The alienation of the individual from society

335 Pages·2016·5.15 MB·English

Retrospective Theses and Dissertations
1983
The alienation of the individual from society: A
social-psychological theory and cross-cultural
comparison
Sidney Joe Jackson
Iowa State University
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Jackson, Sidney Joe, "The alienation of the individual from society: A social-psychological theory and cross-cultural comparison "
(1983).Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 8484.
http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/8484
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Jackson, Sidney Joe
THE ALIENATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL FROM SOCIETY: A SOCIAL-
PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY AND CROSS-CULTURAL COMPARISON
Iowa State University PH.D. 1983
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Copyright 1983
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Jackson, Sidney Joe
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The alienation of the individual from society:
A social-psychological theory and cross-cultural comparison
by
Sidney Joe Jackson
A Dissertation Submitted to the
Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department: Sociology and Anthropology
Major: Sociology
Approved:
Signature was redacted for privacy.
CRarge ofr^njor Work
Signature was redacted for privacy.
Signature was redacted for privacy.
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa
1983
Copyright © Sidney J. Jackson, 1983. All rights reserved.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
PART ONE: PERSISTENT PROBLEMS IN THE FIELD OF
ALIENATION THEORY IN SOCIOLOGY
CHAPTER I: THE DIVERSITY OF ALIENATION LITERATURE
IN SOCIOLOGY AND A PRELIMINARY FRAMEWORK FOR
ITS ORGANIZATION
The Present State of Alienation Studies in
Sociology
The Need for a Comprehensive Framework in the
Field of Alienation Studies
A Preliminary Theoretical Framework for the
Assessment of Alienation Studies in Sociology
Conclusion
CHAPTER II: AN APPLICATION OF THE FRAMEWORK AND AN
ASSESSMENT OF PROBLEMS REMAINING
An Assessment of Alienation Studies in Sociology
within the Framework
Summarization of the Literature
Problems Remaining in the Field of Alienation
Studies
Organization of the Study
PART TWO: TOWARD A SOCIAL-PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY OF
ALIENATION
CHAPTER III: IDENTIFICATION AND ALIENATION IN INFANCY
THE PRIMARY PHASE
The Psychic Identity of the Infant and Others:
Subjective Consciousness
Breaking the Psychic Identity of the Infant
and Others: Primary Alienation
iii
Page
Continuing the Psychic Identity of the Infant
with Others; Primary Identification 96
Conclusion 98
CHAPTER IV; IDENTIFICATION AND ALIENATION IN
CHILDHOOD: THE SECONDARY PHASE 100
Identification in Childhood 101
Alienation in Childhood 117
Conclusion 134
CHAPTER V: A PORTRAIT OF THE ALIENATED INDIVIDUAL 138
Self-images of the Alienated Person 139
Major Characteristics of the Alienated Person 145
CHAPTER VI; THE SOCIO-HISTORICAL AND SOCIO-CULTURAL
CONTEXTS OF IDENTIFICATION AND ALIENATION 157
The Socio-Historical Contexts of Identification
and Alienation 159
The Socio-Cultural Contexts of Identification
and Alienation; Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft 166c
Identification and Alienation of Self and Others
in the Two Contexts 171
Associational Society and the Alienation Process 173
Summary and Conclusion 185a
PART THREE; A CROSS-CULTURAL TEST OF THE THEORY 186
CHAPTER Vli; ALIENATION IN EIGHT SOCIETIES 187
Methodological Procedure 187
Family Stability, Socialization and
Alienness in Level 1 Societies 192
Family Stability, Socialization and
Alienness in Level 2 Societies 202
iv
Page
Family Stability, Socialization and
Alienness in Level 3 Societies 211
Family Stability, Socialization and
Alienness in the Level 6 Societies 224
Conclusion 240
CHAPTER VIII: A COMPARISON OF THE SOCIETIES 241
Analysis and Findings 241
Conclusion 257
PART FOUR: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS TO THE STUDY 260
CHAPTER IX: A SUMMARY OF THE STUDY 261
The Theory 261
The Cross-cultural Comparison 272
CHAPTER X; CONCLUSIONS TO THE STUDY 277
Conclusions to the Theoretical Portion of the Study 278
Conclusions to the Empirical Portion of the Study 287
APPENDIX I: DEFINITION AND OPERATIONALIZATION
OF CONCEPTS 289
Concept Number One; Structural Complexity 289
Concept Number Two: Family Stability 296
Concept Number Three; Socialization 297
Concept Number Four; Alienness/Identity 300
APPENDIX II: THE SAMPLE, ETHNOGRAPHIC SOURCES AND
PAGE NUMBERS 303
BIBLIOGRAPHY 308
V
PREFACE
According to C. Wright Mills (1959) the promise of soci­
ology lies in its ability to make clear the connections be­
tween history, society, and the individual. There is perhaps
no field of inquiry within sociology which takes this task
upon itself moreso than that of alienation studies, From Marx
to Seeman, sociological writers on alienation have made it
their aim to understand these relationships. How do vast his­
torical events which transform entire social structures affect
the individuals within them? Their answer: alienation, the
severing of the social bond; and alienness, a feeling and
cognizance of one's separateness from others, of one's power-
lessness in the face of monumental bureaucracies and political
systems, of anomia and meaninglessness, of self-estrangement.
Alienation studies make fascinating reading because they
deal with such crucial issues. And in the reading, one comes
away with an almost overwhelming wealth of insights and new
perspectives on the interdynamics of socio-historical change
and individual life and experience.
One also comes away, however, with a sense of perplexity
and confusion. Despite its ability to stimulate and excite,
if, after one has read through some of the literature, one
draws back and looks at the field, it can only be said to be
in near chaos. The relations between the great socio-histori­
cal transformations and individual life become not nearly as