PSYCHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL PREJUDICES TOWARD PARTICIPANTS IN ACTIVE LEISURE ACTIVITIES AND THE MECHANISMS OF THEIR TRANSFORMATION

Abstract

The article is devoted to a theoretical analysis of the phenomenon of social prejudice toward participants in active leisure as a specific domain of intergroup interaction. The relevance of the study is determined by increasing social mobility, the digitalization of communication, and the growing role of recreational activity in the psychological recovery of the population of Ukraine within the context of war. Active leisure is considered not only as a form of physical and social activity, but also as a foundation and source of symbolic identification, competition for shared (including public) spaces and resources, as well as for public evaluation, where mechanisms of social categorization and intergroup comparison are activated. The methodological framework of the study is based on the integration of Social Identity Theory, Integrated Intergroup Threat Theory, the Justification–Suppression Model of prejudice, and the Intergroup Contact Hypothesis.
Based on theoretical analysis, a conceptualization of prejudice in the sphere of active leisure is proposed; its cognitive, emotional, and socio-contextual mechanisms of formation are outlined; and a typology is developed (class-based, gender-based, age-based, environmental, moral-value, and intersectional forms). It is also demonstrated that social prejudice may lead to stigmatization, self-stigmatization, social isolation, as well as to more aggressive forms of negative intergroup interaction, and may complicate the process of psychological rehabilitation, particularly for veterans and individuals experiencing post-traumatic conditions caused by military actions.
The article analyzes a complex of theoretical approaches to prejudice reduction, including the organization of intergroup contact on the basis of equality, the formation of a superordinate identity, the development of empathy, the implementation of educational programs, mass communication strategies and programs, and normative-institutional support. Recategorization – that is, the restructuring and re-hierarchization of social groups – is considered as a distinct potential methodology for the prevention and reduction of social prejudice. The necessity of developing psychodiagnostic instruments and empirically testing intervention models aimed at preventing prejudice in the sphere of active leisure is emphasized.