Abstract: This article gives definition to the gender stereotypes, as well as reveals its essence and key properties, based on which identifies its determinants and varieties. The author trace the connection between gender stereotypes and peculiarities of male and female psyche. Determinants of the gender stereotypes should be considered the physical gender, traditional cultural values, and sociocultural dynamics, which can results in modification of the values and formation of the new social statuses and norms. The core of gender stereotypes consists of peculiarities the male and female psyche, behavioral specificities and their manifestation in interpersonal relations in personal life, and mostly, in family. The conclusion is made that gender stereotypes are not just the specified social norms, but also the generalized perceptions of the behavior of men and women that suggest multiple options and combinations of the status and role-based examples. It can be said that the gender stereotypes form at the intersection of biological and cultural factors.

Keywords: Psyche, Model of gender interaction, Gender, Social norms, Cultural values, Determinant, Intergender relations, Family, Gender stereotype, Behavioral specificities

Abstract: This article provides a comparative analysis of the foreign and Russian (on the example of Moscow) system of the youth career orientation. Special attention is given to the examination of the career orientation management system in foreign countries, where it is structured based on the powerful theoretical-methodological foundation that constantly undergoes improvements. According to the opinion of multiple researchers, the foreign system of the youth career orientation surpasses the Russian in many criteria. Due to the fact that Moscow offers extensive opportunities and favorable conditions for implementation of the advanced foreign experience of career guidance practice with the youth, the professional self-determination gains special importance for the capital city. The main conclusion of the conducted research consists in the necessity for further improvements in the system of social management of career guidance in Moscow region. Such activity must carry a systemic character that is expresses in state regulation, precise determination of duration of the career guidance, application of innovative forms and methods of its realization, as well as preparation and attraction of the qualified specialists in this field.

Keywords: career guidance events, career guidance activity, career orientation management system, proffessional adaptation, youth, professional counseling, professional diagnostics, professional advisers, professional self-determination, career guidance

Abstract:  The subject of this research is the examination of political culture in modern foreign sociology. It is worth noting that the Western sociologists do not use this notion. However, there are currently multiple research of various aspects of political culture. The authors thoroughly review the depth and range of the study of political culture within foreign sociological literature; general state political culture; as well as the level of knowledge of political culture at present stage of development of the foreign sociology. The scientific novelty of this work lies in analysis of the state of examination of political culture in foreign sociology. The authors determine the following facts: Study of the notions of political culture started during the classical period in Western sociology is continued; The new notions are being introduced; Analysis of the methods of assessment of political phenomena is provided; Dysfunctional side of political interaction is considered.

Keywords: sociologists, foreign, modern, study, history, control, culture, political, authority, interaction

Abstract:   The modern sociological research of corruption and information usually concentrate the attention on the scale of distribution of these phenomena and ways of overcoming. At the same time, the functions that they can realize in societies that are in transitional state (quasi-modern, estate, etc.) are being ignored. The author suggests to examine informality and corruption from the perspective of their role in support of the social order, which can be revealed through the concepts of “justification” and “justice”. The hypotheses were tested as result of the sociological research that consisted of two stages: qualitative (n=50) in form of in-depth interview, as well as quantitative (n=700) realized using CATI. During the course of this work, it was established that the perception of society as corrupted and the understanding of justification of corruption are in positive correlation. The hypothesis of S. Kordonsky on perception of the Russian society as the “estate society” with the distinct role of corruption in form of “rent-seeking behavior”, partially found its confirmation.  

Keywords: social pathology, generalized trust, public opinion, informality, justice, trust, social order, corruption, network informality, post-Soviet society

Abstract: The subject of this research is the reasons of transformation of matrimonial relations in the Christian world. The article contests the views and concepts, according to which the main causes of such transformation can be found either in tragic indifference to the traditional values and ideologies that lead to deformation of the perception of love, duty, and intergender relationships; or autonomy of the demographic processes manifesting as a key factor that defines changes in the economic and social spheres. Special attention is given to determination and analysis of the factors that had a stabilizing impact upon the traditional family in pre-industrial period, as well as such that caused certain inner tension. The research carries interdisciplinary characters with application of the economic approach. It is demonstrated that as a result of economic growth and realization of women’s ability to earn a living reached through industrialization, the level of her financial dependence from a man has significantly lowered. The further economic growth alongside women’s acquirement of economic independence resulted in revolutionary liberalization of gender morality and drastic changes in priorities within the system of family values and attitude towards marriage. The analysis of trends allows suggesting  that the established as a result of industrialization and urbanization nuclear quasi-planned family represents a certain transitional type from the traditional (patriarchal) family towards the new type of family with the inherent diversity of forms and models of relationship.

