Social Activity of Personality and Groups: Definition, Structure and Mechanisms

The problem of social activity of the personality and groups becomes central in modern social, economic and political psychology. The innovative processes in the society, maintaining a dynamic balance in it, entirely depend on the release of the social activity of the individuals and groups, on its freedom and diversity, constructiveness and responsibility. The article presents a theoretical analysis of the problem of operationalization of the phenomena of social activity of the individual and groups, the synthesis of the disparate data on its foundations, motivators, mechanisms and social effects. The definition of social activity as a special case of initiative impact of social actors on the social environment, as the actions aimed at changing and transforming social objects as a result of which there is a change in the personality and the entire social situation, the problem of its operationalization is discussed. It is shown that social activity is the effect of socialization and development of the individual. The differences of social activity in different age periods and its importance for the individual and its sociopsychological status are singled out. The multi-component structure of the social activity, including the cognitive, emotionally-evaluative, motivational, and behavioral components are highlighted. The incentive mechanisms of social activity (motivation, satisfaction/dissatisfaction as an indicator of diachronic mismatch of personality and the social environment) are analyzed. The empirical research aimed at finding out the predictors and basis of the dominant types of social activity of the individual is outlined.