National character at the beginning of the 21st century: Evolution of methodological searches in Western and post-Soviet science

The article examines the evolution of methodological searches for national character in Western and postSoviet science. At the beginning of the 21st century, the scientific community returned to the problem of national character as a concept by means of which it is possible to explain the cultural specificity of a nation. The aim of this article is to examine the features of methodological searches among scientists in Western countries and the post-Soviet space. At the beginning of the century, Western science had a huge methodological reserve. The main component of this reserve was the methods of cross-cultural psychology for working with personal characteristics, in particular, the use of popular test systems such as the FFM (five-factor model) and NEO-PI-R (extended personality questionnaire). This allowed Western science to use large empirical data in understanding cultural characteristics, behavioral models and worldview features. The main methodological focus of Western scientists was stereotypes, on the basis of which extensive comparative studies began to be conducted. However, the definition of a stereotype as a cultural characteristic has no consensus among Western scientists due to the ambiguity of its formation, which has led to contradictory results in many studies. Another characteristic of Western science has become the concept of national identity. This approach is developed mainly by the British school. In post-Soviet science, the study of national character occurred in two directions: the advancement of Soviet developments in terms of concepts of mentality and the theory of ethnos, on the one hand, and the integration of Western methodological developments, on the other. The first direction led to a broad discussion among philosophers, historians, linguists, and ethnologists about the place of concepts of national character and mentality in the study of national characteristics. Several new methods for studying national character appeared, in particular, Gachev's ideological approach, Kustova's system-complex approach, Melnikova's language approach. However, they remained mainly within the framework of theoretical premises. The second direction tested Western methodological approaches in the field of post-Soviet science. In particular, the use of Western test systems and questionnaires was proposed, and methods for studying personality and stereotypes were adapted. But despite the large amount of research and the development of research methods, questions related to the structure of national character and its formation remained unanswered. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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