The data of an associative experiment can be consolidated in the form of an associative dictionary which is a unique research tool helping to describe collective “ordinary” consciousness of native speakers, public “mental climate”. It should be noted in this regard that “the interest in the study of the dynamics of language consciousness on the material of comparative analysis of the associative fields dif-fering in the time of fixation has grown nowadays”ye

Morel Morel, D. A.

DSpace at Belgorod State University

D. A. MOREL MORELBelgorod National University, RussiaCOMPARING THE SAME STIMULUS ASSOCIATIVE FIELDS FIXED IN DIFFERENT HISTORICAL PERIODS (TECHNIQUE APPLICATION CASE STUDY)The data o f an associative experiment can be consolidated in the form o f an associative dictionary which is a unique research tool [11: 5-7] helping to describe collective “ordinary” consciousness o f native speakers, public “mental climate” [12: 5]. It should be noted in this regard that “the interest in the study of the dynamics of language consciousness on the material of comparative analysis o f the associative fields dif­fering in the time of fixation has grown nowadays” [1: 15].Regarding such a comparison as a prominent source providing significant data on the naive picture o f the world dynamics we have been carrying out a research embracing materials of “Russkiy assotsiativnyy slovar’” (“RAS”) and o f the author experiment (reproducing “RAS” data acquisition procedure) (e.g. [3]). The work done allowed us to establish a specific technique o f such a comparative research consisting of three steps presented below.The present study observes the associative fields o f the world-stimulus ‘bezopasnost’ ’ (safety / secu­rity) fixed in two different periods: 1988-1997 (To) and 2013-2014 (Ti) to set an example and present step- by-step technique description.Step 1: analyzing and comparing general figures.This stage o f data analysis implies general preprocessing and operating a few indicators as follow.The number o f reactions (NR) comprises all respondents’ answers including refusals and corresponds to the total number o f respondents involved in the experiment. The number o f associates (NA) is equal to the sum o f all dissimilar answers regardless their frequency.Since the number o f respondents can vary at different stages o f the experiment it is worth operating relative indices (normalized in frequency).The frequency ratio (Rf  = NR / NA) along with the shares o f single associates (in the total number of given associates) and their references (in the total number o f reactions) explicit the degree of field’s stand­ardization and respondents’ associative constriction, the extent and the weight of field’s extreme periphery.The fraction o f refusals can be also revealing since an abnormally big share of refusals (in the total number o f reactions) manifests the presence o f difficulties respondents meet with while trying to establish an associative link.The growth rate (G) is the ratio o f indicator’s value at the final stage (Ti) to the one at the initial stage (To).The values o f the mentioned indicators o f the field under study are tabulated in Table 1.Table 1У Д К  8 1 ’ 37General figuresIndicators T0 T 1 Gnumber o f associates 51 52number o f reactions 105 100frequency ratio 2,059 1,923 0,934share o f single associates, % 82,35 75,00 0,911share o f single associate references, % 40 39 0,975share o f refusals, % 2,86 1As we can see this step results shows no distinct divergence in diachrony: at both stages the average frequency o f associates is neither high nor low, the amount o f single associates is rather large—thence the extreme periphery o f the field is widely extended—but their weight is fairly modest.Here we face a rather uncommon situation: the general frequency reduction along with the decrease o f single associate representativity. The very fact reveals some inner dynamics o f the structure of the field under study. It can be treated as kernel weight decreasing accompanied with fa r  (not extreme) periphery weight increasing but requires a more thorough examination (see below).This step can also bring some information on features o f demographic groups’ (age, gender,43ignifysional— see on-line “RAS” interface [10]) associative fields. Here we confine ourselves to a gender group comparison (see Table 2).Table 2Gender groups general figuresIndicators Ma le respondents Female respondentsTq T 1 G Tq T 1 Gnumber o f associates 28 33 27 29number o f reactions 53 50 52 50frequency ratio 1,893 