THE SEARCH FOR IDENTITY IN THE PERIOD OF SOCIAL TRANSFORMATIONS

Abstract

In the time of changes and transformations the issues of schemes of the further development of civilization become of current importance. The pluralism of ideolo-gies, methodologies that have no limits, and are legitimatized by the postmodernism, make the problem of self-identity of especially big importance. Therefore the scientists should study the influence of such trends on the development of personality, his self-identity, the search for identity in a complex and contradictory world.

The aim of the article is to discover the main features of the search for identity, the identification processes under conditions of social changes and instability. The self-identity is regarded as self-identification with another person, group, commu-nity, culture. The self-identification processes are explained based on the concepts of «personal» and «social» identities. The role of reflexive mechanisms in forming the personal identity, that ensures the integrity and stability of a personality, is discov-ered. The mechanisms of forming the social identity are analysed. The main features of forming the identity in crisis periods are highlighted based on various substructures of the «Ego». The role of innovative subcultures in resolving the crisis of identity under conditions of social changes is noted.