Personality-Environment Interaction: A Study of Russian Young Adults’ Value Orientations and Psychological System of Activity

Abstract

Introduction. There is a need to comprehensively investigate the issue of personality-environment interaction at the present stage. This study aims to comparatively analyze value orientations (cultural dimensions and basic values) and parameters of the psychological system of activity among university students residing in four Russian cities. Methods. The study sample comprised 735 university students studying in St. Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Tomsk, and Irkutsk. We used a battery of questionnaires grouped according to the following three research vectors: (a) value orientations at the cultural level (assessment tools by G. Hofstede and R. Inglehart), (b) value orientations at the individual level (SEBVR), and (c) parameters of the psychological system of activity – self-determination, needs for achievement and affiliation, personal readiness for activity (goal setting, planning, reflection, and life satisfaction), and innovative personality traits. Statistical analysis involved descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results. Factor analysis revealed the main parameters for personality-environment interaction among university students. These include the urban environment potential, personal readiness for activity, and traditional values. In the subsamples, value orientations differed both at the cultural level (long-term orientation and traditional values) and at the individual level (subjective evaluation of basic metavalues realizability, which serves as a measure of the urban environment potential). Our analysis also revealed an environmental specificity of the parameters of the psychological system of activity (planning, need for relatedness with others, index of self-determination, and need for achievement). Discussion. In this study we implemented an integrated approach to the analysis of personality-environment interaction in the context of university youth’s personal and professional development. Our analysis revealed the main characteristics of Russian students’ value orientations, parameters of their psychological system of activity, and specific features of these characteristics related to the city of residence. The study results should be taken into account when organizing psychological and educational support for the process of university students’ personal and professional development.

Keywords

• value orientations
• readiness for activity
• university youth
• realizability of values
• cultural dimensions
• environmental potential
• urban environment
• traditional values
• self-determination
• innovativeness