The senior teacher of the Department of Humanities, O. E. Andreeva

Amur State University (the Birobidzhan Branch), Russia

Legal socialization of personality: psychological aspects

Legal development of personality, building its life in harmony of law is one of the main, maybe, the most main task, in asserting of true law and order in society. The problem of law enforcement and crime prevention, protection of rights and freedoms of citizens, and building a prosperous and civilized society can’t be solved without forming a civilized personality with developed legal mentality. This task is in the attention of everyone who deals with the public, social and legal problems of society. However, this task can’t be solved if we try to do it in isolation, without solving the latter problem of legal psychology of society and its groups. “Cognitive activity which has not been reflected in the external human behavior is not regulated and controlled by law”, V. N. Kudryavtsev and N. S. Malein note fairly. Legal or violating behavior is always determined by legal psychology and legal psychology of the atmosphere that can control or, on the contrary, promote criminological prerequisites contained in a personality [4].

A personality which is at a high level of social, moral and intellectual development has good qualities that are the foundation of its lawful behavior. However, the firm relationships of a personality to the legal system which prevent it from any accidental violations of law and provide the right decision of all legal matters arising in the process of life and activity, require that it will be developed and in legal terms. This is particularly important in terms of development of a legal society and market economy, when requirements to legal readiness of all categories of citizens have increased sharply. Legal looks are world outlook views; legal relationships are moral relationships in life and activity; legal habits are habits of civilized behaviour; the legal position is a vital position; legal behavior is a condition of life success [8].

Thus, the development of legal psychology is at the same time the overall development of personality, the internal factor, the leitmotif of such development, which in some cases may be decisive.

The structure and content of legal psychology of personality are intertwined with its general structure and quality characteristics. Traditionally in psychology any personality stands out properties of orientation, character, abilities and temperament.

There is a methodological principle of the relationship of psyche, consciousness and activity. To find the answer to the question what the psyche should be, what changes should be made so that a person can successfully deal with certain tasks, it is necessary to begin not “from the psyche”, but from life, the demands of activity and behavior, to which he should be ready. First of all, it should be understood what these requirements are. The same way leads to success in dealing with the question what legal psychology of a human should be so that his behavior will be always lawful. Only a balance between what is required and what he possesses can solve the problem [5].

Every personality differs not only what it does but also how it does. Operational components of psychology of personality, playing the role of methods and means of achieving the objectives determined by the focus, provide rightful behavior. Many criminologists believe that the causes of infringing activity of a personality are frequently connected not only with wrongful purposes, but also with methods and means of achieving them (for example, “a man steals, robs, having a legitimate goal to eat, get dressed, but the means chosen is criminal”).

For realization of the goals, objectives, plans and getting a real result a personality with legal psychology always uses high-toned, legitimate means. Ethical and legal components include the following:

- the attitude to its life, methods of using its possibilities, which are enlightened, honest, dignified and lawful;

- respect for law, taking it as the highest social value, as norms of life claiming and defending exalted human values, as to the good, which is a civilized way to realize yourself, your life plans, as one of the firmest ways to solve emerging problems, as reliable power which is able to protect rights and freedoms and defend them against criminal encroachments;

- a civilized attitude to freedom and rights, briefly expressed in the formula: “My freedom and rights end where rights and freedom of another person begin”;

- respect for the civil, patriotic duty, a sense of responsibility for society’s freedoms and rights, the responsibilities in the workplace, family and for another man;

- the unacceptability of understanding of corporate, group responsibility, friendship and fellowship in case of an immoral wrongful act;

- a fair attitude towards the choice of methods and means of need satisfaction, achieving goals, implementation of intentions;

- predominance in the choice of such means and methods which differ from legal selectivity, spiritual culture;

- resistance to the temptations, ways of need satisfaction, quick gain and enrichment, victimized resistance;

- a moral, demanding attitude towards oneself, behavior in society and among people, understanding of the organic unity of your own rights and duties, the duty to satisfaction of your need and interests without, at least legally, estimated damage to others and to society;

- highly developed senses of honor, dignity, conscience, self-esteem;

- a respectful attitude to law enforcement agencies and their representatives, to the need for unconditional implementation of their requirements and support for strengthening the rule of law and justice.

The essence of legal socialization of personality. Everyone since his birth follows the way of development, which lasts a lifetime, but particularly significant in their results are the first 15-25 years. The essence of it is in socialization, i.e. adoption of social values by a personality (speech and knowledge, human thinking and consciousness, relationships to the surrounding and you, skills, behaviour, habits, traits, needs, abilities, etc.) that are produced by previous and current generations of people and embodied in the domain and spiritual reality. People are born essentially as animals, the outstanding Russian psychologist A.N. Leontyev says that one way to become a personality is through the lifetime development (ontogeny) [5].

There are a lot of achievements of human civilization before a newborn man, and what he chooses and makes his possession, such life he will have. Assimilation of individuals happens unfortunately with varying success. In life there are a lot of such young and adult people, who only just climbed above the original level of the animals and their lives are determined by weakly socialized biological and material needs. A weakly begun positive trend at some period may change into negative (asocialization). Overcoming of arisen temporary negative changes is called resocialization.

The part of the overall process of socialization is its legal socialization, the essence of which is the mastering of legal values by a personality, turning them into norms of life and conduct, personal qualities and features of psychology. A psychological objective of legal socialization is psycho-legal development of a personality, achievement of high legal culture in legal psychology, ensuring lawful behavior. “To live in law it is necessary that, first of all, law lives in us” wrote the Russian lawyer, Alexander Alekseev.

