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jillian on Jun 15, 2011 in
Issue 2, June 2011,
Volume 10 |
Comments Off on The Theory of Social Control and the Social Psychology of Dissatisfaction: Inhibition, regression and isolation in a cultural context
Orsolya Selymes, PhD Candidate Abstract The Theory of Social Control (TSC) is grounded in satisfaction and happiness research. The study investigated the reasons behind relatively low levels of civil and personal satisfaction, subjective social well-being and experienced happiness in the post-communist Hungarian social context. The basic social process uncovered in the research is self-situating, which involves a continuous assessment of social control, which occurs on three psychological dimensions: activity, fairness and connectedness, operated via social flow. The culturally salient outcome of self-situating in Hungary is self-victimizing, meaning a subjective loss of control on all three dimensions. Some of the most important emotional-motivational consequences of self-victimizing are inhibition, regression and isolation, which contribute to various socio-cultural phenomenon such as distrust, bystander strategies, pessimism or anomie across a number of social situations. Based on the emerging theory, the concept of subjective social control is introduced and an expanded three-dimensional model of civil satisfaction, comfort and contribution, along with psychological and cultural implications, are discussed. Key words: social control, self-situating, self-victimizing, activity, fairness, connectedness, inhibition, fury, isolation Introduction Happiness, satisfaction and subjective well-being stem from the social aspects of everyday life as much (or even more significantly) as they are tempered by individual goals, emotions and evaluations (Ryff, 1989; Ryff and Keyes, 1995; Diener and Diener, 1995; Diener, Oishi and Lucas, 2003). Regardless of whichever particular aspect of happiness we are trying to grasp (the emotional or the evaluative,) one thing will be salient across any scientific viewpoint: that happiness is a social phenomenon. It is both timely and desirable therefore to expand the scope of happiness research so that it includes the social and the public aspects besides the individual features of our subjective experiences. The aim of my research was to discover and highlight the social psychological mechanisms behind happiness and to determine the main factors (main social psychological processes) behind social, political and personal satisfaction and civil comfort. The antecedent to such a concept of social well being exists in the research on cultural aspects of subjective well-being (Diener and Diener, 1995; Diener, Oishi and Lucas, 2003). By cultural aspects, I refer to culturally transmitted psychological predispositions that determine subjective well-being of people on a large scale. Compared to other countries with similar economical performance, similar system features and levels of political freedom or even with similar historical and political background, Hungary falls behind in most cross-national studies that examine differences in subjective well-being and civil/personal satisfaction (Andorka 1994; Rose es Haerpfer 1994; Rose, Mishler es Haerpfer 1998; Speder es Kapitany, 2002; Sagi, 2002). With these in mind the main question of the research was: what is going on in the Hungarian socio-cultural setting that explains such deficiencies in the subjective and personal well-being of the citizens? I was looking for social, cultural, psychological patterns that are salient in people’s experiencing of their social circumstances, and in the affects and reactions of people to the various personal, societal and political changes and events in their lives. Methodology Classical (Glaserian) Grounded Theory (CGT) was used as general methodology in the study (Glaser and Strauss, 1967; Glaser 1978; Glaser, 1998). CGT, rather than beginning with developing a hypothesis, starts out with data collection through various methods (in-depth interviewing, direct observation, text analysis, questionnaires, statistical data, and so on). From the collected data, key points are marked by codes that emerge from the transcribed interviews. Coding is followed by conceptualizing (memo writing and sorting), during which further observations and field notes are...