Ethnic Self-Esteem and Intergroup Attitudes Among the Estonian Majority and the non-Estonian Minority

The study was focussed on the relationships between ethnic self-esteem and various indicators of intergroup attitudes in a representative sample of adult population of Estonia (N=1142). Attitudinal variables that discriminated most between persons with high and low ethnic self-esteem were identified. Among Estonians ethnic self-esteem was related to positive ingroup bias, readiness for outgroup contact, perceived threat from the outgroup, attitudes to non-Estonian minority, and attitudes toward minority integration. Among non-Estonians ethnic self-esteem was related to readiness for outgroup contact, ethnic sterotypes, and various attitudes towards minority integration. An attempt was made to reconstruct the system of intergroup attidues of prototypical persons with high and low ethnic selfesteem and to describe psychological implications of high and low ethnic self-esteem for members of majority and minority groups. Various theoretical models (social identity theory, integrated threat theory, social dominane theory) were used for interpretation of the results

Ethnic Self-Esteem and Intergroup Attitudes Among the Estonian Majority and the non-Estonian Minority

The study was focused on the relationships between ethnic self-esteem and various indicators of intergroup attitudes  in a representative sample of adult population of Estonia (N=1142). Attitudinal variables that discriminated most between persons with high and low ethnic self-esteem were identified. Among Estonians  ethnic self-esteem was related to positive ingroup bias,  readiness for outgroup contact, perceived threat from the outgroup, attitudes to non-Estonian minority,  and attitudes toward minority integration. Among non-Estonians ethnic self-esteem was related to readiness for outgroup contact, ethnic sterotypes, and various attitudes towards minority integration. An attempt was made to reconstruct the system of intergroup attidues of prototypical persons with high and low ethnic self-esteem and to describe psychological implications of high and low ethnic self-esteem for members of majority and minority groups. Various theoretical models (social identity theory, integrated threat theory, social dominance theory) were used for interpretation of the results

Kas kui hästi tahta, võib iga teema tundlikuks muuta? Eesti õpetajate kogemused tundlike teemadega ajalootunnis

Üks raskusi, millega tuleb õpetajatöös silmitsi seista, on ühiskondlikult tundlik õppesisu. Ajaloos ja muudes ühiskonnaainetes seostub see tihtipeale poliitiliste vastuolude ja valusate ajalookogemustega. Artiklis anname ülevaate tundlike ajalooteemade õpetamise teoreetilistest käsitlustest ning empiirilistest uurimustest nii ajaloodidaktika kui ka sotsiaalpsühholoogia vallas. Andmestik pärineb Eesti õpetajate küsitlusest, mis oli osa rahvusvahelisest koostööprojektist "Ajaloo repre sentatsioonide sotsiaalpsühholoogiline dünaamika laienenud Euroopa Liidus" kümne riigi osalusel. Veebiankeedi täitis 37 õpetajat, neist 13 vene keeles. Kogutud andmete temaatilisest kontentanalüüsist ja mõnel juhul ka statistilisest analüüsist ilmneb, milliseid ajalooteemasid tajuvad Eesti vastajad tundlikuna, mis strateegiaid nad kasutavad nende käsitlemisel, mis eesmärke endale seavad ning millist tuge vajavad.  Summar

Süsteemne võim ja semiootiline autonoomia semiootilise kultuuripsühholoogia vaatepunktist

Semiotical system in the functional sense has dual effect on the subject: on the one hand, it directs and constrains the subject through collective semiotic tools, on the other hand – it provides symbolic resources for subject's semiotic autonomy. This duality may be presented as  a relation of systemic power. Explicit and implicit collective meaning structures act as an external coercive power in relation to subjects.  Regulative function of the semiosphere manifests itself through various social suggestions which attempt to direct and constrain subject's activity. In contrast, individual semiotic autonomy is realized through the use of signs in the process of  self-regulation and autocommunication. Contacting with the semiotically autonomous subject, these social suggestions may catalyze variety of responses. In the article a typology of  modes of response are presented. Distancing, resistance, compliance and creative synthesis are generated in the interplay of external catalyzers on one hand, and unreflective and reflective processes within the subject, on the other. A semiotic mechanism of their generation and  several theoretical models which explain the probability of specific mode of response are described. Possible application of the model in the analysis of intergroup power relations (e.g. in explanation of the phenomenon of reactive identity) has been demonstrated

