engleski

How do different people perceive symbolic values of the water – an interdisciplinary approach?

Identification of differences in the perception of the symbolic values of water can lead us to get better insight into the different meanings of the term “water” for each individual. From the point of view of social psychology, water has different importance in lives of each individual, depending on living around water or having professions closely connected water. The aim of our study was to find out if some demographic and socio-economic characteristics are connected with latent dimensions that represent symbolic values of water. We have examined snowball sample (N=137) of people in Croatia. Among symbolic meanings of water, we extracted three symbolic values of water: abstract, concrete and identity. While abstract values of water are mainly mythological and religious, concrete values describe practical use of fresh water. Identity value represents national and regional affiliation. Small number of statistically significant correlations we found between symbolic values of water and age, work experience and education level. No significant gender differences in symbolic values of water were found according to the type of profession, while women have higher means at abstract values of water. Participants that were born near the sea have higher means.

abstraction; concreteness; correlation; identity; latent dimensions

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