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DOI: https://doi.org/10.46502/issn.1856-7576/2023.17.01.21
Cómo citar:
Varnavska, I., Kharchuk, O., Dubinka, M., Kulikova, S., & Kondratska. (2023). Social environment as a factor of
personality formation. Revista Eduweb, 17(1), 219-229.https://doi.org/10.46502/issn.1856-7576/2023.17.01.21
Social environment as a factor of personality formation
El Entorno Social como Factor de Formación de la Personalidad
Inna Varnavska
vav2005@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3061-0665
Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Faculty of Economics, Department of
Professional Education, Kherson State Agrarian and Economic University, Ukraine.
Olena Kharchuk
Kharchuk1965@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5344-4121
PhD in Economics, Associate Professor, Department of Management, Public Administration and
Administration, Faculty of Management and Technology, State University of Infrastructure and
Technologies, Ukraine.
Mykola Dubinka
mdubinka72@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7129-3750
Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and
Arts, Department of Pedagogy and Special Education, Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central
Ukrainian State University, Ukraine.
Svitlana Kulikova
s.v.kulikova@cuspu.edu.ua
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0397-6853
Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Faculty of Pedagogy, Psychology and
Arts, Department of Art Education, Volodymyr Vynnychenko Central Ukrainian State University,
Ukraine.
Galyna Kondratska
kondrgala73@gmail.com
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8856-1125
Head of the Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Health, Doctor of
Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Faculty of Human Health and Natural Sciences Department
of physical therapy, occupational therapy and health, Drohobych Ivan Franko State Pedagogical
University, Ukraine.
Recibido: 12/01/23
Aceptado: 28/02/23
Abstract
In the course of the research, analytical and bibliographic method was employed to study the scientific
literature on the influence of the social environment on the process of personality formation. The
questionnaire survey conducted by the authors of the study online served to clarify the most important
issues related to the research topic in practice. According to the results of the study, the main important
theoretical components of the process of influence of the social environment on the formation of
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Inna Varnavska, Olena Kharchuk, Mykola Dubinka, Svitlana Kulikova, Galyna Kondratska
personality have been identified. The point of view of practical psychologists and researchers-teachers
of humanities universities on the key aspects of this issue has been investigated.
Keywords: influence of social institutions, conditions of personality formation, personality subjectivity,
influence on the formation of value orientations, social value structure.
Resumen
En el transcurso de la investigación, se empleó el método analítico y bibliográfico para estudiar la
literatura científica sobre la influencia del entorno social en el proceso de formación de la
personalidad. El cuestionario de encuesta realizado por los autores del estudio en línea sirvió para
aclarar las cuestiones más importantes relacionadas con el tema de investigación en la práctica. De
acuerdo con los resultados del estudio, se han identificado los principales componentes teóricos
importantes del proceso de influencia del entorno social en la formación de la personalidad. Se ha
investigado el punto de vista de psicólogos prácticos e investigadores-docentes de universidades de
humanidades sobre los aspectos clave de este tema.
Palabras clave: influencia de las instituciones sociales, condiciones de formación de la personalidad,
subjetividad de la personalidad, influencia en la formación de orientaciones valorativas, estructura
social de valores.
1. Introduction
Today, society fully shapes a mature personality, as it determines the vector of his or her social
behavior and determines the effectiveness of life. As an important factor of influence on a person,
the social sphere reflects a person's internal readiness to take a chosen action aimed at satisfying
needs and interests, and thus indicates strategic models of behavior.
The theoretical part of this study substantiates the components and main stages of the
development of the social environment as an important prerequisite for the formation of
personality traits.
The practical part of the work includes identifying the most important institutional elements of
society that influence the formation of personality traits. This part examines the macro- and macro-
level components of the social environment that are most important in the formation of personality
traits in children and adolescents. There is an overview of the areas that require attention from
government agencies in terms of their assistance in the development of the educational
environment as a significant factor in the formation of the personality of community members. The
main psychological aspects of the work of educational institutions as the most important factors
in the formation of personality traits were also identified. The areas where there is a priority need
for scientific research on issues related to the study of the social environment as one of the most
important factors in the formation of personality are outlined.
Based on the results of the study, conclusions have been drawn regarding the issues raised. In
particular, it is established that the most important institutional components of the social
environment that shape personality traits in persons exposed to its influence are special
associations for certain groups of the population, youth centers, and tourism and recreation
organizations. At the same time, the most important macro- and macro-level components that are
most important in the formation of personality traits in children and adolescents are the cultural
and material environment, as well as the conditions of the immediate environment (street,
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settlement environment, educational and social group). The survey showed that today the areas
requiring special attention from government agencies are issues related to the optimization of the
physical environment and curricula, and forms of educational activities. The survey revealed that
the psychological components of the educational environment are the most important factors in
the formation of personality traits. Namely, a sense of security, the formation of a positive self-
concept, recognition by others, and effective interaction with oneself and others. The respondents
were asked about the areas in which there is a priority need for research on issues related to the
study of the social environment as one of the most important factors in the formation of
personality. According to the survey, these were educational concepts, curricula, issues related
to the responsibility of the subjects of the pedagogical process, the definition of goals and
objectives, as well as the selection and development of forms and methods of organizing the
educational process.
