doi: 10.56294/sctconf20241085

 

Categoría: Arts and Humanities

 

ORIGINAL

 

Associative field of the concept “power” in the social consciousness of young Ukrainians

 

El campo asociativo del concepto “poder” en la conciencia social de los jóvenes ucranianos

 

Olha Pavlushenko1  *, Vita Sahatska1  *, Nataliia Pavlykivska1  *, Liudmyla Prokopchuk1  *, Yuliia Koliadych1  *

 

1Vinnytsia Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University. 21100, 32 Ostrozhsky Str., Vinnytsia, Ukraine.

 

Cite as: Pavlushenko O, Sahatska V, Pavlykivska N, Prokopchuk L, Koliadych Y. Associative field of the concept “power” in the social consciousness of young Ukrainians. Salud, Ciencia y Tecnología - Serie de Conferencias. 2024; 3:1085. https://doi.org/10.56294/sctconf20241085

 

Submitted: 17-01-2024         Revised: 10-04-2024         Accepted: 18-07-2024          Published: 19-07-2024

 

Editor: Dr. William Castillo-González  

 

ABSTRACT

 

Introduction: the concept of “power” is a fundamental element of social consciousness, shaping the worldviews and actions of individuals and collectives. Understanding how this concept is constructed and perceived within a particular linguistic and cultural community offers insights into the nation’s historical development and future trajectories.

Objective: to investigate the associative field of the concept “power” in the mentality of young Ukrainians aged 17-20, elucidating the conceptual features of this social phenomenon that have emerged in the linguistic thinking of the country’s new generation.

Methods: the main method employed was a free associative experiment with 100 participants aged 17-20, complemented by content analysis of a corpus of Ukrainian journalistic texts. Mathematical calculations established quantitative ratios, while descriptive methods facilitated result presentation.

Results: the fundamental associative reactions of the notion were identified through analysis as follows: democratic, governing, state, money, and Verkhovna Rada. The youth’s practical, pragmatic perspective of power is suggested by a higher proportion of conceptual and figurative linkages over evaluative ones. Concentration in an elected body, democratic underpinnings, administrative responsibilities, political party and oligarch influence, and corruption were among the key philosophical elements. Disparities from the public conversation surfaced, including attributions of impunity, conflict, slyness, and indifference.

Conclusion: the research exposed young Ukrainians’ critical evaluations of authority, which acknowledged the necessity of social supervision but denounced the institution’s ties to political parties and corrupt tendencies. Extensive research on national mindset is essential to precisely predict state-building orientations and processes in an independent Ukraine.

 

Keywords: Associative Experiment; Conceptual Feature; Associative Reaction; Linguistic And Cultural Community; Mental Constructs.

 

RESUMEN

 

Introducción: el concepto de «poder» es un elemento fundamental de la conciencia social, que configura las visiones del mundo y las acciones de individuos y colectivos. Comprender cómo se construye y se percibe este concepto dentro de una comunidad lingüística y cultural determinada permite comprender el desarrollo histórico de la nación y sus trayectorias futuras.

Objetivo: investigar el campo asociativo del concepto «poder» en la mentalidad de los jóvenes ucranianos de 17 a 20 años, dilucidando los rasgos conceptuales de este fenómeno social que han emergido en el pensamiento lingüístico de la nueva generación del país.

Método: el principal método empleado fue un experimento asociativo libre con 100 participantes de entre 17 y 20 años, complementado con el análisis de contenido de un corpus de textos periodísticos ucranianos. Los cálculos matemáticos establecieron relaciones cuantitativas, mientras que los métodos descriptivos facilitaron la presentación de los resultados.

Resultados: las reacciones asociativas fundamentales de la noción se identificaron mediante el análisis de la siguiente manera: democrático, gobernar, Estado, dinero y Rada Suprema. La perspectiva práctica y pragmática del poder por parte de los jóvenes viene sugerida por una mayor proporción de vínculos conceptuales y figurativos sobre los valorativos. La concentración en un órgano electo, los fundamentos democráticos, las responsabilidades administrativas, la influencia de los partidos políticos y los oligarcas, y la corrupción fueron algunos de los elementos filosóficos clave. Salieron a la luz disparidades con respecto a la conversación pública, incluidas atribuciones de impunidad, conflicto, astucia e indiferencia.

Conclusiones: la investigación expuso las evaluaciones críticas de los jóvenes ucranianos sobre la autoridad, que reconocían la necesidad de la supervisión social pero denunciaban los vínculos de la institución con los partidos políticos y las tendencias corruptas. Una investigación exhaustiva sobre la mentalidad nacional es esencial para predecir con precisión las orientaciones y los procesos de construcción del Estado en una Ucrania independiente.

 

Palabras clave: Experimento Asociativo; Característica Conceptual; Reacción Asociativa; Comunidad Lingüística y Cultural; Construcciones Mentales.

