MENTAL MAPS OF REGIONAL IDENTITY (BY THE EXAMPLE OF AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN SAMARA REGION) 

Tsvetkova Irina Viktorovna, Doctor of philosophy, professor, sub-department of history and philosophy, Togliatti State University (14 Belorusskaya street, Togliatti, Russia), E-mail: aleksandr@kozlov@mail.ru  

316.344.552 

10.21685/2072-3016-2019-3-13 

Background. In modern conditions, competition between regions is increasing. The study of regional identity of theoretical and practical importance for the formation of the image of the territory. The aim of the study is to identify the structural elements of regional identity. They characterize objects of pragmatic importance for the population and have social and cultural significance.
Materials and methods. The methodological basis of the article is the construction of mental maps of space. This technique is used in modern science to study the value attitude of the population to the territory, the social characteristics of space. The empirical base of the study includes the results of a survey conducted among the residents of the Samara region.
Results. Analysis of the results of the study makes it possible to describe the mental maps of the population according to nine criteria. Natural objects, marked as objects of pride of the local population, serve as symbols. According to the results of the survey, natural objects perform important social and cultural functions. They are considered as conditions for large-scale cultural events, as well as for the rest of the population. Significant elements of the image of the territory are educational institutions, industrial enterprises. The pragmatic functions of these objects are complemented by symbolic characteristics associated with their uniqueness for the perception of the region.
Conclusion. Mental maps of the regional identity of the Samara region include contradictory images: pragmatic and symbolic. The analysis of regional identity structures shows that at the level of public consciousness they are poorly connected with historical traditions. Mental maps reflect the current state of the economy, ecology and culture. Thus, the regional identity of the population of the Samara region is in the stage of formation. Stable images that characterize the uniqueness of this territory are not created in the public consciousness. 

mental maps, regional identity, image of the territory, social and cultural meanings, social space, values, social stereotypes 

1. Szajnowska-Wysocka A. Bulletin of geography Socioeconomic Series. 2009, no. 12, pp. 75–90.
2. Grazhdanskaya, etnicheskaya i regional'naya identichnost': vchera, segodnya, zavtra [Civil, ethnic and regional identity: yesterday, today, tomorrow]; project manager and executive editor of L. M. Drobizheva. Moscow: Rossiyskaya politicheskaya entsiklopediya, 2013, 485 p. [In Russian]
3. Drobizheva L. M. Voprosy natsional'nykh i federativnykh otnosheniy [Issues of national and federative relations]. 2018, vol. 8, no. 4 (43), pp. 324–336. [In Russian]
4. Drobizheva L. M., Ryzhova S. V. Rossiyskoe obshchestvo i vyzovy vremeni [The Russian society and the challenges of time]. Moscow: Ves' mir, 2015, bk. 2, pp. 176–197. [In Russian]
5. Drobizheva L. M., Kosharnaya G. B. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy. Povolzhskiy region. Obshchestvennye nauki [University proceedings. Volga region. Social sciences]. 2016, no. 4 (40), pp. 106–112. [In Russian]
6. Shabalova O. A. Magister Dixit. 2014, no. 2 (14), pp. 139–145.
7. Ibrahimi A. European Journal of Business, Economics and Accountancy. 2015, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 73–78.
8. Bazarov A. A., Burtonova V. N. Vestnik BGU [Bulletin of BSU]. 2017, no. 5, pp. 52–58. [In Russian]
9. Pirogov S. V. Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta [Bulletin of Tomsk State University]. 2013, no. 376, pp. 59–63. [In Russian]
10. Skalaban I. A. Tsennosti i smysly [Values and senses]. 2015, no. 1 (35), pp. 38–51. [In Russian]
11. Okunev I. Yu., Ostapenko G. I. ISOM. 2017, no. 5-1, pp. 159–172.
12. Baraboshina N. V. Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Ser. «Filosofiya. Psikhologiya. Pedagogika» [Proceedings of Saratov University. Series: Philosophy. Psychology. Pedagogy]. 2012, no. 4, pp. 7–10. [In Russian]
13. Davydkina L. V. Sovremennye issledovaniya sotsial'nykh problem [Modern research of social problems]. 2012, no. 1, pp. 697–714. [In Russian]
14. Ivanova V. V., Ditts E. A. Vestnik NGU. Ser. «Sotsial'no-ekonomicheskie nauki» [Bulletin of NSU. Series: Socioeconomic sciences]. 2015, no. 4, pp. 139–146. [In Russian]
15. Orlova V. V., Ivanova E. S. Vestnik SPbGU. Ser. 12, Sotsiologiya [Bulletin of SPbSU. Series 12, Sociology]. 2014, no. 1, pp. 99–108. [In Russian]
16. Zelyanskaya N. L. Vestnik Permskogo universiteta. Rossiyskaya i zarubezhnaya fi-lologiya [Bulletin of Perm University. Russian and foreign philology]. 2014, no. 4 (28), pp. 73–79. [In Russian]
17. Nedoseka E. V., Volkov V. V. Regionologiya [Regional studies]. 2014, no. 4 (89), pp. 179–189. [In Russian]
18. Leont'eva O. B., Tsyganova Ya. M. Vestnik Omskogo universiteta. Ser. «Istoricheskie nauki» [Bulletin of Omsk University. Series: Historical sciences]. 2015, no. 4 (8), pp. 131–139. [In Russian]