MECHANISMS OF THE ADOPTION OF A HERO’S IMAGE BY MODERN YOUTH

The article presents the results of an empirical study aimed at identifying and analysing the mechanisms of adoption of a hero’s image by modern Russian youth. Based on the data of a questionnaire and an associative experiment conducted on a representative sample of young people aged 18 to 30 years (n = 150), two main mechanisms of the internalisation of heroic images are identified - rational and emotional ones, and the specifics of their functioning in the context of the current socio-cultural situation are analysed. It is shown that the adoption of the heroic image by modern youth is mediated by a complex of socio-psychological and value-ideological factors reflecting the features of psychosocial development and socialisation in the context of a transforming society. The author of the article substantiates the necessity of taking into account the revealed regularities in the development and implementation of patriotic education programmes adapted to the specifics of value orientations and psychological characteristics of various youth groups.