Post-Socialist Dynamics of Value Patterns in Estonia

The article focuses on the dynamics of value patterns in Estonia over a period spanning late socialism to liberal market capitalism. The research data is derived from five population surveys ‘Work, family and leisure’ (WFL), in which value orientations were measured on the basis of Clyde Kluckhohn’s conception. The same instrument of life values was used in 1985 (just before the perestroika of Soviet socialist system), in 1993, 1998 and 2003 (during the transition period of post-socialism) and in 2008 (just before the economic crisis in capitalist society). The aim of the study is to differentiate value patterns and observe the trends of their change during this period. The results of hierarchical cluster analysis reveal a clear tendency of structural change: a dichotomy of value profiles on the ethno-linguistic basis in 1985 and 1993 was replaced by a dichotomy of value profiles on the basis of age in 2003 and 2008. The results of multidimensional analysis show a relative stability of the value structure and a change in the meaning of some life values (professional work, close friends). The results are discussed in the context of post-socialist societal transformation

Greedy Elites and Poor Lambs : How Young Europeans Remember the Great War

The present study examines current social representations associated with the origins of the Great War, a major event that has profoundly affected Europe. A survey conducted in 20 European countries (N = 1906 students in social sciences) shows a high consensus: The outbreak of the war is attributed to the warring nations' leaders while the responsibility of the populations is minimized. Building on the concept of social representation of history (Liu & Hilton, 2005), we suggest that the social representations of the Great War fulfill social psychological functions in contemporary Europe. We suggest that WWI may function as a charter for European integration. Their content also suggests a desire to distinguish a positively valued ingroup ("the people") from powerful elites, construed as an outgroup.Peer reviewe

Sõjakäsitlus tavateadvuses: Esimene maailmasõda tänapäeva noorte silme läbi / Lay Representations of War: The First World War through the Eyes of Today’s Youth

