Connection Between the Image of the World and Volunteering Experience among Russian Students

Abstract

The relevance of the study of the conditions for the formation of the image of the world as an integral characteristic of the individual semantic system of the personality, that determines the interaction with the world and its life position, is due to the transitivity and high uncertainty of modern society. The aim of the study is to investigate the the image of the world in the current and future perspective among young people with different experience of participating in volunteer activities. The hypothesis was the assumption of differences in the image of the world in the time coordinates "present - future" among students with different experience in volunteering. The study used the Bipolar Semantic Differential method for two consecutive assessments of the image of the world: "The world now" and "The world in 5 years"; a questionnaire scale of basic beliefs, a questionnaire for participation in volunteer activities. The data consists of 211 Russian students aged from 18 till 23 (M=19.7; SD=1.61). Among them are 91 (43.1%) men and 120 (56.9%) women. Significant differences in world image in present and future are revealed. The image in present is contradictory, characterized mainly negatively as unpredictable, uncontrollable, anxious, complex. The image of "The World in 5 years" is positive, characterized as meaningful, active, fair and reliable (t-Student criteria, р ≤ 0.02). The connection between the characteristics of the image of the world and basic assumptions, primarily with the perception of the justice of the world, has been established. The positive role of participation in volunteer activities of student youth for the formation of a positive image of the world is proved: world nowadays is regarded as more active, and in future more controlled and benevolent (t-Student criteria, р ≤ 0.02, and significant (t-Student criteria, р = 0.043).