Keywords: Snokhachestvo, Urbanization, Industrial revolution, Traditional sex morality, Sex revolution, Transformation of family relationship, Matrimonial relations, Marriage, Nuclear family, Traditional family

Abstract: The subject of this research is the role of religion in determination of the meaning of life among the believers in modern Russia and Ukraine. Religion, and Christianity in particular, has always been (and must be) the source of life for its successors. Realization by religion of such meaning-making and meaning-transmitting function is a substantial condition for the social importance and influence of religion. In modern societies, the scales of the religion’s social role is subtle and represents a subject for discussion. For the more precise understanding of the question of functionality of the religion, the modern societies are in need of a comprehensive analysis of religion’s inclusion into the social processes and mass consciousness. One of the possible aspects of the analysis lies in assessment of inclusion of the religion into conceptual structures of mass consciousness. Based on the conducted analysis, the author concludes that the ability of Orthodoxy to become an actual alternative to the dominant in modern societies “Western” value complexes is significantly limited, because the transmitted by Orthodoxy values (particularly the orientation towards referring of the life goals to the transcendent source) do not elicit the public response. It is demonstrated that for majority of the Russian and Ukrainian believers, the religion to a significant extent has stopped being the foundation of conceptual structure. This, in turn, along with the low level of church affiliation, weak familiarization with the Orthodox dogmatic, readiness for the independent formation of religious meanings out of the secular ideologies, extremely confine the orientation towards the transmitted by the Church meanings and values.

Keywords: spiritual crisis of society, Russia, Ukraine, meaning of life, Orthodoxy, social functions of religion, religion, peculiarities of perception of the meanings, values, wholeness of perception of the meaning

Abstract: This article is dedicated to examination of the question of understanding of the phenomena of spirituality within the framework of sociological knowledge. Interdisciplinary aspect of the study of spirituality and its phenomena suggests domination of philosophy in this regard. However, from the perspective of sociology, in uniting the potentials of sociology of culture, sociology of spiritual life, and sociology of art, can be formulated an independent approach towards the analysis of human spiritual realm. Such interaction means the triumvirate of sociological branches. And if each of them separately resolves the question of cultural social being, various forms of spiritual life and art, the triumvirate or the theoretical methodological interaction ensures the high level of participation on namely sociology in examination of the spirituality alongside accumulation of the heuristic results. This carries a crucial meaning for the efficiency of interdisciplinary understanding of a complicated scientific object. Thus, the article underline the necessity of consideration of the cooperation between the three branches of sociology for increasing the efficiency of participation of social sciences in perceiving the phenomena of spirituality. The conclusions of the conducted research consist in the following scientific positions: 1) study of the phenomena of spirituality must be realizes in close interaction between the various scientific branches; 2) cooperation between the sociology of culture, sociology of spiritual life, and sociology of art is capable of ensuring the research of the phenomena of spirituality on high heuristic theoretical methodological level.

Keywords: social knowledge, cultural studies, norms, values, sociology, society, culture, methodology, science, interdisciplinarity

Abstract: In this article the authors analyze the problem of common mind functioning in a post-traditional society. Common mind is a mode of mind specialized for a stable, slowly changing environment. This mode of mind uses intuition as its primary decision-making tool. Its intuition is based on precedents. A precedent in this context is a combination of a typical problem situation and its acceptable solution. There are different levels of precedents. We single out the following levels: individual psychological precedents, ontogenetic precedents, social psychological precedents and phylogenetic precedents. This classification is based on the speed of precedent formation. Such a two-layer structure of human precedent memory significantly enhances environmental adaptation: the biological layer provides adaptation to the most stable environmental conditions, whereas the psychological layer allows to adapt rapidly to emerging quick changes. Nowadays, however, social environment does not change at a relatively slow pace as it used to. Due to historic time acceleration, experience transition, selection and stereotyping are hindered. This deprives precedent-based common mind intuition of its regulative function as the gap between old precedents and new conditions widens. Adequate response strategies have no time to form in common mind: rapid changes of social environment make them outdated and inefficient before they are even ready to be adopted. We call such a drastically changing social environment “post-traditional”: it evolves so quickly that precise experience succession becomes impossible. Common mind displays inefficiency at creating adequate adaptation strategies in these new conditions. It leads to anthropogenic environmental risks. This is reflected in a “risk society” sociological concept.

