THE GENDER CHARACTERISTICS OF ASSOCIATIVE UNITS IN DIFFERENT SYSTEMIC LANGUAGES

Аннотация

This article explores the socio-role characteristics of associative units in typologically unrelated languages – Uzbek, Russian, and English. Based on experimental associative tasks, the study reveals the differences in worldviews, emotional responses, and logical reactions expressed through language by men and women. The research demonstrates how language and cognition are shaped by social roles and cultural experiences. Keywords: cognitive activity, linguistic experiment, social cognition, emotional motivation, cultural-linguistic differences, semantic association, social psychology Introduction: Language is a reflection of human cognition. Through it, personal experience, culture, and social roles are expressed. Every individual holds a unique attitude toward a given word. These attitudes are manifested through associative units. Moreover, the associations chosen by men and women may differ. This article examines precisely these differences across various systemic languages. Main Body: Associations activate memory, experience, and emotions through words. In the psycholinguistic approach, these concepts are studied through the semantic network in the individual's mind. The responses given to each word reflect how a person perceives the world. These reactions depend on social roles, cultural environment, and life experience. The study was conducted in three languages: Uzbek, Russian, and English. In each language, 50 female and 50 male participants shared their associations through a survey. Ten neutral words were selected for each language, and the semantic associations of women and men were analyzed based on these words. The word "Oila" (Family) evoked associations such as mehr (love), bola (child), and totuvlik (harmony) among women, whereas men associated it with mas’uliyat (responsibility), xarajat (expenses), and tayanch (support). Similarly, the word "Ish" (Work) brought responses like kasb (profession), orzu (dream), and baraka (blessing) from women, while men linked it to pul (money), muammo (problem), and rizq (livelihood). For the word "Chiroy" (Beauty), women 240 SCIENCE SHINE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL Issue 13(48), Volume 1 | ISSN 3030-377X | 5.06.2025 mentioned ko‘z (eyes), tabassum (smile), and kiyim (clothing), in contrast to men who thought of mashina (car), telefon (phone), and sportchi (athlete). These examples illustrate how men and women activate different semantic networks when responding to the same neutral words, reflecting variations in social roles, personal experiences, and cultural expectations. This pattern continues across other languages as well. For instance, in English: To the word "Home", women responded with comfort, warmth, and family, while men mentioned garage, duty, and food. In Russian, the word "Семья" (Family) elicited associations like любовь (love), дети (children), and уют (coziness) among women, whereas men responded with ответственность (responsibility), расходы (expenses), and работа (work). These cross-linguistic examples demonstrate how gender influences associative priorities within each language, suggesting that linguistic perception is not only shaped by language structure but also by the speaker’s gender-based worldview. Analysis and Findings: The results of the study reveal consistent differences in associative thinking between male and female participants. Female responses were predominantly linked to emotional, humanitarian, and aesthetic semantic fields, often reflecting concepts such as affection, dreams, harmony, and inner well-being. These associations suggest a cognitive orientation toward internal emotional states and interpersonal relationships.In contrast, male participants’ responses centered on practicality, responsibility, and external social roles. Their associations were frequently related to material needs, duties, and structural aspects of life—words like responsibility, money, work, and expenses were common. This distinction reflects not only different thematic preferences but also diverging cognitive processing styles, with women favoring affective-relational frameworks and men leaning toward utilitarian and goal-directed schemas. Interestingly, despite the typological and cultural differences between Uzbek, Russian, and English, the gender-based associative patterns remained largely consistent across all three languages. This cross-linguistic similarity suggests that the variation is less about linguistic structure and more about shared sociocultural factors influencing gender identity and perception. Furthermore, the findings highlight the impact of broader social influences, including cultural values, upbringing, and societal expectations. Gender roles that are embedded in everyday life and language use appear to shape not only how individuals behave but also how they conceptualize fundamental notions such as family, work, and beauty. The data confirm that language serves as a cognitive and 241 SCIENCE SHINE INTERNATIONAL S