AGE DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES OF ADOLESCENTS TO CIVIL LIBERTIES
AGE DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES OF ADOLESCENTS TO CIVIL LIBERTIES

Summary/Abstract: Assuming that the representation of ethical concepts is not literal, but complex and metaphoric in its nature, we applied a methodology for investigating the attitudes of adolescents to civil rights based on their overall metaphorical understanding. It reflects different aspects of human experience related to human agency, welfare, fairness etc. The experimental study examined dynamic of change in attitudes of 284 adolescents to basic human rights- right of existence, of freedom, of privacy, of equal opportunity, freedom of religion, speech and thought. The participants divided in three age groups (11- 13- and 15- year-olds) rated eight concepts of rights on the scales of semantic differential technique. The analysis revealed a significant effect of age on attitudes to civil liberties- older adolescents were more likely to evaluate higher the concepts on evaluative dimension. However, the more realistic view of the complexity of human rights and their regulatory function in the social system, gained through the experience provoke them to give low estimations of these concepts on potency dimension. The lowest position of concept “right for privacy” could be explained by the sensitivity of adolescents to issues related to their need for detachment and the limited opportunity for independent choices, made by their own.

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