Dependence of Legal Awareness on the Individual Psychological Characteristics of Public Officers

Abstract

The article considers legal awareness as a subjective perception of legal phenomena by citizens. It is assumed that there is an individual predisposition towards law-conscious behavior. In a sample of 2011 subjects, employees of state bodies, the dependence of legal awareness on the personal characteristics of employees performing duties in the field of legal relations was studied. Legal awareness correlates with the activities of civil servants indirectly through a system of real legal actions and does not always coincide with labor productivity (action - attitude). The study of justice was carried out using the test of L.A. Yasyukova. Individual psychological characteristics were identified through the use of intelligent techniques, the modification of MMPI, the locus of control, the test of volitional self-control and the motivational profile of Ritchie-Martin. To assess the success (effectiveness) of the staff professional activities, an expert assessment was performed. It was revealed that legal consciousness has a specification and depends on the type of activity of public officers. Relations can be traced within the entire volume of personal characteristics. The article provides data on the correlation of legal consciousness and individual psychological characteristics of public service employees in the verbal and cogitative, characterological and motivational spheres.

Keywords

• legal awareness
• personal-professional specification
• verbal and cogitative features
• characterology
• motivational-value sphere
• effective and ineffective employees
• psychological testing
• official and professional functioning
• law-conscious behavior
• individual predisposition