1,515 0,800 1,926 1,724 0,895share o f single associates, % 78,57 75,76 0,964 85,19 72,41 0,850share o f single associate ref­erences, %41,51 50 1,205 44,23 42 0,950share o f refusals, % 3,77 0 1,92 2As we can see the contradictory situation with growth rates as above is fully conditioned by female respondents’ answers whereas male ones show a rather common picture with the reduction o f the average frequency and the growth o f single associate weight.Male respondents’ associative field features more distinct individuality (wider representativity of single associates hence extension of the extreme periphery and less average frequency of associates) than female ones at the final stage. Such a state o f affairs is, properly speaking, fairly common for contemporary respondents of different age groups (e.g. [5]) but as for To this tendency is not valid.Another important aspect here is a general overview of gender-specific / gender-mutual parts o f the associative field under study (see Table 3).Table 3Gender specific / mutualityshare o f as­sociatesshare of reactionsshare o f single associate refer­encesgender- mutual part all answersTq 7.84% 49.52% —T 1 19.23% 51% —G 2.452 1.030 —gender- specific partmale respond­ents answersTq 85.71% 51.0% 39.69%T 1 69.7% 48% 44%G 0.813 0.941 1.109female re­spondents’ an­swersTq 85.19% 49.94% 40.32%T 1 65.52% 50% 34%G 0.769 1.001 0.843According to the presented data the gender-mutual part o f the field under study has grown due to the extension o f the range o f low-frequency associates. The male-specific part has shrunk both in size (share of associates) and weight (share of reactions). The female-specific part has shown a tendency to consolidation shrinking in the range o f associates and keeping their aggregate frequency.As for the weight o f single associates it has been steadily declining in females respondents’ an­swers—proving the mentioned tendency— and slightly growing in male ones.Step 2: analyzing and comparing top associates.Top associates (or “predictable associations”— see [2: 287]) provide valuable raw data on the exist­ing stereotype reactions (e.g. [11: 757; 1: 14]) as well as on the most salient features o f a prototypical repre­sentative o f the concept under study [8; 3].The field under study displays very distinct picture of top associates distribution and dynamics (see Table 4, where top values for each stage and respondents’ subgroup are in bold).4 4Top associates (percentage in reactions)Table 4Associatesall answers male respond­ents’ answersfemale respond­ents’ answersT 0 T 1 T 0 T 1 T0 T 1‘dvizheniya’ (of road traffic) 40,95 0 37,74 0 44,23 0‘spokoistvie’ (serenity) 1,9 6 0 0 3,85 12‘dom’ (home / house) 0 10 0 14 0 6‘okhrana’ (guard / protection) 0,95 7 1,89 6 0 8‘zashchishchennost’’ (proofness / secu­rity)0 6 0 2 0 10‘dvizhenie’ (traffic) 3,81 0 5,66 0 1,92 0‘garantiruetsya’ (is guaranteed) 2,86 0 0 0 5,77 0‘zaschita’ (defense / protection) 0 6 0 6 0 6‘nadyozhnost’’ (reliability) 0 6 0 6 0 6‘OBZh’ (Fundamentals o f Health and Safety)0 6 0 6 0 6At the initial stage the major part o f respondents o f both sexes steadily associates safety / security with the road traffic. At the final stage respondents are not so unanimous linking the stimulus with home / house, protection, serenity, proofness, Fundamentals o f Health and Safety, the single gender difference being frequency values. Thus, Ti-respondents stably associate ‘bezopasnost’’ with means o f its maintenance and states caused by or causing it. The female respondents are more concerned with states (serenity and proof­ness) whereas male ones—with an artifact causing the feeling o f safety [7].Jo-state field features very abrupt, exponential-like profile o f the frequencies distribution graph. It has a kernel reduced to a single dominant associate, no prekernel area and hardly any close periphery repre­sentatives. Both male and female respondents’ fields have the similar distribution.Changes at the final stage are drastic. The To-dominant has completely fallen into oblivion whereas all Ti-top associates are irrelevant for To-respondents. Ti-state field has a smoothed, sloping profile o f the frequencies distribution graph, only the male respondents’ field distinguishes by a certain gap between the top associate forming the kernel and the close periphery.Step 3: analyzing and comparing semantic clusters.Depending on the models o f concept representation groups o f associates resulting from the procedure o f semantic clusterization o f respondents’ answers can correspond to cognitive