EN
An attempt was made in the study to apply the knowledge from the field of psychology of differences to the comprehension of certain social phenomena at the turn of the century. These phenomena are referred to as globalisation and defined as the permeation of material and immaterial goods due to modern technology, effecting a tightening of mutual dependence. Global changes are the domain of studies that mainly concern contemporary theoreticians, at the forefront of which are sociologists, who highlight the modifications in relationships between the individual and the milieu. One of the key psychological issues in the given field remains the definition of the most important challenges of the age of globalisation. These seem to be comprised of - under conditions of permanent change - psychological uncertainty and the accompanying risk of taking personal decisions in important areas of life (studies, work, and family). In the authoress' own research, the interest heads towards the personal resources of young adults (18-35 age group) that are significant in estimating risk in the sphere of important life decisions. The specificity of those decisions, which were revealed in the responses to questionnaire questions, allow the respondents to be classified into one of three groups: modern (pro-global), traditional (preventative) and indirect (undecided). The subjective conditioning (personal resources) of attitudes towards globalisation were sought in the specificity of the personality and the mind. The personality diagnostic process was based on Costy & McCrae's 'Big Five' Concept as well as the NEO-FFI Questionnaire, which was devised on the basis thereof. The nature of cognitive inclinations was the reference point in the diagnostic field of the mind. R. Sternberg's concept of mental self-government was used as well as the Polish adaptation of the MSG Inventory that was devised on the basis thereof. Analysis of the results has revealed that there are more similarities than differences in the field of personality traits and thinking styles between persons of varying attitudes towards globalisation in the study group of seventy students from institutions of higher education in Warsaw. Among the ascertained differences, it is significant that there is a greater tendency to compromise among persons in the 'traditional' group in comparison to the 'modern' and 'indirect' group. A connection between preferring the progressive style and extraversion as well as openness; and the predilection to apply an inner style and openness to experience, was observed on the scale of the whole group. The results obtained confirm the legitimacy of searching for cognitive and personality conditioning of personal decisions in the age of global changes in a demographically more diverse group of respondents.