The research aims to determine the position of practical psychologists and researchers-teachers
of humanities HEIs on the peculiarities of the influence of the social environment on the formation
of human personality traits.
2. Literature Review
The social environment exists because of numerous connections between its members and social
institutions. The larger and more diverse the range of components of the social environment, the
more intensive their development and the more diverse the living conditions of an individual in it
(Hopwood, Schwaba & Bleidorn, 2021).
The characteristics of the social environment that contribute to the development of the individual
include the level and nature of opportunities for self-realization, a manifestation of individual
abilities and creative potential of the individual; the degree of unity and integrity of the constituent
elements (social relations, social spheres); the level of uniformity of development of various
elements and spheres of the social environment (Bleidorn et al., 2021).
The conditions that directly affect an individual in the social environment can be divided into two
groups: social, material, and physical. The first includes the basic conditions for the functioning of
a person in a team, the peculiarities of the pedagogical process, rituals, and the social
environment of a particular region; the second involves the material and living conditions of
educators and students in a particular educational system, the moral and psychological climate
in the team, etc. (Lampropoulos et al., 2022).
Elements of a particular environment can affect a person directly or indirectly, spontaneously or
intentionally. At the same time, the effects of such influence can be accidental or regular,
permanent or temporary. Given the above, educational work should be aimed at both perceiving
and weakening the assimilation of influential factors of social processes. It depends on whether
or not they contribute to the development or provoke negative aspects that destabilize the
consciousness and behavior of the individual (Vries et al., 2021).
All environmental factors, combined with genetically inherited predispositions and specific
historical socio-cultural conditions of upbringing, are fundamental to a person's intellectual
development. However, the environment is not only a factor in their intellectual and personal
development. The socio-cultural environment can be viewed as a system that directly affects the
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Inna Varnavska, Olena Kharchuk, Mykola Dubinka, Svitlana Kulikova, Galyna Kondratska
development of the individual. Moreover, it indirectly determines the nature and direction of
various forms of state, social, family, institutional, and informal education (Sutin, et al., 2022),
(Barnett, Archuleta & Cantu, 2019).
The socio-cultural environment is a factor in the emergence and development of new educational
trends, in our case, the ideas of freedom pedagogy. The analysis of the socio-cultural environment
as a factor in the formation and development of the concept of pedagogy of freedom leads to the
need to distinguish a special element in it, in addition to the elements of the macro- and micro-
social environment. We are talking about the educational community, an element characterized
by many distinctive features. The peculiarity of this element of the socio-cultural environment is
that, on the one hand, it belongs to the macro-social level as a society of educational subjects,
and its specific members are directly involved in the micro-social environment of the child.
Furthermore, if all other elements of the macro social environment act on the developing
personality indirectly through the micro social environment, then for some teachers this influence
becomes direct (Hall, Lewis & Ellsworth, 2018), (Chuang, Manley & Petersen 2020).
Today, the question of the role of an open socio-cultural environment in the development of
personal freedom in general and its subjectivity, in particular, is becoming more and more
relevant. However, the ability of psychological and pedagogical science to properly influence this
process can only be ensured by overcoming the contradictions that have arisen between the
process of self-development of the individual and the system of traditional education and have
been entrenched in the public consciousness (Brandt et al., 2022), (Bleidorn, Hopwood & Lucas,
2018).
3. Methodology
A practical study of current trends in the study of social environment as a factor in the formation
of personality traits was conducted by interviewing 214 practicing psychologists and 192
researchers and teachers of humanities universities in Chernihiv, Rivne, Poltava, and Kyiv oblasts
of Ukraine. The study was conducted using the Survey Planet service.
4. Results
According to the survey participants, today, in the context of active development of
communication processes, the most important institutional components of the social environment
that shape personality traits in people exposed to it are (Figure 1):
− special associations for specific groups of people: dormitories for students and young workers;
− centers for young people in crises, orphanages;
− tourism and recreation organizations, namely tourist summer bases, recreation camps, and
family-type homes for young people, along with special recreation settlements.
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Figure 1. The most important institutional components of the social environment that influence
the formation of personality traits, %
Source: built by the authors.
In the structure of the social environment in which a person functions, is formed and changes,
there are macro and micro levels, depending on the way they influence a person in the formation
of significant personal qualities. In the course of the survey, the respondents identified the
following most important components of the macro- and micro-level of the social environment that
is most important in the formation of personal traits in children and adolescents (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Components of the micro- and macro-level of the social environment that are most
important in the formation of personal traits in children and adolescents, %
Source: built by the authors.
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Inna Varnavska, Olena Kharchuk, Mykola Dubinka, Svitlana Kulikova, Galyna Kondratska
According to the survey, in children and adolescents, the greatest influence on the formation of
their traits is exerted at the macro level primarily by the cultural and then material environment,
and at the macro level by living conditions (family, neighborhood) and conditions of the immediate
environment (street, settlement environment, educational and social group).
