Peculiarities of affiliation motivation among students from and far abroad

The results of an empirical analysis of the motivation characteristics of foreign students studying at Russian universities have been summarized. The key area of the analysis is to identify differences in the structure of motivation for social belonging among representatives of the near and far abroad. The issue of foreign students’ adaptation to the conditions of the Russian educational environment makes the study of affiliation motivation especially significant from an applied point of view. The study involved 108 students from the Commonwealth of Independent States and 72 students from abroad aged 21–28 years. The selection made it possible to avoid bias of results related to the content of specific training programs or professional orientation. The study of the international students’ communication peculiarities based on the results of a survey. The method of Affiliation Motivation by A. Mehrabian, modified by M. Sh. Magomed-Eminov, was used to determine the specifics of affiliation motivation. It has been established that the majority of international students do not experience a pronounced need for acceptance or a pronounced fear of rejection and are characterized by a balance between orientation towards affiliation and fear of rejection. International students who have arrived from far-abroad countries are noticeably more likely to have balanced components of motivation focused on interpersonal relationships. However, the desire for social interaction and concerns about the possibility of social isolation are also more pronounced. Students from neighboring countries, on the contrary, show similar indicators in a less intense form, which indicates differences in the experience of the need to belong and be accepted in a new socio-cultural environment.

1. Arkatova, A. G. (2015). Features of socio-cultural adaptation of foreign students. Socio-humanitarian knowledge, 8, 127–136. (In Russian).

2. Ivanova, G. P., Shirkova, N. N., Logvinova, O. K. (2022). A foreign student in a Russian university. Moscow: RUSAINS. (In Russian).

3. Liu, C. (2016). Cognitive-behavioral predictors of socio-psychological adaptation of fi ear students to university (on the example of Russian and Chinese students): Dis. … Cand. Sci. (Psy.): 19.00.07. St. Petersburg. (In Russian).

4. Shamovskaya, T. V., Alimova. D. B. (2019). Intercultural communication as a condition for socio-cultural adaptation of foreign students in the process of studying at a university. Vocational education in Russia and abroad, 1(33), 172–177. (In Russian).

5. Timofeeva, O. V. (2018). Features of communication motivation among Russian and foreign students. Bulletin of Voronezh State University, 1, 112–116. (In Russian).

6. Tarasova, E. M., Razuvaeva, E. M. (2022). Motivation of affiliation among students of generation Z. Bulletin of the Moscow State Regional University. Psychological Sciences, 2, 36–46. (In Russian).

7. Minogina, V. S. (2019). A study of the motivation of students’ affiliation. In: The role of science and education in the society modernization: Proceedings of the International Scientific and Practical Conference, Magnitogorsk, June 13, 2019. Ufa: Agency for International Studies. (In Russian).

8. Okulenko, I. N. (2019). Studying the motivation of students’ affiliation and its development in the university environment. In: Current state and prospects of development of the subject of activity: Proceedings of the 161st International Scientific and Practical Conference. Moscow: Moscow State University of Humanities and Economics. (In Russian).

9. Kuznetsova, I. V. (2006). The motive of affiliation in interpersonal relations: Dis. ... Cand. Sci. (Psy.): 19.00. St. Petersburg. (In Russian).

10. Dai, D. Y., Sternberg, R. J. (2004). Motivation, emotion, and cognition: integrative perspectives on intellectual development and functioning. London: Lawrence Erlbaum associates.