Change response styles in the structure of the psychological system of activity in youth from St. Petersburg and Tomsk

Abstract

The article describes results of the study aimed at exploring the response style to change within the psychological system of action among young people from St. Petersburg and Tomsk.
The study involved 474 respondents (mean age 22.5±3.9) from two Russian cities: 291 residents of St. Petersburg and 183 residents of Tomsk. The parameters of psychological system of action were evaluated with the World Values Survey (R. Inglehart), the Self-Organization of Activity Questionnaire (E.Yu. Mandrikova), the Reflexivity Type Assessment Test (D.A. Leontiev, E.N. Osin), and the Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (D.V. Lyusin). Response style to change was assessed with the questionnaire developed by T.Yu. Bazarov and M.P. Sycheva.
The response style to change was shown to be integrated within the psychological system of action. The variance in the “Conservative” and “Innovative” response styles was explained by the following parameters: self-organization of activity (consistency, persistence, fixation, self-organization), emotional management and the commitment to traditional values. Predictors for the “Implementing” and “Reactive” styles were the self-organization of activity (purposefulness, persistence, consistency, focus on the present), the skill of systematic introspection and emotional management. The leading response style to change differed among two study groups. Specifically, the St. Petersburg group was more associated with “Innovative” and “Reactive” styles, whereas for the Tomsk group “Conservative” and “Implementing” styles were more pronounced. The leading factors of psychological readiness for action were mainly similar for the two groups: “Implementing” and “Innovative” response styles, purposefulness and emotional intelligence. In addition to these factors Tomsk group was characterized with persistence. The differences between the Tomsk and St. Petersburg groups emerged in specific relationships between the parameters of psychological system of action and the response style to change.