 

 

 

INTRODUCTION

At the beginning of the third millennium, cognitive, cultural, and psychological directions are becoming increasingly relevant in linguistic research. Linguistics of the 21st century tries to penetrate the mental space of the ethnic group and the individual through verbal matter. Therewith, the objects of research are not real language units, but concepts – mental constructs that are fully or partially embodied in language. These elements of consciousness, which are formed from the knowledge and experience gained as a result of all the activities of a person, collective, people, become available for study in their verbal explanation.(1,2)

The analysis of linguistic and mental constructs is essential for understanding social processes. It provides material for understanding the actions or inactions of members of a particular ethno-community, helps predict the area of the people’s movement in its historical development. Psycholinguistic studies gain special importance during the time of radical changes in the life of the nation, since, according to the correct observation of Bubnova I and Kazachenko O,(3) crisis periods are characterized by changes in the image of the world in the consciousness of the individual and society, which is necessarily reflected in the content of the language.

The lexical and phraseological subsystems respond most sensitively to changes in the worldview of the members of the linguistic and cultural collective, revealing the unconditional interrelationship of language with the vital activities of society. (4) The concepts in the mind of an individual are conceptualized under two factors: the first is personal knowledge and understanding of objectively present realities, and the second is assimilation of knowledge about fragments of reality verbally interpreted by the linguistic environment where the person is constantly present.(5)

Language acts as a means of collective conceptualization of the realities of the surrounding world and a channel of communication of created images to every member of society. Events and facts enter a person’s consciousness through language. Contextually determined meanings of words affect the formation of a linguistic person’s individual understanding and assessment of reality. Worldview positions of the individual are synchronized with the collective mentality. In the linguistic and mental space of each community, there are such concepts that at a certain stage of its development are at the forefront of the collective consciousness. In today’s social and political realities, among the key facts of objective reality for Ukrainians is “power”, so this concept was chosen for research.(5)

Ukrainian and foreign scientists of various fields of knowledge address the phenomenon of “power” in various areas of its interpretation. In the paradigm of the philosophy of law, political science, sociology, based on interdisciplinary analysis, Kapustina,(6) Dekhtyar,(7) and Panov et al.(8) investigated the problems of the relationship between power and law in different social systems.

Belkin,(9) Selivanov,(10) and Homa(11) investigated separate historical-political and state-legal aspects of the emergence, development, interconnection, and interaction of power, the state, and civil society. The principles of government functioning became the subject of special research by Dniprov(12) and Ells(13) investigated such social phenomena as “power”, influence, and authority in their relationship, specifically in political and organizational communication. The work of Barnes(14) is a complex theory about the nature of power. Analysing most of the traditional concepts, the author points out their main shortcomings and develops his own vision of power, which is realized in the procedures of social life and in the ability to act, and offers interesting new ways of distinguishing power, authority, and influence. Lukes(15) assesses the scholarly debate about how to conceptualize and study power and revises his opinions in light of this debate and criticism of his original argument. This study has gained the reputation of a classic work and a basic guide in social and political theory for those researchers who investigate the concept “power” and its manifestation in the world.

The concept “power” as a fragment of the national language picture of the world has repeatedly come to the attention of Ukrainian linguists, as evidenced by many studies. The structure of the concept “power” in the Ukrainian journalistic space was described by Shtutsberh MO.(16) Hayduchenko LV (17) analysed the concept “power” in the German linguistic picture of the world through the lens of linguistic and cultural studies. The author of the scientific investigation reconstructed the frame model, singled out the figurative, symbolic, evaluative, ethnocultural components of the researched concept. The study by Spitsyna V (18) is interesting because the source base of the researcher was original and translated texts, which helped investigate the selected linguistic and mental constructs in English, Ukrainian, Russian, and German linguistic cultures and helped reveal its structural and content specificity in the linguistic consciousness of speakers of different national language pictures of the world. Verbal explication of the concepts “power” in the Ukrainian and English-language media determined the subject of research by Yevtushenko NI.(19)

The associative field of the concept “power” did not come to the attention of Ukrainian linguistic conceptualists, which prompted this study. The purpose of the proposed investigation is to analyse the associative field of the concept “power” in the mentality of young Ukrainians aged 17-20, to clarify the conceptual features of this phenomenon of social life that have formed today in the minds of the new generation of Ukrainians, which are the future of the country.

 

METHODS

To reveal the conceptual features of the language-thought construct “power” that have formed in the minds of young Ukrainians in modern realities, methods aimed at the comprehensive study of the verbal explication of the concept under study – both its direct nouns and conditioned by associative connections – have been applied. To find out the semantic scope of the concept’s title name in oral use, the authors of this study turned to dictionary definitions.

