The experimental study of the image of russian color term white in the consciousness of russian culture bearers

The presented study of the image of the color designation white in the minds of the representatives of modern Russian culture is a continuation of the cycle of studies of the images of the main Russian color terms from the point of view of the psycholinguistic doctrine of the word by A.A. Zalevskaya. The hypothesis of the study was the assumption that there are both individual and cultural components which influence the formation of the image of any phenomenon in the minds of the average bearer of a particular culture. The main methods used in the experimental research were free associative experiment and semantic differential. Factor and definitional analyzes were used to process the results. The material for the study was the associations obtained during free associative experiments in 2009 and 2020 as well as the results of an experiment using a semantic differential among students of Southwest State University. In order to identify a possible transformation of the image of white, the data of the Russian comparative associative dictionary by G.A. Cherkasova were analyzed. The work shows the current structure of the associative field of the Russian color term white. It also analyzes the change in the structure of the described associative field during the period since the 1970s until now. In addition, the main gender characteristics of the perception of the color white are shown, typically female and male associations in the structure of the considered AP are highlighted. The research methodology presented in the work can be successfully used in organizing various psycholinguistic and linguocultural studies. The results of the empirical research can find application not only in various branches of linguistics but also in psychology, neurophysiology, marketing and advertising.