characters / layers / segment o f the field model [9: 60-62], to nodes o f a semantic network [4], to slots o f a frame [6].At this stage o f study both vertical (common-size) and horizontal (trend) analyses should be applied. With regard to our research specifics a vertical analysis implies comparing each cluster shares in total num­bers o f associates and reactions (see [8]) then followed with revealing changes in these distributions over time. A horizontal one allows to reveal growth rates o f clusters.For each cluster we calculate its total frequency (F)—total percentage of its reactions— and its de­gree o f representation in the field (Rp)—total percentage o f its associates. We can also apply to the ranking o f clusters for their vertical analysis [Ibidem] at this stage o f study.The associative field under study can be split up into twenty clusters as follow:safety /  security... 1) o f road traffic; 2) is ensured; 3) is not ensured; 4) o f life; 5) public; 6) personal; 7) is a needed value; 8) is an action or its subject; 9) is people or organizations dedicated to its ensuring; 10) is an artifact dedicated to its ensuring; 11) is a building dedicated to its ensuring; 12) is a home; 13) is a state, condition; 14) is a characteristic; 15) is the accident prevention; 16) is a school subject; 17) vs. danger; 18) perfect; 19) inconspicuous; 20) information.The distributions o f each cluster’s shares in reactions (F) and associates (Rp)— along with the growth rates o f these shares—of the whole associative field are given in Fig. 1, the same indicators o f the male respondents’ field—in Fig. 2, and o f female ones—in Fig. 3.4 5^ M F(TQ) l= IR p (T 0 )  M F ( T 1 )  ESS3Rp(T1) — * —  G(F) --»--G(Rp)Fig. 1. General clusters distributions and growths In all figures the left y-axis corresponds to the percentage o f clusters (in reactions—odd columns, in associates— even ones), the right one—to the growth ratios. Growth ratios graphs can have breaks due to an arithmetical reason: when a cluster has a null representativity at the initial stage its growth rate cannot be calculated (division by zero error).At the level o f the whole field we can see 3 clusters (No. 2, 3, 18) have fallen into oblivion and 4 clusters (No. 12, 14, 16, 20) have emerged. Extinct clusters refer to the degree o f safeguarding and contain all verbal associates. 4 top clusters showing the highest growth rates (No. 8-10 along with an emerged mono­cluster “home / house”) are related to different means ensuring security (people, artifacts, procedures).^^WF(TQ) ^^^Rp(TQ ) ^^^IF(T1) G^SRp(T1) —*— G(F) - -> -G(Rp)Fig. 2. Male respondents’ field clusters distributions and growths4 6^M F(T Q ) l= lR p ( T 0 )  M F ( T 1 )  SSSSRp(T1) —*— G(F) - » - G ( R p )Fig. 3. Female respondents’ field clusters distributions and growthsThe dynamics o f gender fields shows no crucial differences from the general one. Both male and fe­male respondents are unanimous in expelling from their linguistic consciousness associative links with road traffic, values, degree o f safeguarding. The cluster “people or organizations dedicated to ensure security” demonstrates a dramatic expansion. The rapidity o f its growth is accentuated by the fact that its representa- tivity is considerably greater— and increases faster—than its total frequency.Male respondents’ field has regressed to some extent: 7 clusters have been extinct (No. 1-3, 5-6, 15, 18) and only 6 have emerged (No. 12-14, 16, 19-20). On the contrary, female respondents’ field shows some structural progress with 7 emerged (No. 9, 11-12, 14-16, 20) and 5 extinct (No. 2-3, 7, 18-19) clusters.The emergence o f clusters “information security” and “fundamentals o f health and safety as a school subject” is fairly consonant with the spirit o f the times.The undertaken research allows us to make some general observations on the proposed technique.1. This technique is easy-to-use, being neither sophisticated nor requiring somewhat complex math­ematical apparatus. It can be easily adjusted to the needs o f a specific study. We do not have to fulfil the whole sequence step by step if  the particular purposes do not demand it. Moreover, at each stage we can con­fine ourselves to an undifferentiated examination o f a field as a whole, or we can go into details o f different demographic groups’ pictures o f the world.2. The usage o f quantitative methods must not supplant the application o f purely linguistic ones. Thus, for example, different forms o f semantic analysis are o f crucial importance at