The content analysis carried out on the material of the corpus of Ukrainian language texts helped to establish the general trends of verbal explication of the researched concept in the public language space of Ukrainian society. To reveal those conceptual signs that have formed in the individual consciousness of Ukrainians, specifically young people aged 17-20, under modern social and political processes, the authors of this study resorted to an associative experiment as the main method because it enables maximum penetration into the thinking of concept carriers up to the deep, subconscious level, and the identification of the conceptual features of the reality explicated by the stimulus word that are relevant for members of society. To establish the quantitative ratio of data obtained experimentally, the authors of the study used the method of mathematical calculations. The descriptive method became useful at the stage of presenting the results of the analysis of the associative field.

Data from an associative experiment conducted in October 2022 were used to clarify the specific features of the conceptualization of the phenomenon “power” in the minds of representatives of the younger generation of Ukrainians. 100 people (aged 17-20) took part in the experimental study. These were students of the Mykhailo Stelmakh Faculty of Philology and Journalism, the Faculty of Physical Culture and Sports, the Educational and Scientific Institute of Pedagogy, Psychology, and the Training of Highly Qualified Specialists of the Mykhailo Kotsiubynskyi State Pedagogical University of Vinnytsia. By national self-identification, all participants of the experiment are Ukrainians. Furthermore, the study used the method of analysis, which helped single out such a component as “power” in the general object of research. On its basis, this mechanism was studied from different sides and social circles. The analysis helped form a connection between the methods of exercising power and the activities of young citizens of Ukraine in everyday life.

The method of synthesis was used when combining the institution “power” and the interests of the younger part of society. This helped express their relationship and establish the role and place of government in the minds of Ukrainian youth today. The synthesis was applied for the direct formation of the structure of the associative field “power” and its elements.

The method of comparative analysis was used to compare two positions of the title name of the researched concept in syntagmatic relations. Based on this method, the characteristics of both subject and object were revealed. The comparison involved the establishment of common and distinctive features that independently influence the consciousness of young people. Furthermore, this method was applied to evaluate the results of a free associative experiment regarding the stimulus word “power”, namely the comparison of the obtained associative reactions according to their frequency. The method of deduction was necessary in the study to distinguish the components of the concept “power”, based on an understanding of the general properties of associative reactions formed in the linguistic thinking of representatives of the youth of the Ukrainian community in the field of public administration.

 

RESULTS

Having analysed the dictionary definitions of the title name of the researched concept, its conceptual components were highlighted, which are objectified by the lexicographically codified semantic volume of the word “power” in the Ukrainian language: the central organizational and regulatory-control principle of politics, political domination; governing state bodies, the government; persons with governmental authority; the ability, right, and opportunity of a political subject to dispose of, manage people, resources using law, coercion, authority; the power of something.(20,21)

“Government” as the main representative of the state acts as a basic concept in the mental space of citizens, but it is constantly modified depending on their social and individual experience and information coming from various sources, among which the media are the priority. Therefore, the authors of this study included the journalistic sector of the Ukrainian discourse, which forms public consciousness, to the research materials of this concept in the psycholinguistic plane. Kuntsevich(22) and Lyubymova(23) fairly note that political language and its key concepts are integral elements of the political scene – they are not just elements for describing events, but also a part of these events that can influence the formation of their meaning, contribute to the formation of political discourse, recognized by both political figures and society as a whole.

The analysis of the corpus of texts of the Ukrainian language (journalism) revealed the meanings with which the meaning of the concept “power” in the public language space is filled.(24) In the public sector of Ukrainian discourse, “power” is primarily identified with the state and its bodies: Ukrainian “power”, state “power”, Russian “power”, Greek “power”, British “power”, capital “power”, city “power”, judicial branch of power, executive, and legislative “power”. Public consciousness connects power with politics and political parties: political forces in power, “power” and politicians, parties in power, authorities and political parties, communist “power”, Communist party “power”. Based on Ukrainian realities, the merging of power, politics, and oligarchy is evident: “power” – oligarchic and political, “power” of political parties and oligarchs.

Ukrainians understand that the symbiosis of power and money leads to the violation of laws: without the supremacy of the law in society, the law of force rules – i.e., those who have power and money. The constitutional provision is still relevant in the national consciousness: the only source of power in Ukraine is the people; the people exercise power directly and through state authorities and local self-government bodies. For society, the need for government cooperation with the community and control of government actions by society is clear: the principle of two-level power: state–community; interaction between the authorities and citizens so that the “power” depends on the people at all times; control over power will force politicians to listen to society’s requests; government’s responsibility to society; society and “power” sometimes tolerate mutually contradictory things. Ukrainians are convinced that the activity of the government directly affects the development of the country and the standard of living of its citizens: “the government” creates the state; democratic development will not result from the old semi-authoritarian government; the quality of life of the people depends on the quality of the government.

