Traditions and their role in the development of family and society

Kabanova Kseniia Vladimirovna Postgraduate student, the department of Social and Ethnic Psychology, Moscow University for the Humanities 111395, Russia, g. Moscow, ul. Yunosti, 5 i_kseniya@mail.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The relevance of this article is determined by the situation in Russian society associated with the loss of cultural, historical and family values, which makes us turn to the topic of preserving and transmitting national and family history, mentality, identity, biographical memory, etc. As shown by our analysis of the main directions of modern socio-psychological research of family and marital relations in recent years For 10 years (more than 50 dissertation studies have been analyzed, among others), interest in the above-mentioned phenomena is quite great. Traditions that are directly related to these processes have not yet been given enough attention. The loss of family traditions is fraught with the danger of losing the traditional values of the people, which is directly related to the security of the state. Therefore, the subject of the study was family traditions and their role in the development of the family and society, and the purpose of the article is to consider on a theoretical basis the features of the transmission from generation to generation of cultural-historical and socio-psychological experience through traditions. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the problems of the development of family traditions as a factor of family stability and psychological security of its members have been updated, family traditions are considered as a socio-psychological phenomenon capable of influencing the development of the family and society, the author's version of the definition of tradition has been introduced.   

The concept of "tradition", its structure and mechanism of appearance

The process of socialization of personality, its formation, as a rule, occurs in accordance with traditional values, which take the form of a practical model or ideal, they become the basis of moral and civic education. The problem of the historical heritage of culture is directly related to the concept of "tradition" in its cultural and historical context. On the basis of traditional cultural and historical values, value-semantic and archetypal images of an individual and the uniqueness of the culture of her people, according to E. A. Morozova, a complex multilevel and multidimensional integrative characteristic is formed - mentality. It can be said that it is a manifestation of social consciousness ^[13], in its structure, in turn, the family mentality is distinguished, which also represents a cultural and historical phenomenon and contributes to the transmission of family customs and traditions, the regulation of marital and family relations and the maintenance of socio-cultural identity of individuals ^[16].

Tradition is often defined as any manifestation of an individual's activity, both physical and having mental outlines, which is endowed with the property of tradition, i.e. the transmission of something from generation to generation ^[2]. Family traditions, with this approach, can be called actions performed by family members from generation to generation, or the same attitude to the same thing for generations. It should be added that, in addition to the condition of transmission from generation to generation, a value component should be an obligatory component of a family tradition - only if there is a value component, a creative and creative component, an action or attitude transmitted from generation to generation has the right to be called a family tradition.

Tradition, in itself, is a multicomponent, complex, multifunctional phenomenon. As the content of traditions, customs, rituals, rituals, value attitudes are called. Also in the structure of traditions, ideas, habits and practical skills are distinguished, provided that they are passed down from generation to generation. At the same time, they talk about the multicomponence of tradition, highlighting the spiritual-religious, cultural-historical and socio-psychological component ^[13]. The spiritual and religious tradition contributes to the transfer of anthropological experience, it is closely connected with the cultural and historical tradition, which is understood as "historically established and transmitted from generation to generation customs, orders, rules of conduct, traditions" ^{[17, p. 72]}. As E. A. Morozova notes ^[13], the socio-psychological component is derived from the two above-mentioned components of tradition. The socio-psychological component of the tradition is formed by the family mentality, which is a set of unconscious collective ideas inherent in a large group of people formed in certain cultural and historical conditions. The family mentality is realized in family traditions, i.e. in certain customs, stereotypes of behavior, rules passed down from generation to generation, thanks to them the family becomes part of the historical and cultural space of the people. A family that preserves and transmits family traditions is able to create its own cultural space that promotes the transmission of spiritual, religious and cultural-historical ideas, it can be considered a collective keeper of traditions.

The mechanism of the emergence of tradition is as follows: only when a certain new phenomenon or action appears is an innovation, if this phenomenon (rules, customs, etc.) begins to be adhered to, if several generations begin to observe (execute) it, it takes root and becomes a tradition. It can be said that any tradition was originally an innovation; the assimilation of innovation by an individual, the mastery of his experience by the next generation and its further reproduction by the next generation constitute a mechanism of continuity, as a result of which innovations acquire the character of traditions. Preservation, repetition, reminder, return to the same thing are factors of continuity, and, at the same time, factors of stability. Only what has withstood the test of time, becoming a necessary part of the life of several generations, can be called a "tradition".

There is also a reverse process: when a society is able to do without traditions, traditions can fade away. This happens when they stop following customs, performing rituals, observing rituals. The life of tradition depends on the members of society, on their criticality, realism, common sense, the ability to distinguish between the necessary and unnecessary, useful and useless. The improvement of existing traditions, the emergence of new ones, speaks about the creative forces of individuals who make up society ^[2].

Family traditions

Speaking about family traditions, it is necessary to highlight the special role of intergenerational interaction within the family. Generations occupy a special place in the family structure, it is a special structural component of the family, defined as a group of people united by reciprocal and functional roles, performing socializing and/or supporting functions in relation to another generation ^[15]. According to P. Nora, the phenomenon of "generation" can be called a "place of memory", since it meets three mandatory aspects: it is material in demographic content, functional, since it crystallizes memories and transfers them, and symbolic, "because, thanks to an event or experience experienced by a small number of people, it characterizes the majority that did not participate in it" ^[14].

Intergenerational interaction is a specific socio-psychological phenomenon, which is defined as a special type of social interaction involving the process of direct or indirect influence of representatives of different generations on each other in the family, which ensures the intensity and direction of communication between generations ^[15].

