In this paper, we investigate the local and self-identity characteristics of socio-cultural groups based on social representation theory and one of its methods (association method). Carried out on a sample of rural youth, the analysis focused on the relationship between the four groups, distinguished by their social representations of identity, with different intensities of meaning and the sociological background variables. In addition to the expected results, the hypothetical explanation for the contradiction in the emotional attachment and mobility variables can be further empirically confirmed.
In the study, using data from an international research (Myplace), relying on the theory ofsocial representations, we examined the understanding of radicalism of young people aged 15to 26 and living in two towns in Hungary (Ózd and Sopron) which differ significantly regardingtheir political socialization. In accordance with an empirical method based on the theory,we analyzed the relationship between young people's attitudes towards nationalism and thedemocratic principles and the representation of radicalism, following the structural and contentcharacterization of the representation of radicalism through the quantification of associationalresponses received in the questionnaire survey conducted in 2012.