Public opinion determines the causes of contradictions between the government and the people: the objective contradiction between the people and the government is caused by the redistribution of property; contradiction, between the people and the government in the organization of the political system of Ukraine; self-government of local authorities in Ukraine is declarative; the “power” does not hold its own to account; adventurism in the actions of the current government. In syntagmatic relations, the title name of the concept under study occurs in two positions in journalistic texts:

•   subject: “powers” promise, “powers” forbade, “powers” pressure, “powers” did, “powers” initiated, “powers” suspect, “powers” help, “powers” call, “powers” will introduce, “powers” have broken, “powers” must be aware, “powers” are criminalized, “powers” cannot violate, “powers” have shown political will, powers attempt to steal, powers must provide, “powers” abuse;

•   object: fight for power, go to power, get power, gain power, seize power, keep power, save power, be in power, transfer power, form power, lose power, cede power, exercise power, use power, share power, break power, control power, deprive power, paralyse the power system, get from power, appeal to power, it depends on power to strengthen power, get full power.

 

The syntagmatics of the noun “power” with verbs outlines the following conceptual features of this fragment of social reality in the Ukrainian public discourse: “power” performs its unifying, generating function in the development of the country (initiated, creates, helps, calls, implements), “power” acts the subject of active, sometimes aggressive actions (forbidden, pressured, made, initiated, broke, expressed political will); “power” deviates from the law (criminalized, cannot violate, attempts to steal from the authority, abuses, suspects), Ukrainian society makes demands on the authority (get from the powers, appeal to the powers, the “powers” must be aware, the powers must ensure, depends on the powers); there is a fierce struggle for power (to fight, to gain, to capture, to keep, to preserve, to lose, to deprive of power, to divide, to split, to cede power); there are certain difficulties in the exercise of power (to paralyse the system of power, to strengthen power, to obtain completeness of power).

In modern Ukrainian public broadcasting, a wide range of meanings has been formed, which explain certain conceptual features of the phenomenon of “power” in Ukrainian realities: own, national (Ukrainian, our); has a positive assessment (effective, responsible), has hierarchical levels united in a structure (supreme, state, central, local, city, metropolitan), performs various functions (legislative, executive, judicial, representative), is not independent in its actions (dependent, privatized, weak), connected with politics, does not always adhere to democratic values (semi-authoritarian). Based on the content analysis of the journalistic sector of the corpus of Ukrainian language texts, the authors of this study can conclude that public Ukrainian discourse endows power with the following conceptual features: “power” belongs to the state, it is implemented by state bodies; has a clear hierarchical structure; active; generates and implements state-building decisions; shows high dependence on political forces, parties; is an object of fierce struggle; does not always work for the benefit of society and therefore needs control from its side. It is noteworthy that Ukrainians directly connect those who have power and money, i.e., power and oligarchs. The authors consider it essential that the conceptual feature of people’s rule is verbally explained in public discourse. Getting used to this statement in the minds of Ukrainians gives positive shifts in the implementation of the national idea of state formation.(25)

As a result of a free associative experiment, 65 associative reactions were obtained for the stimulus word “power”. The following associations were found with the highest frequency (from a quarter of respondents or more): Verkhovna Rada (56), democratic (45), money (34), governing (30), state (25). Less than a quarter of participants in the associative experiment demonstrated the following reactions: force (20), president (19), law (19), Ukrainian (18), corruption (15), politics (12), irresponsible (12), order (12), local (12), steals (11), incites conflict (11), responsibility (11). Associations with power in less than a tenth of the respondents: deputy (8), abuse (8), selfishness (8), helps (7), rights (7), afraid of people (7), control (6), legislative (5), court (5), minister (5), bribery (5), supremacy (5), ours (5), authoritarianism (4), people (4), Constitution (4), deceives (4), self-serving (4), cunning (3), manipulation (3), parliament (3), development (3), city council (5), executive (3), smart (2), mayor (2), V. Zelenskyi (2), mistrust (2), protection (2), officials (2), regional state administration (2). Single reactions: government, prime minister, cabinet of ministers, the media, basis of the country, driving force, reigns, impunity, system, PR, talentless, works, lazy, integral, does not understand the needs of the people.

Based on the results obtained empirically, one can create a structural model of the associative field of the concept “power” in the linguistic thinking of young Ukrainians. The core zone is made up of associations: the Verkhovna Rada, democratic, money, governs, the state; the nuclear zone is filled with associative reactions: power, president, Ukrainian, law, corruption, politics, irresponsible, order, local, steals, conflict, responsibility; on the near periphery there are reactions: deputy, abuse, selfishness, helps, law, afraid of people, control, legislative, court, minister, bribery, supremacy, our, authoritarianism, people, Constitution, deceives, selfish, cunning, manipulation, parliament, development, city council, executive, reasonable, mayor, Zelenskyi, mistrust, protection, officials, regional state administration; the far periphery belongs to the associations: government, prime minister, cabinet, media, foundation of the country, driving force, reigns, impunity, system, PR, inept, works, lazy, integral, indifferent.

