The Image of Polish in Belarusian Culture (Following the Results of an Associative Experiment)

Abstract

The article deals with functioning of a person’s concept of the world in the unified form of stereotypes. Certain perception models accepted in a historical community have caused the recognition and interpretation of the world with prior social experience taken into account. The concept of an ethnic stereotype as a significant and emotionally marked idea of a nation has been revealed. Residents of Belarus from several regions (Vitebsk, Polotsk, Minsk, Hrodna) have been elected as respondents of an associative experiment. It has been shown how the concept of the Polish ethnos among Belarusians can differ, depending on the region of their residence. The results of the associative experiment have illustrated a number of characteristics which form a heterostereotype of a Pole in the mind of a Belarusian. The author has marked the reactions with positive and negative connotations which comprise a stereotypic image of a Pole. An attempt to reveal the background for formation of such stereotypes has been made.