Reflecting of the Life Path: Phase-Strategic Structure

Abstract

The article presents a phase-strategic model of the life path reflecting, the features of its components manifestation at different stages of the life path, the associations between its components and other characteristics of the life course. The study involved 296 participants: 220 are at the start stage of their life path, 46 are at the culmination stage, 30 are at the finish stage. The key method for collecting data was a written story about yourself and your life. Content analysis was used for data processing. Also, a number of psychodiagnostics tests was used to measure individual characteristics of the life path. In the phase-strategic structure of the life path reflecting, three structural and functional components are distinguished: exposition – actualization of meanings and senses; problematization – emergence of a conflicting, contradictory meaning, sense; decision-choice – rethinking the situation, the emergence of a new meaning, sense. It is shown that the identified strategies-phases have features of manifestation at the different life path stages: at the start stage, persons are more inherent in exposition, at the culmination stage – problematization, at the finish stage – decision-choice. The associations between the phases-strategies of reflecting and other characteristics of the life course have been established. The positive perception of his life path and himself is highly expressed in the phase of exposition, it significantly decreases in the phase of problematization and it rises again in the phase of decision-making. That is, in the phases of exposition and decision-making, the person believes that his life corresponds to his ideas, it is constructive, he can experience it fully and holistically, be independent, competent and confident. In the problematization phase, the person is dissatisfied with his life, and perceives himself as powerless and unable to overcome life difficulties and build quality relationships with people.