Among the conceptual associations that enter into a paradigmatic relationship with the titular name of the concept under study, the most frequent are as follows: Verkhovna Rada/parliament, state, president; there were sporadic reactions: government, deputy, minister, cabinet of ministers, ministry, prime minister, city council, village council, regional state administration, officials. Of the total number of reactions, conceptual ones make up 45,4 %. Figurative paradigmatic associations evoked by the word “power” in the minds of young Ukrainians testify to the recognition of power, state-making capacity, authority, legality, controlling and human rights protection functions of power, its responsibility for the development of the country, awareness of the connection between power and politics.

Therewith, some young people associate “power” with impunity, the desire for enrichment, and manipulation. Figurative associations make up 44,2 % of the total number. A fairly insignificant sector of the associative field of the concept “power” belongs to evaluative associations, which the participants of the experiment verbalized mainly with attributes: democratic, intelligent, irresponsible, self-interested, inept, lazy. A total of estimated associations is 10,4 % of all reactions. Having compared the data of the associative experiment with the lexicographically recorded semantic volume of the noun “power”, one can find that the conceptual framework of the concept under study in the minds of the participants of the experiment is represented by 18 associations (table 1).

 

Table 1. Data of the associative experiment with the lexicographically recorded semantic volume of the noun “power”

Codified component of the semantic scope of the word “power”

Association (number of reactions)

Government, leading state bodies

·        Verkhovna Rada (56);

·        state (25);

·        parliament (3);

·        court (5);

·        city council (5);

·        regional state administration (2).

Persons with governmental authority

·        president (19);

·        deputy (8);

·        mayor (2);

·        V. Zelenskyi (2).

The central organizational and regulatory and control principle of politics, political domination

·        politics (12);

·        control (6).

The ability, right and opportunity of a political subject to dispose of, manage people and resources using law, coercion, authority

·        manages (30);

·        legislative (5);

·        executive (1);

·        law (19);

·        authoritarianism (4).

The force of something

·        force (20).

 

The reactions obtained as a result of the associative experiment were compared with those verbal explanations of the concept “power” that occur in the public communication of Ukrainian society, and the coincidence of the following conceptual features was revealed: “power” is Ukrainian; identification of power with the collective elected body – the Verkhovna Rada and the state apparatus; “power” ensures the order and operation of laws; systematicity and hierarchical structure; division of branches of government by functions (legislative, executive, judicial); the connection between power and wealth; power dependence on political parties; “power” is corrupt; there is a need for the people to control the government.

The analysis of associative reactions, obtained experimentally, revealed those content components of the concept “power” that were formed in the language thinking of representatives of the young generation of the Ukrainian national community under modern realities of social reality, but do not have a verbal explanation in the public communicative space of society: indifference of the government, conflict, cunning, impunity, incompetence, laziness. The identified conceptual signs of power in the public consciousness of the young generation of Ukrainians testify to the critical assessment of power by this age group of citizens, condemnation of the power’s dependence on political parties, the propensity of power representatives to corrupt actions, awareness of the need to control power.

 

DISCUSSION

Many scientists are engaged in researching the consciousness of the modern young generation of the Ukrainian nation, who are trying to reveal the meaning and essence of priority social institutions through the lens of their vision by the youth. This helps outline the specific features of the young generation of Ukrainians’ understanding of concepts that are part of their everyday life. Accordingly, Pavlushenko et al.(26) and also Voronyansky et al.(27) addressed the concept “state” in the minds of modern Ukrainian youth. In their research, they described the associative field of the concept “state” in the linguistic thinking of Ukrainian citizens aged 17 to 21.

As a result, they managed to establish that this phenomenon is characterized by conceptual features formed under active geopolitical changes in society. In their explorations, they conducted an associative experiment, and the obtained results helped reveal shifts and changes in meanings related to the content of the concept “state”. In this context, such elements of the associative series as estate, property, possession, kingdom have lost their relevance and prevalence among young people. According to the results of the experiment, it was established that 92 % of the youth of the Ukrainian nation do not identify the state with the apparatus of political power.(28)

Based on this, the researchers established that such conceptual signs as territory, country, region, side are less common today. Notably, the conventional meanings have gained special relevance, to which it is expedient to refer people; power; unity in terms of history, territory, population, political system; management, leadership; strength, strength; support, base. Based on this, the researchers concluded that the conceptualization of the “state” by the modern young section of Ukrainian society takes place based on such principles as independence, freedom/freedom of speech, democracy, law/law, development, language.

