TYPOLOGY AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LIFEWORLDS: PSYCHOLOGICAL COORDINATES, ADAPTATION AND SEARCH FOR MEANING

Abstract

The article examines the importance of studying personality in modern conditions from the perspective of the lifeworld. A brief overview of the origin of the concept of «lifeworld» from Husserl’s phenomenology, its development and formation as a psychological category is presented. The content of this concept is briefly explained, in particular, Kraus’ relational-constructivist understanding. Previous attempts to classify lifeworlds according to certain characteristics are mentioned, such as depending on the content and structure of the need-motivational sphere and on the ease or difficulty of satisfying significant needs, depending on the structure of time, the relationship between the individual and society, and the ratio of what is available, appropriate and possible as value criteria, depending on personal disharmonies in the process of personality development. The author’s theoretical model of the lifeworld of an individual is presented and an attempt is made to create a typology of lifeworlds based on the conducted empirical research. The model of the lifeworld is described as a constant interaction of the system of connections in the brain, mental phenomena and a set of mental abstractions learned in the process of cultural integration of the individual. The psychological coordinates of the lifeworld are determined as peculiar features of internal experiences that are manifested “outwardly” in certain behaviour, thoughts and statements, emotions, interpretations of surrounding events and phenomena, etc. The choice of these psychological coordinates as a basis for an attempt to create an author’s typology of lifeworlds is substantiated. Appropriate methods for the study of psychological coordinates were selected, an empirical study was conducted, and some of its results were presented. With the help of the conducted cluster analysis, the optimal number of types of lifeworlds was determined and a name was proposed for each of them: harmonious (balanced), highly adaptive hedonistic, medium adaptive directed to the future, low adaptive directed to the past and present, and disharmonious (dysfunctional). A detailed description of each of the types is given, supplemented by a comparison with the main personality traits of the Big Five model. Conclusions have been made about the relevance of such personality studies for understanding the existence of a person in the modern world, especially in the conditions of war, when it is necessary to be especially sensitive to the inner experiences of others.