Extrapunitive assessments of interethnic relations as a contradictory factor of social optimism

Abstract

The relevance of the study is due to the need to analyze the socio-psychological factors of society development in the emotionally tense context of orientations to the past, present and future. An attempt has been made to link the assessments of the future by people of different views on interethnic relations and their inherent level of social optimism.

The paper purpose is to highlight the results of the experimental study of an impact of the assessments of interethnic problems on the level of social optimism. 1356 students from different regions of Ukraine were interviewed. One of the questionnaire parts reflected the assessments of Ukrainians’relations with the neighboring peoples – Jews, Poles and Russians. Relevant indicators were formulated according to the measure of identification with all humanity. There were three versions of this part with different directions of the assessments of interethnic problems, which should have the experimental impact on the respondents: extrapunitive in relation to Ukrainians, containing elements of ethnic favoritism and collective narcissism; intropunitive (self-blaming) regarding Ukrainians; impunitive– neutral to all. The next part of the questionnaire was the same in all three options and covered different aspects of social optimism – assessing the future of Ukraine in 5 years.

The obtained results showed that the excitation of the intropunitive or impunitive tendencies did not have a decisive effect on social optimism. Relatively higher levels of social optimism were found by respondents who gave the high extrapunitive assessments of interethnic relations. While the general level of social optimism of the respondents from the "extrapunitive" group was lower than in other groups. That is, the actualization of conditionally "patriotic" attitudes in the moderate people’s minds reduces their social optimism. The results of the study emphasize the expediency or inexpediency of focusing public attention on the problems of interethnic relations in the context of future orientation. They also reveal psychologically complex aspects of patriotism, excessive emphasis on which can problematize the progressive development of society.

Prospects can be seen in a development of psychological means of correction of individual and collective behavior, experiences, and attitudes in the interethnic sphere.