Furthermore, based on the method of generalization, they implemented the content of the concept “state” as the power of a sovereign nation, united and organized by authorized authorities on the principles of equality and priority of the law, aimed at effective and continuous development of the state. The researchers indicated the priority of researching the associative field of the concept “power”, which was directly implemented within the scope of this article. Based on this, there is a common manifestation of interest in analysing the consciousness of the young part of society in such important concepts as “state” and “power”.

In turn, Pansardi(29) and Zhigalkina(30) described the associative range of the concept “power” according to the English-language political discourse. Unlike previous researchers who determined the conceptual features of “power” and “state” based on the results of an associative experiment, in these scientific works the authors analysed the speeches of English-speaking political figures, namely Joseph Biden and Donald Trump. They established that the basic scheme “power is a thing” is the basis of the metaphorical understanding of concepts. The researchers studied several speeches of the above politicians, specifically: “Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition.

They have been magnificent. Thank you.”, as well as “Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning, because today we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another, or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington DC, and giving it back to you, the people”. Based on this, the power seems to belong to two leaders, which can be seen in the reduplication of words, namely their transitions and expressions of gratitude to citizens. Thus, the concept “power as a thing” is transferred to the people and appears in the context of property. Politicians often use the antithesis in their speeches to emphasize the power’s belonging to certain institutions, which actually allows it to be personified. In the above expressions, the researchers noted metonymy, which consisted in the designation of America by the United States of America.

The use of this repeated expression primarily affects the strengthening of the understanding that the general interests of the country will be at the forefront. Furthermore, the concept “power” in the speeches of politicians is revealed in the fact that America was formed precisely by citizens, and therefore power is the property of the people. Considering this, the phenomenon under study is nominatively expressed by the word skill and will also be interpreted by researchers as power. Based on the results obtained by the researchers, it should be established that the keywords representing the concept “power” are authority/influence, ability, and army/force.

This indicates that this phenomenon has a complex and multi-level structure. Considering this, the metaphorical and figurative components of the concept “power” in the English-language political discourse are as follows: diverse types of human activity; objects, substances, processes; container; physical or psychological condition. A comparison of the results of research on the content of the concept “power” in the Ukrainian and American language pictures of the world suggests that they have differences among themselves. Thus, in the mental space of modern Ukrainian society, the concept “power” appears in a different dimension and understanding, in contrast to the English-speaking environment, namely the United States of America.(31)

In turn, Skliarenko(32) and Levchenko O et al.(33) investigated the principles of building an associative series of a defined concept. In their opinion, this process is multifaceted, as it involves the study of the consciousness and positions of a certain circle of people, based on which the conceptual understanding of certain phenomena and processes is formed. Researchers note that associative research is the most effective approach to forming an associative series. Foremost, it helps create a general list of phenomena and their properties, and later, having conducted the research, compare the obtained results and determine the most common among them. Therewith, to obtain more accurate results, the respondents should belong to people of the same age category and nationality.

This approach will minimize the error and influence of external conditions on the results of the experiment. This is because the formation of the consciousness of representatives of different population groups has distinctive features, which affects the formation of associations in their consciousness. Considering this, the researchers prove that conducting an associative experiment is effective under certain conditions, under which the interviewed people will be characterized by common features and positions. The obtained results are confirmed by the conclusion described above, which confirmed the differences in the conceptualization of power by American politicians and Ukrainian youth. Such discrepancies are caused by the specific features of two separate categories of subjects, and therefore the position of the researchers regarding the special selection of individuals for conducting an associative study is confirmed.

Based on the above, the development of an associative series in relation to a separate concept is a complex process, the result of which is influenced by a range of factors, both objective and subjective. (34) The understanding of phenomena and things, as well as their conceptual content, may differ depending on the subjects who fill it with content. The conclusions described above confirm that, apart from subjective properties, the formation of an associative series is influenced by external conditions, based on which the development of society and its citizens takes place. This is evidenced by the change in the understanding of the concept “power” according to the historical development of the state, the reform of its institutions and approaches to management. Therefore, it can be argued that the associative field in the public consciousness of distinct categories of the population differs substantially in certain respects.

 

CONCLUSIONS

Psycholinguistic analysis of verbal explicators of the concept under study, revealed the conceptual signs of power that formed in the minds of young Ukrainians. It was established that conceptual and figurative reactions to the stimulus word “power” (89,6 % in total) significantly prevail over evaluative ones (10,4 %). The most relevant conceptual signs in the minds of young Ukrainians were: concentrated in a collective elected body – the Verkhovna Rada, democratic, performs managerial functions in society, is influenced by political parties and oligarchs, and is corrupt. To predict state-building processes in Ukraine, comprehensive and multifaceted studies of ethno-mentality are necessary. Psycholinguistic studies will be promising and useful in this area since language objectifies thought and makes it available for analysis. The value of the proposed research is in the fact that its analysis of other concepts (“state”, “Ukraine”, “nation”, “patriotism”) will help investigate the specific features of the state-building consciousness of modern Ukrainians, which in a certain way will contribute to the understanding of the mental orientations of the Ukrainian people in building an independent Ukrainian state.

