Attitudes to Law and Social Intelligence Security and Defense Forces Personnel

Abstract

Abstract. The relevance of the topic is stipulated by the need to study the personal transformations of military personnel in modern extreme conditions in order to further invent effective means and scientific methods to overcome the negative impact of war and develop measures to preserve the mental health of combatants. The purpose of this article is to empirically study the interrelationships between the components of social intelligence and the types of attitudes to law among personnel of the security and defense forces in wartime. In accordance with this goal, the author analyzes the state of foreign and domestic research on deviant behavior of military personnel who participated in hostilities. In addition, the role of socio-emotional competence of an individual in overcoming personal and professional challenges is investigated. An empirical study of the relationship between the components of social intelligence and the types of attitudes towards the law of combatants - offenders and those who have not committed an offense (norm group) is carried out. The methods of the study were the «Attitude to Law» methodology developed by D.S. Beznosov and the methodology for studying social intelligence by J. Guilford. It was found that servicemen who have not committed offenses, with an increase in the ability to build a strategy of their own behavior to achieve the goal, the ability to navigate the non-verbal reactions of participants in the interaction and knowledge of the rules governing human behavior, have a positive attitude to the law, a sense of the social value of law. It is determined that with the increase in the ability to understand others, doubts about the effectiveness or fairness of the legal system are actualized. In this group, the recognition of the authority of the legal system in society and the belief in the ability of the legal system to make changes in society have not been found to be related to any component of social intelligence. In servicemen who have committed offenses, with an increase in the ability to build a strategy of their own behavior to achieve their goals, the likelihood of disregarding legal norms, imposing their will on others, creating and establishing their own rules of behavior increases. It was found that in the group of offenders with an increased ability to understand others, doubts about the effectiveness or fairness of the legal system increase. It has been determined that in this group, with an increase in the ability to understand changes in human verbal reactions, the need to influence others, there is a growing desire to consciously deny the role of law in society, the belief that legal regulations are optional, and the possibility of imposing one's will on others. As the ability to predict human behavior increases, negative attitudes toward the law, denial of its social value, and a sense of law as an object of blind worship decrease. In the group of servicemen who committed offenses, a certain remoteness of a positive attitude to law from the ability to understand the intentions, feelings and emotional states of others by verbal and non-verbal manifestations was revealed.

Keywords: attitude to law; military personnel; combatants; social intelligence; deviant behavior; personnel of the security and defense forces; socio-emotional competence.