(2016) Science and education, 5, 78-82. Odessa.

Kseniya Havrylovska,
PhD (Candidate of Psychological Sciences), associate professor,
Department of Social and Applied Psychology,
Оlexandra Furman,
Student, Faculty of Social Psychology,
Zhytomyr State University named after Ivan Franko,
40, Velyka Berdychivska Str., Zhytomyr, Ukraine

SELF-CONCEPT PERCULIARITIES OF MEMBERS
OF THE INFORMAL RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS

The relevance of the research is determined by the fact that the number of people, involved in informal religious organisations, is growing. Often they are experiencing disruptive changes in the structure of their personalities. The aim of the article is to identify the characteristics of bonds between religiosity and self-concept of members of informal religious organisations. The study sample consisted of 50 members of such informal religious organisations as “Evangelical Christian Baptist Union”, “Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints”, “Jehovah’s Witnesses”. Members of informal religious organisations can be characterised by anxiety, negative expectations concerning interaction in the social sphere. Sex sphere is not important for them, which is considered by them as an unconscious inner taboo that does not match their moral and worldview principles. They can be also characterised by infantilism and emotional immaturity. They unconsciously use regression as a psychological defense mechanism. Thus, the relationship with the transcendent is perceived as the communication between a child and a father for satisfying different needs. Self-concept of these people is not influenced by personal experiences or attitudes, but is affected by the external social factors – authoritative people or groups. They are described by a particular strategy of producing value-ideas of themselves and the world: these value-ideas match criteria and values of an informal religious organisation. Since the evaluation criteria are simplified, self-conception becomes more positive. There is a correlation between self-concept and religiosity of the informal religious organisations’ members: the higher the level of religiosity is, the more positive the self-image is. The high level of religiosity is associated with qualitative changes in self-concept, manifested in specific peculiarities of perception and evaluation of oneself. Positive changes in self-concept of members of the informal religious organisations are determined by the low level of self-reflection.

self-concept, informal religious organisations, religiosity, reflexivity, religious experience.

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