 1951].

In Russian sociology, values are believed to generalize people's ideas about goals and norms, embody historical experience, and express the meaning of the culture of a particular ethnic group and of humanity as a whole. Individuals are guided by the ideals that exist in their consciousness. These ideals influence the formation of certain behaviors and relationships. These ideals directly influence the development of certain behaviors, including attitudes toward political and economic change [Lapin, 2010].

Although values are defined by most researchers as an individual's beliefs that influence their social life, they should not be equated with norms. L.I. Ivanko believes that values are associated with people's goals for their activities, while norms are associated with their methods of action. Values differ from norms in the intensity of their adoption. Norms do not imply any degree of adherence: they are strict rules that are either followed or not. Norms are embedded in a specific system of interaction with the environment. Thus, rejection of one element of the system provokes its destruction. Values are embedded in a hierarchical system: the order of elements within it can change without affecting the fundamental meaning of the value system. Thus, values are target guidelines that define the upper limit of an individual's social aspirations; adherence to a norm is a tool for interaction in the social environment [Ivanko, 1981].

As mentioned above, the study of universal human values is a multifaceted issue. The content of universal human values is concentrated in a collection of oral and written texts. We accept that consciousness has a three-level structure and includes the levels of official, intermediate, and everyday public consciousness. The level of official public consciousness is captured in scholarly texts; the intermediate level is expressed in encyclopedic, linguistic, and explanatory dictionaries, which collect everyday meanings processed by the scientific method; the level of everyday public consciousness is comprised of oral statements that are close to the life of the individual, as well as experimental data that externalize the meanings possessed by bearers of national culture [Tarasov, 2012].

Moreover, the research problem itself lies at the intersection of several scientific disciplines (psycholinguistics, linguistics, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, and axiology). Research into the content of universal human values requires the use of materials from these disciplines, which, in turn, requires specialized methodological approaches. One of the most relevant contemporary approaches to scientific methodology is the triangulation approach, or integrative eclecticism (V.A. Yanchuk), or the synergetic approach (I. Prigogine, Haken).

The triangulation approach involves combining qualitative and quantitative scientific methods. Qualitative methods are distinguished by "a diversity of contexts, a focus on identifying meanings and the uniqueness of interpretations, flexibility, dialogic and interactive procedures, and a natural character" [Yanchuk, 2001]. Their main drawback is considered to be subjectivity. Quantitative methods are characterized by objectivity, reliability, validity, and structure. However, their disadvantage is "distancing from reality, artificiality, and predetermining nature" [Ibid.]. The options for combining these methods are limited by the nature of the data analysis. Thus, quantitative data are analyzed deductively after their collection; qualitative data are analyzed inductively both during and after the collection of material [Ibid.].

N. Denzin lists four forms of the triangulation approach: triangulation of different types of information; triangulation of several researchers; triangulation of data from several approaches; triangulation of the use of multiple methods in studying a question [Denzin, 1970].

To apply the triangulation approach, it is necessary to define the goals and methods for combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Among the many goals of triangulation, the most common are the following: confirming facts collected by different methods; enriching the study with additional details; interpreting data obtained by one method using another; and increasing the validity of conclusions [Rossman, Wilson, 1985].

V.V. Semenova emphasizes that before using triangulation, it is necessary to determine a common basis for combining them. The author concludes that there are more similarities than differences. Firstly, both methods study the surrounding reality; secondly, when using this approach, social facts are selected; thirdly, the issue of validity is significant for both methods; fourthly, the researcher constructs and tests hypotheses; fifthly, the data are constructed in an abstract form: in the qualitative strategy ‒ in the form of categories based on textual or visual data, and in the quantitative strategy ‒ in the form of digital data; sixthly, both strategies develop a concept of the subject under study [Semyonova, 2014].

Among the ways to combine qualitative and quantitative methods, various approaches are also distinguished. The triangulation approach is based on the principle of complementarity, which facilitates the creation of a diverse picture of an object. For example, qualitative data demonstrates the content of an object, while quantitative data demonstrates the degree of presence of a particular element within it. Consequently, studying an object from different perspectives allows for the creation of a three-dimensional image of the object [Ibid.]. Thus, by using triangulation, the researcher obtains diverse materials that complement each other but at the same time do not contradict each other. D. Morgan developed three ways to combine methods: overlapping results, complementary coverage, and consistent contribution.