Keywords: anthropogenic risk, society of risk, post-traditional society, traditional society, precedent, intuition, common mind, common environment, functions of common mind, dysfunction of common mind

Abstract: The object of this research is the modern philosophical discourse around the problem of objectivity and subjectivity of the ethnos. The subject of this research is the category of "ethnos" as an actor of social being. Relevance of the research is determined by ambiguity of assessment of scenarios of self-actualization of ethnic subjectivity in the conditions of globalization. On one hand, the revival of ethnicity takes place in accordance with the scenario of ethno-archaic objectification; and on the other – the specified back in the Russian religious philosophy religious-philosophical discourse as an actor of subject being, is understood much clearer. The first discourse points at just the assumption of ethnos as an exotic object of the homogeneous society; the second one insists on heterological interpretation of social existence or poly-subject sociality. Based on the phenomenological specification of ethnic subjectivity, the author determines the connection of the latter with the religious experience. The article demonstrates the mechanism of development of quasi-religious ethno-archaic, which in its foundation contains the exception of ethnic subjectivity and poly-subject sociality by the virtue of ideologization and its connection with the religious experience. As a result of their analysis, the author reveals the strive for disallowing the question of ethnic subjectivity being the consequence of inappropriate intrusion of philosophical discourse into the demarcated spheres of the cognition of ethnos. The conclusion is made that the lack of ethnic subjectivity as a necessary category for comprehending the poly-subject sociality cannot lead to the need for its establishment as a fundamental paradigm of the analysis of social development.

Keywords: ethnic subjectivity, social subjectivity, ethnoantiquity, sociality, quasi-religion, religious experience, ethnic consciousness, ethnos, imaginary community, self-transcendence

Abstract: The subject of this research is Charles Taylor’s “Politics of Recognition”, as well as the purpose of its realization in the context of modern ethnocultural conflicts. The author reveals the question about the impact of modernity upon the transformation of identity, as well as covers the problem of dialogue between the nature and human alongside the level of cultural influence upon the development of people’s identity. Possibility of finding balance between the demand in universal equality and recognition of differences in the modern liberal democratic states is being reviewed. The article also highlights the notion of “politics of recognition” in its connection to the “politics of universalism” and distinction of individuals. In modern world, the efficiency of the policy of multiculturalism conducted throughout the recent decades in Europe, is placed in doubt. As a result, the theoretical constructs of C. Taylor, as a thinker who significantly affected the development of the theory of multiculturalism, are also subject to criticism. The author considers the works of Canadian philosopher effective namely with regards to the ethnocultural minorities that are the representatives of one kindred culture or in league for a prolonged period of time. Thus, the application of Taylor’s works, in resolution of the modern migration crisis in Europe with significant growth of the number of migrants who differ from the European culture, is suggested to consider as inefficient. The results of the “politics of recognition” under such circumstances will significantly differ from those proposed by C. Taylor in his theoretical constructs. 

Keywords: universalism, nationalism, liberalism, group rights, ethnocultural minority, minority, politics of recognition, difference, conflict, state

Abstract: This article is dedicated to analysis of the notion of “political culture”. The goal of the work consists in highlighting of new online and offline types of political culture. The task includes the examination of the existing definitions of political culture and comparison of the concepts of foreign and Russian scholars. Special attention is given to the analysis of typology of the political culture. The author carefully reviews the classical types of political culture of the classicists of the community of political science – G. Almond and M. Weber, classifications of W. Rosenbaum, J. Wiatr, and E. Batalov, as well as number of other authorial approaches. The article underlines the lack of research on the impact of Internet upon the political culture, and the need for examination of such factor, because the growth of the Russian Internet audience and launch of the project “Russian public initiative” strengthen the role of the virtual space within the political process. The results of this work can be applied in educational process, in lectures on political science, as well as by political actors, government authorities, and civil society.

Keywords: Russian public initiative, political behavior, political subject, political experience, political knowledge, political process, Internet, political culture, public authority, civil society