Gayvoronskaya, A. A. Psychosemantics of Extremism

Abstract: The author of the present research article makes an attempt to create theoretical grounds for the theory of extremism psychosemantics. Psychosemantics is the branch of psychology that studies the picture of the world of individuals and collective subjects. The phenomenon of extremism is usually associated with studies of the most important components of the system of values and meanings, attitudes and stereotypes that are common in different age and ethnic groups. The author makes an assumption that there is a certain psychological (semantic) structure of the phenomenon of extremism. This structure consists of different types of definitions and categorical structures that ‘classify’ this phenomenon and different forms of the phenomenon at different levels of interaction with a subject or a group. Psychosemantic methods that are used to study the phenomenon of extremism are usually aimed at reenactment of implicit personality theories describing this phenomenon. These methods allow to combine the definition of the studied phenomenon with other definitions and systems of definitions as well as to define and explain the most significant combinations and connections. The scientific important and novelty of the research is the assumption about the existence of the psychological (semantic) structure of extremism that can consist of different types of definitions and categorical structures that ‘classify’ this phenomenon. The author also offers the implicit model of extremism psychosemantics. Conclusions: psychosemantics of extremism allows a more profound research of the essential characteristics of the phenomenon of extremism, in particular, how systems of definitions are presented in different contexts and how they appear at the unconscious and conscious levels in respect to the phenomenon of extremism and forms of extremism.

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