The cross-cutting strategy involves conducting two studies on the same problem. The goal of this strategy is to improve the effectiveness of each method by comparing the results. The nature of the data can be a significant limitation of this strategy.

The supplemental coverage strategy utilizes multiple methods simultaneously to achieve a combined result. However, the drawback remains the same as the previous strategy.

The sequential investment strategy involves using several methods sequentially. This strategy requires a significant amount of time, but its undeniable advantage is the logical progression from stage to stage and the detailed results of each.

This strategy is implemented in four ways. The sequential contribution strategy has four implementation types. D. Morgan abbreviates the quantitative method as quan and the qualitative method as qual. The leading method is denoted by uppercase letters, and additional methods are denoted by lowercase letters.

The first type of qual-QUAN involves collecting data using a qualitative method, with the analysis results determining the choice of quantitative method. The second type (quan-QUAL) involves collecting and analyzing the data. The third type of QUAN-qual involves quantitative research, characterized by collecting qualitative information to validate the results. In the fourth type of QUAL-quan, the primary method is qualitative, with a secondary quantitative method used to summarize the results.

Despite the development of ways to combine methods, the question of comparing heterogeneous data obtained by different methods remains open.

To study the content of universal human values in national consciousness, we consider it heuristic to use this type of triangulation, such as the integrative approach developed by V.A. Yanchuk within the framework of social psychology.

The essence of the integrative-eclectic approach through triangulation is the application of "alternative methodological procedures aimed at identifying the dynamic, existential-phenomenal, and unconscious aspects of the phenomenon under study, by capturing and refining the identity of meanings and senses in the researcher-researched system" [Yanchuk, 2001]. Dialogue between scientific approaches enriches the process of accumulating knowledge and methods for solving the problems under study. Ontological pluralism, as one of the principles of the integrative approach, presupposes the existence of several forms of reality, none of which is perceived as fundamental. Consequently, various interpretations of diverse expressions of life are possible. It is also important to correlate concepts and criteria of scientificity for the study of certain types of reality [Ibid.].

To study the content of universal human values (UHV) of national culture, we propose the following comprehensive method. We apply the strategy additional coverage and additional contribution D. Morgan, adapted for our purposes. As mentioned above, the content of the value of debt is analyzed at each of the three levels of public consciousness: official, intermediate, and everyday. To examine the scope of the content of the value of debt at the official level, a component-definition analysis of definitions of the value under study from philosophical, sociological, psychological, religious, and cultural dictionaries was conducted. Thus, a description of the value under study was obtained at the official level of public consciousness (PC). For example, when studying the value of "debt" in Russian culture, we obtained the following descriptions: "something borrowed"; "moral necessity"; "social obligation"; "inner experience".

At the intermediate level, a component-definition analysis of definitions taken from Russian language dictionaries is also conducted. For the OC "debt," the following meanings are identified at this stage: "something borrowed" and "obligation.".

An analysis of definitions from the aforementioned sources provides information about the static or slowly changing content of social consciousness. However, studying the content of the OC at the everyday level is of primary research interest. To analyze the content of the OC at this level, data from associative dictionaries, a psychosemantic experiment, and texts from the National Corpus of the Russian Language (NCRYA) are used. Research into each of these blocks is conducted sequentially. The research results are complementary and contribute to the creation of a comprehensive picture of the content of the OC under study. Below, we describe each stage of the study using the OC "debt" as an example.

Firstly, we analyzed the associative field of this OC in EVRAS, taking into account that it reflects the everyday ideas of representatives of modern generations.

The dictionary entry for "Debt" in EVRAS

Money 88; give/give back 51; honor/honor 35; Homeland/to the homeland/before the homeland 30; duty 27; payment 14; large 12; marital 10; red with payment 9; monetary 7; return 6; credit, responsibility, bad 5; card, before the fatherland 4; army, burden, return, time, fulfill, loan, obligation 3; eternal, bribe, civil, long-standing, dependence, do not take, small, promise, duties, huge, return, fatherland, fatherland, before someone, parents, conscience, yours 2. 529+194+5+147

We used the following quantitative criteria, which are standard numerical characteristics of an associative field:

1. The criterion of the total number of responses to a stimulus;
2. The criterion of the number of different responses to a stimulus;

3. Frequency response criterion;
4. Single reaction criterion;
5. Criterion of the number of syntagmatic connections of frequency reactions;
6. Criterion of the number of paradigmatic connections of frequency reactions.

