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Crisis Situations and Ideological Revaluation.

Authors :
Toch, Hans H.
Source :
Public Opinion Quarterly; Spring55, Vol. 19 Issue 1, p53-67, 15p
Publication Year :
1955

Abstract

The article focuses on crisis situations and ideological revaluations. Students of social change and practitioners attempting to predict human behavior have long been interested in changes in systems of belief. In this article the author describes the kinds of situations which have produced ideological changes as well as the mechanisms involved in these revaluations. It has repeatedly been noted that systems of belief tend to be conservative, in the sense of having their status and identity maintained by means of various psychological mechanisms such as suppression of incompatible cues, weighing of conflicting evidence, or rationalization. The present paper is concerned with circumstances under which these supporting mechanisms become totally or partially ineffective, leaving the individual with an invalidated or inoperative ideology. This type of condition is here referred to as a crisis situation. This paper has attempts to spell out the mechanisms involved in this process and their operation, with the premise that clear thinking about the ideology of individuals is a sine qua non for an understanding of the "why" and "how" of social movements.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0033362X
Volume :
19
Issue :
1
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Public Opinion Quarterly
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
11936322
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1086/266542