PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTENT OF POLITICAL BLAME ATTRIBUTION IN THE MODERN UKRAINIAN CONTEXT
Political blaming is considered as a means of active public-political self-determination of a person or a group and as a means of psychological protection from experiencing of own feeling of guilt. According to the survey of 120 Kyiv residents, there is the high level of respondents’ dissatisfaction concerning the direction and results of Ukrainian society development and the high readiness to assess negatively authorities and political institutions. The factor structure of corresponding attitudes includes «total accusation of the powers» (previous and current Ukrainian authorities), «blaming of Russian and pro-Russian actors (Russia, Putin, agents of Russian influence in Ukraine)», «blaming of international actors (the USA, Europe, NATO)», «assessment of radical political sentiments» (Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine and residents of the Western Ukraine). Clarification of the specific content of a political blame has shown the dominance of several stereotypical characteristics: corruption, anti-Ukrainian activity, helplessness or inaction, and deceit. Respondents who are more optimistic about the direction of society development are accuse more often the Communists and pro-Russian forces, while pessimists do the previous and present Ukrainian authorities. Gender-age differences have been manifested in the fact that the older generation blames more actively and show more ethnocentric attitudes, and women show a higher inclination to blame in comparison with men. Increased readiness for political blaming reflects the state of intense dissatisfaction of citizens with the results of social development, the responsibility for which they place primarily on the Ukrainian authorities and Russian aggressors. Searches for grounds for accusations in citizens’ own activities, in the influence of international actors, or in the objective circumstances of the society development are less clear. The external attribution of blame significantly prevails over self-blaming and the respondents are willing rather to find guilty people than to rearrange own position and or the content of own political activity.