“Phantasmatic Generation: Historical Trauma and the Dynamics of Values and Social Attitudes”

“Phantasmatic Generation: Historical Trauma and the Dynamics of Values and Social Attitudes”

Alin GavreliucAssociate Professor, PhDDepartment of PsychologyFaculty of Sociology and Psychology,West University of Timisoara, Romania

Bremen, IACCP Congress, 26-31/07/2008

The main objective of research This presentation is a synthesis of researches focused on examination of

transgenerational patterns of values and attitudes in post-communist Romania, organized in three consecutive stages:

in educational field (2002-2005, 180 subjects); in private economical area (2006-2007, 180 subjects); on three representative sub-samples, at the regional area, in “The Fifth Region

of Development” (Timis, Arad, Caras-Severin and Hunedoara counties) (2007-2008, 1481 subjects).

Criteria of selection: Subjects from the social stratum that provides

a consistent rate of social passivity and conservatorism (educational area); an increasing rate of social and economical commitments (generational groups consist of

subjects that are involved in private firms that center on production, from the Western part of Romania;

Comparison of the results obtained in an “economic private sector” subjects sample with “educational sector” subjects sample = on most dimensions we have identified strong similarities.

Relevance for Cross-Cultural Psychology – specific generational profiles in terms of different cultural patterns (grouped in a particular patterns of social attitudes and values).

Register of social subjectivity ………………………………….

Personality as a psycho-social construct …………………

VALUES

ATTITUDES(inferate variables)

……………………………………………………………………………

BEHAVIOURS(the level of collecting data about the

personality of subjects)

Concurrent theoretical frameworks Flexibility of values

and (fundamental) social attitudes generated by socio-historical dynamics Aronson, 1988 Perloff, 1993 McGuire, 1998

Stability of values and (fundamental) social attitudes, despite of socio-historical dynamics la longue durée

(Braudel, 1958/1996) transgenerational

remanent nature of social representations (Flament, 1995)

Concurrent hypotheses

Hypothesis of attitudinal changing (changing of fundamental social attitudes)

Hypothesis la longue durée (the persistence of fundamental social attitudes)

Dilemma A specific socialization of subjects,

due to a particular generational affiliation, associated with a distinct integration of a historical rupture experience…

…will generate or not a major attitudinal change, reflected in an ensemble of relational personality traits?

Methodology: selecting the psychological dimensions Quantitative methodology:

Psychological traits articulated through the assessment of (fundamental) social attitudes: Independence-interdependence Self-esteem Internalism-externalism Self-determination+ Value orientations structure

Qualitative methodology: Oral history interviews with the relevant persons

from generation of “decretei”.

Psychological tests applied Attitudinal register:

Independence-Interdependece Scale (Singelis, 1994) Self-Esteem (Rosenberg, 1965) Locus of Control (Rotter, 1964) Self-Determination Scale (Sheldon, Ryan, Reis, 1996)

Awareness of Self Perceived Choice

Axiological register: Schwartz Values Survey (Schwartz, 2005) --> cultural

level (value orientations)

Generational strata investigated Sub-samples (2008)

G50: m(g50) = 55,27 years old [480 subjects] G35: m(g35) = 39,92 years old [529 subjects] G20: m(g20) = 25,34 years old [472 subjects]

G50, G35, G 20 at the level of 2002 year. Total: 1481 subjects

Criteria for distribution of subjects: gender (½ M, ½ F), age (sub-scales +/- 2 years), residential area (urban high, urban medium, urban low, rural).

Intergenerational portraits – attitudinal register of analysis

Generational portrait /Psychological dimensions

G50 G35 G20

d(INT-IND) 0,28 0,32 0,51

SE 30,18 28,16 31,15

LC 14,15 12,05 14,85

AS 12,15 10,63 8,18

PC 9,89 10,34 9,55

SD 22,04 20,97 17,70


Dependent variable

d(INT-IND) ANOVA

Independent variable

Comparison between averages

Value of the limit of

significance

Subcategories of independent variables

with significant differences between

them

Differences between averages

(I-J)

Value of the limit of significance

Generational stratum

F(2, 1478) = 2,46

p=0,04 G50-G20 -0.23 p=0,038

G35-G20 -0.19 p=0,045


Dependent variable

SE ANOVA




significance



them

Differences between averages(I-J)


significance


NS - - - -


Dependent variable

LC ANOVA






them



significance


F(2, 1478)= 2,12

p=0,05 G35-G20 -2,8 p=0,049


Dependent variable

AS ANOVA



Values of limit of significance



them


Values of limit of

significance


F(2, 1478)= 2,45

p=0,038 G50-G20 3,97 p=0,04


Dependent variable

PC ANOVA






them




NS - - - -


Dependent variable

SD ANOVA






them




F(2, 1478)= 3,56

p=0,002 G50-G20 4,34 p<0.001

G35-G20 3.27 p=0,002

Values portraits - Seven Cultural Value Orientations (Schwartz, 1999-2007) Conservatism The person is viewed as embedded in a collectivity, finding meaning in life largely

through social relationships and identifying with the group. A cultural emphasis on maintenance of the status quo, propriety, and restraint of actions or inclinations that might disrupt the solidarity group or the traditional order. (social order, respect for tradition, family security, wisdom).

