Basic principles of ethno-functional methodology and the theory of mentality development of individuals and society
The regular meeting of the scientific seminar of the International Laboratory for socio-cultural research took place on 29th May. The lecturer was prof. Alexander Sukharev, PhD, senior researcher at the Institute of Psychology RAS, Director of the Center for ethno-functional research, Dean of the Psychology Department in State Academy of Slavic Culture.
The report of A. Sukharev was called “Basic principles of ethno-functional methodology and the theory of mentality development of individuals and society”. It outlined the foundations of his ethno-functional approach to human psychology.
According to the approach of A. Sukharev, the key parameters of ethnic environment are natural landscape (climate, landscape, flora and fauna), anthropo-biological parameters, cultural and psychological parameters, and transcendent features (God, spirits of the natural elements). Ethno-functional paradigm in psychology is based on the following principles: 1. The basic principle is that ethnic function might integrate as well as segregate; the ideal ethnic environment only integrates. 2. The principle of ethno-functional consistency postulates that the mentality of person and (or) of ideal society relates to integrating ethnical function. 3. The principle of unity of ethno-functional micro- and macrocosm reflects the analogy between the development of ethnic environment and personality. 4. The principle of ethno-functional development posits the need for some specific sequence and content of the stages of development for each ethnical environment and personality. 5. The principle of ethno-functional subjectivity postulates that the reconstruction of mentality as an ethnical environment (historical knowledge) and personal (individual knowledge) must take into account not only the ethnic function of the object, but the ethnic function of the subject of knowledge. The stages of development of ethnic environment, personality and psychological functions were also examined in the report.
Ethno-functional approach has practical applications in several areas of psychological practice: psychotherapy, psycho-correction, treating dependency, dealing with delinquent behavior.
Olga Pavlenko