 

Further, as a result of qualitative analysis, frequency responses to the stimulus "debt" were combined into categories and interpreted. The frequency responses are grouped into the following categories: "moral aspect," "material aspect," "actions," "types of debt," "size," "duration," "belonging," "synonyms," "positive emotional evaluation," "negative emotional evaluation," "proverb," and "consonance" [Zhamaltdinova, 2017].

Another stage of the OC analysis is the collection of examples of the use of value in everyday texts. This material is selected in the NCRYPTO subcorpora "Everyday Communication" and "Electronic Communication". The result of this stage is a set of semantic components that are part of the OC content at the everyday level of public consciousness. For example, for the OC "debt", we analyzed 183 texts from the specified source and identified the following semantic components: "internal experience"; "moral necessity of some action"; "social obligation"; "professional duty"; "academic debt"; "something borrowed" [Ibid.].

The final stage of collecting data for the OC study is the analysis of the psychosemantic experiment data, which consists of a table of scales and factors and a dendrogram. A psychosemantic experiment allows us to identify the connotative meanings of the value under study. The analysis of the results of this experiment presents a certain difficulty in interpretation, as they represent a layer of unconscious knowledge.

A psychosemantic experiment can reveal the intensity with which the OC is assessed based on the factors "strength," "evaluation," "activity," and "orderliness." In this case, the quantitative criterion of the analytical strategy is implemented. However, quantitative indicators are interpreted qualitatively. To do this, the researcher studies sociological surveys, sociological, political-economic, and historical articles pertaining to the lives of representatives of a particular generation. In our case, studying the OC "debt," this generation is the post-perestroika generation, i.e., those born in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Using this material allows us to draw conclusions about the causes of certain changes in the content of a particular OC.

Next, the generation's dendrogram of values is analyzed. The dendrogram is a list of values and disvalues, grouped into clusters that demonstrate the relative proximity or distance of individual values in the linguistic and social consciousness of members of the generation. During the analysis, the cluster to which the value under study belongs is determined. For example, the value of "duty" among the post-perestroika generation is included in the same cluster as the values of "power" and "might." Describing the semantic space of adjacent values can also contribute to the discovery of interesting data and enrich the research results.

A similar methodology can be used to compare the value content of representatives of different generations. This analysis examines how value content has transformed over a given period of time.

The triangulation approach effectively mitigates the limitations of individual methods, thereby increasing the validity of research results. However, the application of this approach is complicated by the selection of methods to be combined, which are ontologically distinct. The triangulation approach allows for the use of various combination strategies (e.g., strategies of overlapping results, additional coverage, or sequential contribution). Ultimately, the researcher obtains diverse data that complement the substantive picture of the phenomenon being studied.

The use of a triangulation approach facilitates the achievement of numerous goals, including the confirmation of data obtained by different methods; a more detailed description of the processes being studied; the identification of "hidden" data; and the interpretation of results obtained by one method using data obtained by other methods. The triangulation strategy aims to deepen the cognitive picture and prove the reliability of the data obtained through analysis.

 

Literature:

1. Grigoriev A.A., Lapteva E.M., Grigoriev N.A., Karlin A.V. Data from a worldwide study on the relationship between values, national IQ, and socio-economic achievements of countries // Organizational psycholinguistics. Moscow: Agency for Social and Humanitarian Technologies, 2019. No. 2(6). P. 62-88.
2. Zhamaletdinova E.H.. Generational differences in the perception of the value «Duty» // Questions of psycholinguistics. 2017. No. 2 (32). P. 190-198.
3. Ivanko L.I. Value-normative mechanisms of regulation // Cultural activity: experience of sociological research. Moscow: Nauka, 1981. Pp. 149-187.
4. Lapin N.I.. Universal values and diversity of people’s life worlds // International Likhachev Scientific Readings, 2010 / Electronic resource URL: http://www.lihachev.ru/chten/6514/
5. Leontiev D.A.. Value as an interdisciplinary concept: an experience of multidimensional reconstruction // Questions of Philosophy. 1996. No. 4. P. 15-26.
6. National Corpus of the Russian Language // El.resurs. URL: http://www.ruscorpora.ru/
7. Parsons T. On social systems. Moscow: Academic project, 2002. 832 p.
8. Semenova V.V. Strategy of combining qualitative and quantitative approaches in the study of generations // Inter. No. 8, 2014. P. 5-15.
9. Tarasov E.F.. The problem of analyzing the content of universal human values// Questions of psycholinguistics, No. 1(15), 2012. P. 8-17
10. Cherkasova G.A., Ufimtseva N.V.. Russian regional associative dictionary-thesaurus EVRAS // El.resource. http://iling-ran.ru/main/publications/evras