In the course of the study, respondents were asked to name areas that require special attention
from government agencies in terms of their involvement in promoting the development of the
educational environment as a significant factor in shaping the personality of local community
members (Figure 3):
Figure 3. Areas requiring attention from the state authorities in terms of their assistance in the
development of the educational environment as a significant factor in shaping the personality of
community members, %
Source: built by the authors.
According to the survey, the issues related to the optimization of the physical environment require
the most attention and refinement from the state authorities. These issues relate to the
construction and provision of premises, optimization of structures, size and spatial structure of
educational accommodation, conditions for movement and accommodation of persons, as well
as curricula, especially the actualization of the innovative nature of the content of curricula,
teaching technologies, teaching style and methods, forms of learning activities, and types of
control.
The survey revealed that most scholars agree that the psychological component (social or
communicative component according to different authors) is central among other structural
elements of the environment that shape personality traits.
The psychological component of the educational environment is, first of all, a type of
communication between the subjects of the educational process, which carries the main burden
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of ensuring the possibility of meeting and developing the needs of the subjects of the educational
process, primarily in the following areas (Figure 4):
Figure 4. Psychological components of the educational environment as the most important
factors in the formation of personality traits, %
Source: built by the authors.
As seen in Figure 4, the psychological prerequisites for personality formation are primarily a sense
of security, as well as the formation of a positive self-concept, recognition by others, and effective
interaction with oneself and other society members.
An important element of the research is to study the point of view of practicing psychologists and
scientists on the need for scientific works on issues related to the peculiarities of studying and
shaping the social environment as one of the most important factors in the formation of personal
traits (Figure 5):
− educational concepts, curricula, individual plans, reference books, textbooks, and reference
works;
− distribution of roles, and responsibilities of the subjects of the pedagogical process, the
definition of goals and objectives;
− forms and methods of organizing the educational process
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Inna Varnavska, Olena Kharchuk, Mykola Dubinka, Svitlana Kulikova, Galyna Kondratska
Figure 5. Areas, where there is a priority, need for scientific works on issues related to the study
of the social environment as one of the most important factors in the formation of personality, %
Source: built by the authors.
5. Discussion
The environment, which is a set of natural and social conditions in which human society functions,
acts as a necessary condition for the personality's formation and development. In the process of
acquiring and assimilating the social experience of humanity, the individual is involved in the
process of communication and relationships with other people, phenomena, and things, and
develops a certain social activity. Consciousness, the spiritual world of a person is formed by the
entire system of life, a specific social environment, which acts jointly with education (Aragon-
orrea, Marcus & Vogel, 2020), (Şahin, Karadağ & Tuncer, 2019).
The social environment and the individual are in constant interaction. The environment influences
the personality and contributes to its formation. A person, who acts in the social environment,
forming relationships with other people, and participating in the activities of various communities,
thereby creates this environment and gives it a certain social property (Zarnadze et al., 2022).
Today, education and upbringing are understood as unique creative processes that create
conditions for the development, upbringing, and self-education of a child's personality. Herewith,
the teacher's personality and the child's personality appear here as equal participants in these
processes with equal responsibility for their organization and result (Faruk, Karada & Tuncer,
2019).
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The role of the socio-cultural environment as a factor in the emergence and development of
pedagogical ideas is extremely high, as it forms not only professional but also universal personal
values of society members (Ndou, Mele & Vecchio, 2019)
The peculiarity of modern pedagogical thinking is not only to consider individual ideas of the social
and educational environment but to build on their basis holistic models of education that reflect a
single system of both social and pedagogical views and beliefs (Murnieks, Klotz & Shepherd,
2020), (Baggio et al., 2019).
The models of personality development are based on socio-philosophical approaches to
interaction with children, psychological research on personality development, and methods of
systemic design thinking (Martínez-González et al., 2022).
We consider the socio-pedagogical environment as an open pedagogical system that is closely
related to external factors and cannot function outside its boundaries and influences. The socio-
educational environment functions as an effective interpersonal interaction. It contributes to the
emotional well-being of students and teachers, the development of a mentally healthy personality,
the personal and professional growth of students, the longevity of teachers, and the harmonization
of their personalities. The socio-pedagogical environment of the school should be such that the
majority of participants have a positive attitude towards it, and high levels of satisfaction with
needs and safety (Dvorský, Petráková, Çera & Folvarˇcan, 2019), (Aggarwal et al., 2019).
6. Conclusion
Thus, the analysis of the scientific literature on the research topic and the results of the
questionnaire survey showed that the basic, fundamental provisions, a kind of "basic structure"
of the social environment as a determining factor in the formation and development of a person
in society include the priority of the individual, his or her needs, interests, and desires. This also
includes the creation of optimal conditions for self-education, cognition, self-determination for the
fullest possible life, and professional realization of the individual. The analysis of the international
experience of scientific developments in this area shows the expediency of comprehending and
practical implementation in the modern conditions of our society of such a model of educational
activity that would involve all educational institutions and the public sphere in the formation of
general civilizational value orientations of a person. This is a guideline for assessing subjects,
objects of the social sphere, actions of other people, social processes, and one's behavior.
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