There are words whose meanings are not very useful to us in everyday life, but they need to be understood, because life consists not only of everyday life. It seems that it is precisely from these that our guest today is associativity. This (the nature of the word) will be revealed in the process of analysis.
Value
The difficulty is that the noun “associativity”, in principle, is infrequent. If we need to marvel at the random connections that arise in a person’s head, then we will choose the phrase “associative series” rather than the noun. That is, the adjective has an advantage, and this is no accident. The explanatory dictionary, for example, also does not recognize the independent meaning of the word “associativity” and refers us to the adjective. Well, let's follow to the suggested address: "Installed by association (second value)." Without putting things aside, we will look at this very second meaning of the word “association”: “The connection between individual representations, in which one of the representations causes the other.”
Moreover, associations are not always predictable. For example, a person who thinks about the story “Mask” by Chekhov may have a picture from the film “Mask” (1994) with Jim Carrey in his imagination. At first glance, there is no connection. But if you think about it, then it is, because the behavior of such different main characters is equally provocative. And even the source is the same - the desire to have fun. However, for most people, such associativity (and this is understandable) will seem strange.
Association as a way of healing
Let the reader not be afraid, our plans do not include a deep immersion in the history of psychoanalysis, and this is not necessary. Sometimes the strangest and craziest associations can serve as a road to the subconscious. As you know, the author of the method of free associations is Z. Freud. Imagine: a man is lying on a couch, and Z. Freud is sitting at the head of the bed. The client does not see the psychoanalyst and begins to name the words and phrases that just come to mind. While the stream flows without obstacles, the psychologist does not enter the game: it is not needed. As soon as a pause occurs, the psychoanalyst asks the client what the reason is. Thus, the specialist unwinds a tight ball of the problem and gets to its roots. In other words, sometimes associativity is a great professional tool, like a surgeon's scalpel.
A stereotype is also an association.
Yes, they forgot to say: we saturate the material with actual examples, because (and this is very important) the object of study has no synonyms. And since a holy place is never empty and an interesting topic, we can talk about no less significant things related to the associative series in principle.
Let's reproduce three basic stereotypes taken at random:
- Blondes are stupid.
- Men do not cook well.
- All women know how to cook.
The plus of the stereotype is that you don’t need to think especially, because there is a template, scheme, ready-made image. And the minus is that it interferes with perceiving life as it is, and not as it seems to us. Most stereotypes may not correspond to reality in each case, but are generally right. Otherwise, they would have disappeared.
And therefore, when we see a blonde, we immediately think that she is uneducated and stuffed with various stamps. But such associativity is also a kind of cliché. An excellent example of the break of this template is presented in the film "Legally Blonde" (2001). In the film, the conventional truths about blond ladies are skillfully exploited, and then refuted by the behavior of the main character.
The other two stereotypes are also not always right. But still, most people, looking at a man, think that he is with frying pans on “you”, and the opposite is the case with a woman. Is it necessary to say that the value of associativity in this case is worth little?