Furthermore, it was established that the structural elements of the concept “power” in the minds of young Ukrainians are formed largely based on the current social reality. That is why young people form not only positive associations, but also negative conceptual signs caused by the specific features of the public communicative space, namely, the indifference of authorized people, conflict, irresponsibility. It was established that the above-described conceptual features of power in the understanding of the modern young generation of the Ukrainian nation reveal their critical assessment of power. The latter is expressed in the condemnation of the relationship between the authorities and political parties, the propensity of their representatives to commit corrupt acts. In future scientific works, it is advisable to cover effective tools for restoring the positive concept of “power” for the future successful national development.

 

REFERENCES

1.  Ataboyev IM, Turgunova FR. The concept of semantic field in linguistics. Academicia Int Multidiscip Res J. [Internet] 2022 [cited: 10 May 2024];12(3):319-24. Available in: http://dx.doi.org/10.5958/2249-7137.2022.00223.3.

 

2.  Krasnov Y. Non-associative structures and their applications in differential equations. Mathematics. [Internet] 2023 [cited: 10 May 2024];11(8):1790. Available in: https://doi.org/10.3390/math11081790.

 

3.  Bubnova I, Kazachenko O. The dynamics of the semantic content of the meaning of the word freedom. Psycholinguistics. [Internet] 2018 [cited: 9 May 2024];23(2):11-24. Available in: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1199099.

 

4.  Tepla O. The concept of “war” in the linguistic and cultural aspect (based on the material of publicistic discourse). Int J Philol. 2023;14:92-100.

 

5.  Solijonov M. On the linguocultural analysis of the conceptual field in the text. Eur J Mol Clin Med. [Internet] 2020 [cited: 5 May 2024];7(3):3656-60. Available in: https://www.ejmcm.com/issue-content/on-the-linguocultural-analysis-of-the-conceptual-field-in-the-text-7048.

 

6.  Kapustina NB. Changing ideas about authority: From the rationalism of Charles Montesquieu to the post-structuralism of Rolan Bart. Curr Probl State Law. 2002;16:139-41.

 

7.  Dekhtyar VM. The problem of authority in French post-structuralism [dissertation]. [Kyiv]: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; 1999. 170 p.

 

8.  Panov MI, Danylyan OH, Maksymov SI, Osypova NP, Dzoban OP, Vodnik VD, Herasina LM, Klimova HP. Problems of authority and law in post-totalitarian transformations: Interdisciplinary analysis. Kharkiv: Pravo; [Internet] 2004 [cited: 8 May 2024]. 360 p. Available in: https://dspace.nlu.edu.ua/bitstream/123456789/5229/1/Danilian_2004.pdf.

 

9.  Belkin LM. Concepts “Authority”, “State”, “Public Administration”, “Civil Society”: Genesis of emergence, development, interconnection and interaction. Public Administr Improv Dev [Internet] 2013 [cited: 12 May 2024];4. Available in: http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/Duur_2013_4_11.

 

10.  Selivanov VM. Law and “Authority” of sovereign Ukraine: Methodological aspects. Kyiv: Publishing House “In Jure”; 2002. 724 p.

 

11.  Homa OI. Postmodern: Reassessment of values. Vinnytsia: Universum-Vinnytsia; 2001. History as a genealogy of authority; p.143-51

 

12.  Dniprov О. Special principles of the executive authority functioning. Bull Lviv Polytech Natl Univ Ser Leg Sci. [Internet] 2017 [cited: 8 May 2024];884(1):108-12. Available in: https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.23939/law2017.884.108.

 

13.  Ells K. Power, influence, authority: Political linguistics in organizational communication. In: Proceedings of International Communication Association (ICA 2018) Conference; 2018 May; Prague. Prague: International Communication Association; 2018.

 

14.  Barnes B. The nature of power. Cambridge: Polity Press; 1988. 205 p.

 

15.  Lukes S. Power: A radical view. 2nd exp. ed. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2005. 192 p.

 

16.  Shtutsberh MO. The structure of linguocultural concept of power in Ukrainian. Linguist Stud. [Internet] 2016 [cited: 8 May 2024];42:183-8. Available in: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.49044.

 

17.  Hayduchenko LV. The concept of “Authority” in modern German linguistic culture [dissertation]. [Kyiv]: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; 2009. 286 p.

 

18.  Spitsyna V. Linguistic-cultural and linguistic-cognitive features of the reproduction of the concept sphere “Authority” in translations of the philosophical works of H. Arendt [dissertation]. [Kyiv]: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv; 2018. 230 p.