11. Yanchuk V.A. An integrative-eclectic approach to the analysis of psychological phenomenology. Dictionary and reference book. Mn. Academy of Postgraduate Education. 2009. 48 p.
12. Denzin N. The research act: a theoretical introduction into sociological methods. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1970. //Electronic resource. https://books.google.ru/books?id=WxwuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT187&lpg=PT187&dq=206.%09Denzin+N.++The+research+act:+a+theoretical+introduction+into+sociological+me
13. Kluckhohn С. Values and Value Orientations in the Theory of Action // Products a General Theory of Action / Ed. by T. Parsons, E. Shils/ Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1951, p. 388-433.
14. Rokeach M. The Nature of Human Values. NY: The Free Press, 1973. 438 p.
15. Rossman, GB, Wilson, BL. Numbers and words: Combing quantitative and qualitative methods in a single large-scale evaluation study. Evaluation Review 9, 1985, pp. 627-643

References:

1. Grigor'ev AA, Lapteva EM, Grigor'ev NA, Karlin AV. Data from a global study on the relationship between values, national IQ, and socio-economic achievements of countries // Organizational Psycholinguistics. Moscow: OOO «Agency for Social and Humanitarian Technologies», 2019. No. 2(6). pp. 62-88.
2. Zhamaletdinova Je.H. Generational differences in the perception of the value "Debt" // Questions of Psycholinguistics. 2017. No. 2 (32). pp. 190-198.
3. Ivan'ko LI. Value-normative mechanisms of regulation // Cultural activity: an experience of sociological research. Moscow: Nauka, 1981. pp. 149-187.
4. Lapin NI. Universal Values and the Diversity of People's Lifeworlds // International Likhachev Scientific Readings, 2010 / Jel. resurs URL: http://www.lihachev.ru/chten/6514/
5. Leont'ev DA. Value as an interdisciplinary concept: an experience of multidimensional reconstruction // Questions of Philosophy. 1996. No. 4. pp. 15-26.
6. National Corps of the Russian Language // Jel.resurs. URL: http://www.ruscorpora.ru/
7. Parsons T. About social systems. Moscow: Akademicheskij proekt, 2002. 832 p.
8. Semjonova VV. Strategy for combining qualitative and quantitative approaches in studying generations // Inter. No. 8, 2014. P. 5-15.
9. Tarasov EF. The problem of analyzing the content of universal human values// Questions of Psycholinguistics, No. 1(15), 2012. P. 8-17

10. Cherkasova GA, Ufimceva NV. Russian regional'nyj associativnyj slovar'-tezaurus EVRAS // Jel.resurs. http://iling-ran.ru/main/publications/evras
11. Janchuk VA. An integrative-jeklectic approach to the analysis of psychological phenomenology. A dictionary-reference book. Academy of Postgraduate Education, Minsk, 2001. 196 p.
12. Denzin N. The research act: a theoretical introduction into sociological methods. NY: McGraw-Hill, 1970. //Jel.resurs. https://books.google.ru/books?id=WxwuDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT187&lpg=PT187&dq=206.%09Denzin+N.++The+research+act:+a+theoretical+introduction+into+sociological+me
13. Kluckhohn S. Values and Value Orientations in the Theory of Action // Products a General Theory of Action / Ed. by T. Parsons, E. Shils/ Cambridge: Harvard UP, 1951, Pp. 388-433.
14. Rokeach M. The Nature of Human Values. NY: The Free Press, 1973. 438 p.

15. Rossman, GB, Wilson, B.L. Numbers and words: Combing quantitative and qualitative methods in a single large-scale evaluation study. Evaluation Review 9, 1985, pp. 627-643