Intellectual Autonomy The person is an autonomous, bounded entity and finds meaning in his / her own uniqueness, seeking to express own internal attributes (preferences, traits, feelings) and is encouraged to do so. Intellectual Autonomy has a cultural emphasis on the desirability of individuals independently pursuing their own ideas and intellectual directions (curiosity, broadmindedness, creativity).

Affective Autonomy The person is an autonomous, bounded entity and finds meaning in his / her own uniqueness, seeking to express own internal attributes (preferences, traits, feelings) and is encouraged to do so. Affective Autonomy promote and protect the individual's independent pursuit of own affectively positive experience (pleasure, exciting life, varied life).

Hierarchy A hierarchical, differential allocation of fixed roles and of resources is the legitimate, desirable way to regulate interdependencies. People are socialized to comply with the obligations and rules and sanctioned if they do not. A cultural emphasis on the legitimacy of an unequal distribution of power, roles and resources (social power, authority, humility, wealth).

Egalitarianism Individuals are portrayed as moral equals, who share basic interests and who are socialized to transcend selfish interests, cooperate voluntarily with others, and show concern for everyone's welfare (equality, social justice, freedom, responsibility, honesty). People are socialized to as autonomous rather than interdependent because autonomous persons have no natural commitment to others (equality, social justice, freedom, responsibility, honesty).

Mastery Groups and individuals should master, control, and change the social and natural environment through assertive action in order to further personal or group interests. A cultural emphasis on getting ahead through active self-assertion (ambition, success, daring, competence).

Harmony The world is accepted as it is. Groups and individuals should fit harmoniously into the natural and social world, avoiding change and self-assertion to modify them. (unity with nature, protecting the environment, world of beauty).

Intergenerational axiological portraits (Schwartz, 1999, 2005)

Superordinate axiological categories

G50 G35 G20

Conservatism 4,06 --------------** 4,68 --------------- * 4,21 Hierarchy 2,12 --------------* 2,97 2,29 Harmony 4,19 4,17 4,08 Egalitarianism 4,62 -------------* 4,23 4,46 Intellectual Autonomy

4,78 ------------- ** 4,12 4,43

Affective Autonomy

3,56 3,21 --------------- * 3,81

Mastery 3,96 3,77 3,82 *p<0.01; **p<0.05.

Din cine este alcătuită “generaţia 35”?

Demographical policies in the communist Romania

Source: Anuarul Statistic al României, 199019

6019

6119

6219

6319

6419

6519

6619

6719

6819

6919

7019

7119

7219

7319

7419

7519

7619

7719

7819

7919

8019

8119

8219

8319

8419

8519

8619

8719

8819

8919

900

200000

400000

600000

800000

1000000

1200000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

Conclusions Hypothesis la longue durée has been confirmed. Social strata are characterized through the following

trangenerational patterns: Interdependence (0,28-0,51 / 0*); High self esteem (28,16-31,51 / 20*) Externalism (12,05-14,85 / 11,5*) Low Self-awareness (8,18-12,15 / 12,5*) Low Perceived choice (9,55-10,34 / 12,5*) Low Self-determination (17,70-22,04 / 22,50*)

When significant intergenerational differences appear, they express a progressive diminution of social involvement, and at the same time a rejuvenation of generational stratum.

“Generation 35” (“decreteii” = “the children of the Decree”, 770/1967) is distinguishing as a “problematic generation” / unstable, ambivalent, oscillating between extremes.

* Values that correspond of the middle of the scale.

Conclusions Most frequently, in the qualitative researches realized on “decretei”

samples, their “major problem” has emerged : burden (sometime realized at the maturity period of their biography), through a hurtful anamnesis of an original rejection: Recurrent discourse in the identitary narratives:

“My parents didn’t desire me. Even if they have never told me that, and they have offered me all their love afterwards. I was so hurt. And all my later life has gone with my unending attempt to convince them that their sacrifice was worth it. It’s clear to me now that I didn’t always achieve that. And I’ll never know if it was good that I was born. I’m often followed by that crazy thought: if Ceausescu’s delirium had never existed, I would have never been born. Me and a lot of my peers from my generation are forming an phantomatic people, which does not find our place. And our great problem is that we were condemned to life. A life in which our world wasn't prepared to receive us. We got by as we could. But what will come of this country when it would be in our hands? We are just trying to regroup somewhere. I’m so scared that I’m going to crash again. And like me, my people would return to the darkness.” (M.P, 37 years old)

Phantasmatic generation

Imperative of every authentic psychotherapy = the need for any liberating social pedagogy: To overcome a trauma, we have to

assume it, then integrate it. It is just in this way we can cut out the symptoms of social autism that have been disseminated in our society for more than half a century.

“Phantasmatic Generation: Historical Trauma and the Dynamics of Values and Social Attitudes”

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