Metaphorical modeling of human socialization in the academic discourse of social psychology: location in space

The aim of the article is to identify features of metaphorical modeling of social space in the academic discourse of social psychology. Metaphorical modeling in the form of space is one of the most common cognitive mechanisms for presenting information in various fields of knowledge. The hypothesis of the study is that in the academic discourse of social psychology the process of human socialization is presented as a strictly organized space-object unit having an external and internal structure. The material for this work was academic publications on social and general psychology. In the center of the metaphorical structuring of social reality in academic texts on social psychology is the notion of space and objects inside it. In general, social reality is modeled on the basis of images of horizontal and vertical space, spatial parameters that a person can observe (length, width, height). Features of interpersonal interaction (formal / informal relationship, kinship, etc.) are indicated as distance between objects that are inside space, "close" / "distant" location. Knowledge of social norms and requirements in the formation of social groups is represented by the presence or absence of precisely determined space boundaries. The result of successful socialization is a harmonious adoption of external social processes and phenomena like one's own internal psychologically proper living conditions. Therefore, knowledge of social psychological changes is like an internal functional organization of space within a facility: a social personality is like an object, the elements of which have a strictly organized structure, are arranged according to a certain scheme (personality structure, scheme of thinking, etc.). Social values are represented as designated social "arrangements" that can maintain balance and a stable position of the object. The object becomes a representation of society as a functional system which includes a person. At the same time, the notion of social deviation is modeled as an isolated space where a person is able to walk away from the rejection of social reality (go into alcoholism, escape to illness, etc.). This space is presented as unavailable for direct observation and unorganized. The metaphorical modeling of socialization in the form of space, its individual parameters, spatial objects is the basic cognitive metaphor. It is at the basis of the formation and development of the notion of a social system as a world that exists parallel to the real physical space. There is a social person in it, unlike a biological person.

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