Research show that the process of legal socialization does not often reach the desired level of development that is due to subjective reasons of a varying scale and level, weakening of attention of the State and society to positive regulation of legal socialization, especially of the growing-up generation, the youth, and an under-skilled approach to psychological peculiarities of legal socialization.

The basic psychological features of the process of legal socialization. The main laws of legal socialization are based on social, pedagogical and psychological grounds. Distinctions of the general socialization and legal are in a content of appropriated values, its time period, in psychological difficulties of mastering different knowledge, skills, attitudes, habits, etc. Difficulties and results of the general socialization reflect on legal socialization though there is also a contrary influence of the second on the first [6].

Legal socialization of a personality and its results is not a static frozen, but developing process under the influence of life circumstances. Legal psychology at any age within its relative sustainability is changing (the principle of development). The question is what changes, how it changes, how fast, and what challenges it demands. In course of time features of legal psychology formed by earlier life are gaining greater stability, but still change. Therefore legal socialization of people needs constant evaluation of changes taking place in their psychology, choosing of such means and methods of the influences that contribute to progressive changes and prevent unwanted

Legal socialization of personality is influenced by both the purposeful impacts and natural, spontaneous. The predominance of spontaneity is always fraught with delays and deformations in legal socialization. Under current trends of criminalization of society, culture and morality the predominance of spontaneous influences are especially intolerable. There is a necessity to overcome spontaneity to raise legal socialization of citizens beginning from preschool age, a focused, organized and regulated nature.

The essence of legal socialization of a healthy personality, as noted above, is social. Its flowing and results are based on social circumstances (a principle of social conditionality), but not innately and biologically. Therefore, the main regulatory opportunities of legal socialization improvement lie in the social sphere; they are in the possibilities of the society and the people in charge of law and order, as well as leaders, parents, communities, all citizens, patriots of their country.

Legal socialization is the product of a focused influence of many circumstances. It is true that a human is 1/3 of what he was given from his parents, is 1/3 what he has been done by other people, and the 1/3 is what he has done himself. Other people cannot radically change a person until the mechanism of self-development begins to operate. Everyone is what he has done himself. Because the key reason of regulating legal socialization is encouraging adolescents, youth, citizens for self-development, assisting in its effective implementation.

The immediate factors influencing on the process of legal socialization are in a socio-psychological phenomenon called a lifestyle. It is a holistic microsystem of material conditions, the circle of the people with whom he constantly communicates, and own human activity, which are comprised and influence him. It is important to assess how the microcosm affects legal socialization, try to improve its impact and, where necessary, if possible, change it at all. The conditions and their effects depend on what a man makes with them: he supports, endorses, adapts or tries to change. The classic formula is circumstances affect the psychology of an individual inasmuch as he affects them. For example, members of the same community who are under the same conditions, create different conditions for them, for example, one constantly violates labour discipline and the other is not only a model of efficiency, but also takes an active part in the struggle for a perfect order. This explains why people living nearby, in the same micro-environment, develop in reality in different ways. Inclusion of a man in the promotion of justice and law, discipline, therefore, is an important way of his own legal development.

Opportunities of improving regulatory impacts on the process of legal socialization. The primal psychological task, which refers to the level of State bodies, local authorities and every community, group is the task of a drastic change in respect of legal socialization of citizens, the growing-up generation, to overcome the prevailing spontaneity of this process, the establishment of a system of legal regulation of legal socialization based on pre-emption of retardation or its deformations. The task is as relevant as complex, particularly in modern Russia.

A system of measures which could include legislative, organizational, educational propagandistic, personnel, instructional, and scientific is required.

Instead of separate, isolated and partially outdated legislative acts, it is desirable to have a single package, the law on legal socialization and legal education of population, and in addition to it a number of bylaws on the main directions of the activity.

There is a necessity to establish a system of legal governing processes of legal socialization and legal education of population at the federal level. It is rational to include all existing bodies relevant to legal socialization and legal education (law enforcement prevention departments, children's rooms, inspection to prevent juvenile crime, the authorities performing punishment, legal subjects teachers, psychologists and social teachers of educational establishments, etc.) in the system, filling temporarily vacant government authorities by councils, public organizations which held coordination meetings from time to time, and organization of consultations, public controls and others.

In the last decade studying of law in various educational settings has increased markedly but still there are possibilities to improve its quality. In the context of the issue under consideration it is necessary to note the necessity to include questions of law educational work in programs of legal and pedagogical educational institutions, which are often absent therein. It is necessary to include “legal education science” in the curricula which is not studied at all. Studying of law points should be obligatory in all institutions working with adolescents and youth. This study has an ideological importance and should be referred at an extremely high level, using special intensive psycho-educational technologies. The available data suggest that this study is now quite far from perfect. Legal education is reasonable to start from kindergarten, with family.

There is a necessity to talk about creating a system of law teaching of population covering young families, young parents, teachers, and preschool teachers of all categories, office workers, Government servants, law enforcement personnel and others at a new qualitative and meaningful level.

The system of legal propaganda needs serious and substantial improvements, there is a shortage of participation the media, institutions of art, culture, leisure activity, video market in it.

Selection of personnel with ability to regulate the process of legal socialization needs well thought-out decisions. Psychological selection according to abilities is appropriate here. The experience shows the necessity for special training of selected personnel, with specialization on law education. Even persons with basic pedagogical and psychological education are required a lot of time to understand how to deal with these idiosyncratic problems. There is a necessity for training of lawyers-teachers and lawyers-psychologists, and others need more specialization. All law enforcement officers need improving their psychological and pedagogical preparation on the issues. No intensification of regulation of legal socialization processes can be achieved without these measures.

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