Intergenerational interaction can both positively and negatively affect the atmosphere in the family and its functioning. The basis for such interaction is the emotional closeness between representatives of different generations of the family, which ensures the integration of the family group. If any family substructure (parents-children, grandchildren-grandparents, etc.) dominates, disintegration occurs, which can lead to the development of conflict in the interaction of extended family members ^[4].

One of the most popular traditions is the tradition of celebrating holidays. Through the reminder of the most important events, the holiday plays the role of a powerful mechanism for the transmission of cultural traditions from generation to generation, allows people to carry out their cultural identification ^{[5, p. 152]}. The holiday is one of the ways of transmitting cultural memory, familiarization with it occurs through the ritual of celebration, i.e. through a certain activity, in this case, the process of celebrating itself. During the holiday, each person in the group of celebrants joins the common values and ideals, the celebrants begin to feel their unity. The holiday becomes a kind of "place of memory", which is usually concentrated inside the personality itself. A holiday usually performs the function of remembering an event, in the case of national and state holidays, it is not so important whether this event actually happened, it still already forms part of the cultural heritage that is relived during the celebration of this event. The holiday is characterized by an appeal to the past, memories play an important role here, and thanks to this process, the identity of the remembering group arises. "This is not an everyday identity. Collective identities are characterized by solemnity, exaltation above the level of everyday life. They go beyond the everyday horizon and are objects of ritual non-everyday communication" ^{[7, p. 53]}. During the holiday, the resurrection of the "justifying past" takes place in memory, and "nothing other than the identity of the remembering group is justified through an appeal to the past" ^{[7, p. 54]}.

Another important cultural tradition and form of intergroup relations is hospitality. According to the classification of types of social action proposed by M. Weber, it is an example of a traditional type of behavior, i.e. a characteristic feature of traditional societies. Hospitality is defined as interaction carried out within a social community, in which an individual or a group of individuals plays the role of a host (hosts) or a visiting party (guests), due to the nature of existing interpersonal relations between participants, as well as the norms and traditions of hospitality adopted within this community. Hospitality finds its expression in a family, friendly, neighborly reception of guests, as well as in providing shelter to travelers ^[6]. The main features of hospitality are the willingness to provide a warm welcome and respect for the human dignity of individuals outside the home. At the same time, it is noted that modern society is losing the disinterested orientation of the nature of hospitality, it is replaced by the "logic of the contract" - people are afraid to remain in debt by taking advantage of someone's hospitality ^{[12, pp. 68-69]}.

Based on the research conducted by M. V. Gorodilina, she identified the leading factors characterizing the attitude to the family past among modern youth with different indicators of family identity. A cross-cutting component of the leading factors of attitude to the family's past is the experience of socio-psychological security in all the studied groups of young people ^[3]. The family with its traditions acts as a resource for psychological security of the individual ^{[9, 10]}. Security, understood as the subject's experience of security and the ability to develop in the interests of achieving a goal that is personally significant for him, plays a positive role at all stages of a person's life path and in any life contexts ^{[18, 19]}. The need of modern youth to be involved in a group can be explained by their experience of belonging to a family system – a group that can provide them with the security of a socio-psychological space and give them a positive emotional experience.

Family traditions stabilize and structure life, fill the vital activity of family members without special efforts on their part, entering their lives naturally. This helps the individual not to perceive his life activity as a constant struggle, the course of his life is not accompanied by excessive and constant mental stress. Otherwise, "prolonged anxiety can constrain a person's activity, depriving him of energy, causing a state of apathy, helplessness, indifference to unfolding events and his fate in general" ^{[8, p. 243]}.

The importance of family traditions is also indicated by the fact that the past family experience is reflected in the family history of each individual genus ^[7]. In the structure of family history, it is presented as a set of leading parameters (factors) reflecting the patterns of functioning and development of the family in several generations. These factors may not always have a positive impact on members of the modern family. Certain parameters of family history may underlie crisis experiences, for example, of women during a mid-life crisis. Among such factors of special family-generic experience may be such as "Female dominant position", "Inability to rely on family resources", "Conflict connection with the genus", "Closeness of family boundaries", etc. Such problems can be avoided by passing on family values from generation to generation through family traditions. Traditions that ensure the psychological safety of family members can be considered as a separate independent group of traditions. The relevance of this group is justified by the current situation in modern society, when the question of psychological security of the individual and her ability to build relationships with the constantly changing world around her is very acute. For example, the tradition of official registration of marriage acts as one of the factors of psychological security of a person, bringing confidence, calmness, stability to her psychological state compared to the state in which a person is in an unregistered relationship.

The search and development of new relevant practices for achieving, preserving or restoring security has been conducted throughout the history of mankind. Individually reflected safety techniques and technologies are defined as socio-cultural safety practices, and the most favorable conditions for it (safety) are transmitted from generation to generation ^[11]. Considering the fact that the tradition can be considered the transmission from generation to generation of relationships and activities that meet traditional family values, traditions are one of such practices. The presence of traditions in the family that serve to unite family members who form a positive family identity, pride in it, can help avoid crisis experiences associated with both family history and lack of family experience in young couples, providing psychological security to the family space.

Conclusion

In conclusion, it can be concluded that the problems of family traditions have great potential in the field of social psychology as a factor in ensuring psychological security in the family space. It should be noted that it is necessary to preserve and develop them due to the fact that family traditions allow passing on family experience to subsequent generations, stabilize and structure life, form a positive family identity. They are extremely important to children, as they contribute to the development of those qualities of a child that are necessary for his social adaptation, and in adulthood affect the state of confidence in life and a sense of psychological comfort and security. Traditions are the achievement and value of any community, any civilization and culture.