 

19.  Yevtushenko NI. Means of verbalization of the concepts of NATO and “Authority” based on the material of the Ukrainian and English-language mass media. Int Humanit Univ Her Philol. [Internet] 2015 [cited: 10 May 2024];14:124-7. Available in: http://www.vestnik-philology.mgu.od.ua/archive/v14/34.pdf.

 

20.  Bilodid IK. Dictionary of the Ukrainian language in 11 volumes. Kyiv: Naukova Dumka; 1970.

 

21.  Busel VT. A large explanatory dictionary of the modern Ukrainian language. Kyiv: Perun; 2005. 1728 p.

 

22.  Kuntsevich SE. Psychological aspects of political discourse. Bull Minsk State Linguist Univ. 2005;20(4):37-50.

 

23.  Lyubymova S. Associative experiment in the study of a sociocultural stereotype. Stud Lang. [Internet] 2020 [cited: 11 May 2024];36:85-96. Available in: https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.sal.0.36.23814.

 

24.  Vakulyk II. The concept of “information space” of the present: sources, state, prospects. Int J Philol. 2022;13(4):75-84.

 

25.  Demidov AI. Value dimensions of power. Polis Polit Stud. 1996;3:121-8.

 

26.  Pavlushenko O, Mazai L. The concept of the state in the mind of Ukrainians youth generation (based on associative experiment). Young Sci. [Internet] 2020 [cited: 12 May 2024];79(3):448-52. Available in: https://doi.org/10.32839/2304-5809/2020-3-79-94.

 

27.  Voronyansky OV. The heuristic potential of the “deep state” concept in political analysis. Mod Soc Polit Sci Sociol Sci Cult Sci. [Internet] 2020 [cited: 12 May 2024];2(21):15-26. Available in: http://nbuv.gov.ua/UJRN/cuc_2020_2_4.

 

28.  Asadchykh OV, Smovzhenko LH, Kindras IV, Romanov II, Pereloma TS. Academic language as an object of teaching foreign languages to philology students. Astr Salven. 2022;2022(1):671-689.

 

29.  Pansardi P. Why we do need a concept of power. J Polit Power. [Internet] 2021 [cited: 10 May 2024];14(2):301-12. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1080/2158379X.2021.1901195.

 

30.  Zhigalkina OK. The concept of POWER in English-language political discourse of the 21st century [mater’s thesis]. [Mykolaiv]: Black Sea National University named after Petro Mohyla; 2023. 88 p.

 

31.  Hurko O, Koroliova V, Popova I, Holikova N, Maiboroda N. Ethnolinguistic specificity of the manifestation of the category of affirmation in the Ukrainian and English languages. Dragoman. 2024; 14(16):269-287.

 

32.  Skliarenko O. Associative experiment as modern mean of linguistics studies. Věda a Perspektivy. [Internet] 2022 [cited: 11 May 2024];17(10):68-78. Available in: https://doi.org/10.52058/2695-1592-2022-10(17)-68-78.

 

33.  Levchenko O, Tyshchenko O, Dilai M, Gajarsky L. A model of the information system of the associative verbal network presentation. In: Shakhovska N, Medykovskyy MO, editors. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing V, International Conference on Computer Science and Information Technologies, CSIT 2020; 2020 September 23-26; Zbarazh. Cham: Springer; [Internet] 2021 [cited: 10 May 2024]. pp. 71-83. Available in: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63270-0_5.

 

34.  Blidchenko-Naiko VV. Specifics of translation rendering of concept justice / справедливість in Ukrainian translations of English international legal discourse. Int J Philol. 2022;13:33-41.

 

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

 

FINANCING

The authors did not receive financing for the development of this research.

 

AUTHORSHIP CONTRIBUTION

Conceptualization: Olha Pavlushenko, Nataliia Pavlykivska.

Formal analysis: Vita Sahatska, Liudmyla Prokopchuk, Yuliia Koliadych.

Acquisition of funds: Nataliia Pavlykivska, Yuliia Koliadych.

Research: Olha Pavlushenko, Liudmyla Prokopchuk, Yuliia Koliadych.

Methodology: Olha Pavlushenko, Vita Sahatska, Nataliia Pavlykivska.

Project management: Olha Pavlushenko, Liudmyla Prokopchuk.

Resources: Yuliia Koliadych, Nataliia Pavlykivska.

Software: Olha Pavlushenko, Liudmyla Prokopchuk.

Supervision: Olha Pavlushenko, Vita Sahatska.

Validation: Olha Pavlushenko, Nataliia Pavlykivska, Yuliia Koliadych.

Display: Nataliia Pavlykivska, Liudmyla Prokopchuk.

Drafting - original draft: Liudmyla Prokopchuk, Vita Sahatska.

Writing - proofreading and editing: Olha Pavlushenko, Yuliia Koliadych.