“Liudyna, yaka flirtuie” v movnii svidomosti rosiiskomovnoho naselennia Ukrainy (za rezultatamy spriamovanoho asotsiatyvnoho eksperymentu) [“Flirting person” in the linguistic consciousness of the Russian-speaking population of Ukraine (based on the results of the controlled associative experiment)]

Background: This study is the promotion of a series of studies on ludic competence/playfulness, one of the seven components of which is flirt. Purpose: To define and describe the semantic parameters of the stimulus “flirting person” in the linguistic consciousness of the Russian-speaking people of Ukraine. Materials and Methods: The main method of the research was a psycholinguistic experiment whose major stage was the controlled associative experiment with the stimulus “flirting person”. The sample comprised 215 young people (aged 21-35), 112 females and 103 males. Results: The experiment results allowed to define 26 semantic parameters for the stimulus “flirting person” including: (flirting person) – what is the person by marital status?, what is state of the person’s finances?, how cultured is the person?, etc. 26 association fields have been respectively built. This study describes the association field of the semantic parameter “Motive – why is the person flirting?” – “By motive – what is the motive?”. The analysis of the obtained reactions made it possible to single out and describe such clusters of this semantic parameter, core clusters (equals or more than 10%): “exploratory motive” (29.77%), “social motive” (17.21%), “sexual motive” (17.21%), “entertaining motive” (15.81%); peripheral clusters (less than 10% and more than 1%): “assertive motive (self-esteem)” (7.44%), “instrumental motive” (7.44%); “indefinite motive” (2.79%), “intrinsic motive” (2.33%); extreme periphery clusters (less than or equal to 1% and more than 0.5%); single case cluster: “polymotivation” (0.47%). Conclusions: The semantic content of this semantic parameter depends on gender identification based on the results of the analysis of female and male associative fields. Males are driven by the sexual or indefinite motives, whereas females have social and entertaining ones.