two last stages of study.3. Whilst carrying out vertical field analysis we should not confine ourselves considering associates / reactions proportions o f clusters apart; we need also to draw a comparison between these indicators.4. Not only total figures but also the inner organization o f clusters should be examined. We do not apply to comparing average frequencies o f clusters (cf. [8]) for the following reason. Clusters (as well as as­sociative fields in whole) can considerably vary in their profiles o f the frequencies distribution. A  cluster may consist o f a single dominant or a compact flat group o f high-frequency associates along with a number o f low-frequency ones, o f low-frequency associates only, it may also have a smoothed, sloping profile with­out marked gaps in the kernel ^  periphery distribution. The mentioned averaging totally levels this im­portant picture o f the inner field structure reducing the explanatory value of findings.4 7Some findings concerning the associative field under study should also be mentioned.1. Taking into consideration the dynamics o f single associates representativity as well as the data from Table 2 we can instantiate an early observation [5]: at the present stage (Ti) associative fields based upon male respondents’ answers feature greater individuality of established associative links (larger amount o f single and low-frequency associates thence lower frequency ratio) whereas fields produced by female re­spondents are more dense featuring greater reproducibility and standardization o f answers (as well as less amount and weight o f single associates).2. The sets of top associates as well as the profiles o f frequency distribution within the fields have changed drastically over time showing blurring o f the stereotype. Besides the complete replacement o f the “stereotype vector o f associating” (see [1: 14])—thence o f the prototypic representatives of the safety / secu­rity—we see respondents’ unanimity slumping.Nowadays, ‘bezopasnost’’ is associated mainly with means (artifacts, people, procedures) of its maintenance and states caused by or causing it, but not with road traffic.1. Comparative analysis o f clusters reveals deep transformations in the structure o f the field under study. We are witnessing the decline (up to full extinction) o f clusters representing the degree and the actions o f safeguarding, the value nature o f ‘bezopasnost’’, opposing it to the danger, reducing it to the traffic safety. At the same time the clusters representing subjects and artifacts assuring safety, defining ‘bezopasnost’’ as a state or characteristic demonstrate a stable expansion.Elicited facts send a firm signal that contemporary respondents try to dissociate themselves from the maintenance o f safety, to forget about the danger, to shut themselves off it behind guards’ backs, walls, and other security facilities. The extinction o f verbal reactions in Ti-respondents’ answers bolster up this conclu­sion. The revealed processes are not gender specific and reflect shifts in the naive picture o f the world.Gender peculiarities come to two main points: female respondents are focused on the interpretation o f ‘bezopasnost’’ as a state, whereas male ones identify it mostly with an artifact.2. All o f the aforesaid leads to the conclusion that the attitude to safety / security has under­gone radical changes within the speech community over time thence the transformation of the deep conception o f safety / security in the linguistic consciousness.References3. Alimushkina, O.A. Vozmozhnosti izucheniya stereotipov v assotsiativnykh polyakh // A l’manakh sovremennoy nauki I obrazovaniya. -  2010. -  N 2(33). -  Part II. -  P. 14-15.2 Krasnykh, V.V. “Svoy” sredi “chuzhikh”: m if ili real’nost’? -  M.: Gnozis, 2003. -  375 p.3. Morel Morel, D.A. Medium-term dynamics o f the I picture o f the world through the prism of associative experiment // Applied and Fundamental Studies: Proceedings o f the 5th International Academic Conference. April 29-30, 2014. -  St. Louis, Missouri: Publishing House “Science and Innovation Center”, 2014. -  P. 233-237.4. M orel’ Morel’, D.A. 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Comparing the same stimulus associative fields fixed in different historical periods : technique application case study

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Comparing the same stimulus associative fields fixed in different historical periods : technique application case study

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