Guseltseva M.S. Flexible Methodological Strategies for Studying Personality in an Uncertain World

Recently, scholarly literature has increasingly focused on inter- and transdisciplinary research and on establishing connections between specific disciplines and other fields of knowledge. The multidimensionality and complexity of the phenomena under study – such as change and transformation, identity issues, social mobility, and cultural diversity – have become central methodological concerns in the social sciences. In response to the growing complexity of research problems, multiperspective methodological approaches are being developed.

The purpose of this article is to conceptually relate key social science theories that, on the one hand, reflect on the transformations of the person and the world, and on the other hand, test flexible methodological strategies as tools for studying these changes and transformations – within the conceptual framework of transdisciplinarity.

Methods. The transdisciplinary approach served as the framework methodology for integrating the thematic material of the social sciences. Methods of philosophical and comparative analysis were also employed.

Results. The social sciences are increasingly focused on transformations of identity and ongoing changes affecting the person and the world. The fundamental difference between changes and transformations lies in their depth, pace, scale, reversibility, scope of application, and other aspects.

Changes are more likely to be local, reversible, and short-term, whereas transformations are global, irreversible, and fundamental, leading a given system to a qualitatively different state. The discussed concepts share a commitment to inter- and transdisciplinarity, contextual flexibility, and an explicit or implicit reliance on anthropological and ethnographic approaches.

Conclusion. To understand the person under conditions of change, uncertainty, and contemporary sociocultural transformations, it is no longer sufficient to rely solely on questionnaires, surveys, psychological testing, or even on the growing importance of qualitative research. From a transdisciplinary perspective, psychological and sociological approaches need to be aligned with ethnographic and anthropological ones. Transdisciplinary research and flexible methodological strategies offer relevant responses to the challenges of complexity, uncertainty, fluidity, and diversity that define contemporary cultural and psychological phenomena.

Key words: methodology, change, transformation, person, identity, anthropological approach, transdisciplinary approach

For citation: Guseltseva, M.S. (2025). Flexible Methodological Strategies for Studying Personality in an Uncertain World. New Psychological Research, No. 3, 10–33. DOI: 10.51217/npsyresearch_2025_05_03_01

Acknowledgment

The article was prepared within a state task, project FNRE-2024-0016.