A RESEARCH ON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF NICKNAMES

Abstract

A nickname is a name that is given to a person or a family, separate from their name and derives from a characteristic of that person or family. Nickname is the name that was added to the original name later and given because of any characteristics of the person.

With this study, it was made to clarify how nicknames are perceived by high school students in adolescence, which is considered to be extremely important in shaping the psychosocial world of people, to what extent they affect friendship relations, and what effect they have on in-class activities.

The field study in which the questionnaire technique was used, was conducted with randomly selected 527 high school students in a universe consisting of a total of 3263 in 6 different types of high schools in the 2020-2021 academic year. However, 47 of them were excluded from the study because they were invalid. As a result, the study group of the research consisted of 480 high school students.

The questionnaire form, consisting of 18 closed questions in total, 3 of which included personal information (gender, class, and perceived academic achievement), was applied electronically in the first three weeks of December 2020. SPSS 22 statistical package program was used to analyze the collected data.

A student becomes a more social individual when he/she receives a nickname that he/she does not hesitate to hear, ascribes to him, and feels harmonious. Students are positively affected when they are called by their nickname by people who are sincere and close to them, in environments that give them confidence, at times when they are not offended by the nickname. Nicknames that he/she does not like to hear, that hurt him/her, and that is not related to his/her personality have a negative effect on the student and can push the person to individual and social problems.

The school guidance service should be provided with a conversation environment with students who constantly give nicknames to other students in the classroom and at school and therefore experience negativity.