Teesid: Sõjakäsitlus tavateadvuses on paljukihiline: selles on nii isikliku/perekondliku kogemuse elemente kui ka kollektiivsete ajalookujutluste ühtlustavaid mõjusid. Esimene maailmasõda on meist ajas sellisel kaugusel, kus see on muundunud sündmuse esialgsest kommunikatiivse mälu vormis meenutamisest institutsionaliseeritud kultuurimälu osaks. 2014. aastal viidi kahekümnes Euroopa riigis läbi üliõpilaste küsitlus, selgitamaks tänapäeva noorte kollektiivseid kujutlusi Esimesest maailmasõjast. Artiklis kirjeldame Eesti noorte Esimese maailmasõjaga seotud arusaamu ja võrdleme neid teistes Euroopa riikides elavate noorte arusaamadega. Eraldi analüüsime vastuseid küsimusele „Mida saame õppida Esimese maailmasõja kogemusest?“.   Lay understanding of war is multi-layered containing elements of personal or family experience as well as the unifying effects of collective memory (representations). The First World War is at such a distance from us that a change in the form of collective historical representation has taken place, from the initial commemoration of the event in the form of communicative memory to part of institutionalised cultural memory (Assmann 2008). According to today’s view, the First World War is second most important global historical event (Liu et al. 2005). In 2014, one hundred years after the beginning of the First World War, a survey of students was conducted in twenty European countries (within the framework of COST Action IS1205 Social Psychological Dynamics of Historical Representations in the Enlarged European Union) to investigate the commonalities and differences in social representations of the War among young Europeans. Young people were asked about their factual knowledge of the War, their family war experiences, feelings related to the War, and more general interpretations of the war such as what they considered the main causes of the War to be, who was attributed the responsibility for the outbreak of the War, how they evaluate the violence of the different parties, how they perceive the distribution of the roles of aggressor and victim, etc. Background characteristics included cultural and national identity, anti-war attitudes, etc. In Estonia, the survey was conducted in both Estonian and Russian. In the article, we describe the main results of these studies. Previous analysis found that Europeans share a common representation of the causes of the First World War, although young people in Western and Eastern European countries have different interpretative frameworks when thinking about this war (Bouchat et al. 2019a; Pawliczek 2014). While in Western Europe it is the tragic Great War, with a definite beginning and end, in Eastern Europe there is not such a clear collective perception. The First World War led to various other wars in these countries, as a result of which empires fell apart and many small countries, including Estonia, gained independence, paradoxically a positive consequence of the War for these nations. Awareness of family or national war victimhood is linked to anti-war attitudes today; for more pacifist young people the First World War is associated with real and emotional human suffering, while less pacifist young people think more abstractly about the geopolitical results of the War (Bouchat et al. 2019b). Young people growing up in peacetime Europe after the Second World War have generally been free from militaristic propaganda. There has been a purposeful attempt to shape young people’s approach to history in schools, the trend of which in most European countries has been to reconcile former enemies (Rosoux et al. 2019). The survey discussed in the article showed considerable commonality and consensus in the representation of the First World War. The descendants of the former hostile parties evaluate this war in the same way, can reproduce the same facts, events, and characters, and interpret the causes and consequences of the war similarly. Looking back, young people primarily see the futility of War and the unnecessary human suffering. Thus, pacifism as one of the cultural consequences of the War is a viable common sense way of thinking today. Analysing Estonian war literature, Jaan Undusk (2016) has come to the conclusion that ‘passive pacifism’ and indifference to war are characteristic of Estonians. Unlike the communicative memory of the Second World War, where former intergroup enmity is still alive at times, in the collective cultural memory of the First World War, emotionality has faded and transformed; for example former war excitement or rage has become sadness and grief. Instead of enmity between countries and peoples, one sees rather a social conflict between greedy and reckless elites and ordinary people sacrificed for their interests (Bouchat et al. 2019a). One hundred years later, the First World War appears to the youth of Europe as a warning, a negative symbol that is contrasted with united Europe as a peace project (Bouchat et al. 2023). In this way, history has been transformed into a shared symbolic resource, war in collective memory acting as a supporter of international peace. Young people have developed a homogeneous anti-war-oriented collective image of the First World War. Estonian youth’s factual knowledge of the First World War was surprisingly good, considering the marginality of this war from the point of view of Estonian identity or current inter-group relations: Estonians do not feel like victims or war criminals, they do not feel the desire for revenge, there is no need to forgive anyone or demand an apology from anyone. We separately analysed Estonian young people’s answers to the question "What can we learn from the experience of the First World War?" Generalising the answers, we can conclude that most young people took a progressive, linear view of history, according to which war is an anomaly, a disease of society that can and should be prevented. The lessons of the First World War were primarily perceived as ways of preventing future conflict and avoiding the mistakes made in the past, both at the level of individuals, social groups (the elite), and society as a whole. A stable and peaceful world was perceived as the norm

Generations in Estonia: Contemporary Perspectives on Turbulent Times

This book provides the international reader with the first study of different generations and intergenerational relations in Estonia. The chapters highlight generational patterns in the 20th and 21st centuries, with the volume as a whole taking an interdisciplinary approach. Sharing the idea that generations are dynamic, that their borders are blurred and change over time, and that their construction is interdependent, the authors have each chosen a specific perspective on and framework for generations. Several studies take an interest in how and by whom generations are constructed, and how generational identity has been perceived and reshaped over time. Others use generation as a concept or an analytical tool with which to investigate different social processes, or as a community of experience and carrier of memory. The volume suggests novel and diverse approaches to the definition of generation and the formation of generational consciousness, as well as to generational theory

Generations in Estonia: Contemporary Perspectives on Turbulent Times

This book provides the international reader with the first study of different generations and intergenerational relations in Estonia. The chapters highlight generational patterns in the 20th and 21st centuries, with the volume as a whole taking an interdisciplinary approach. Sharing the idea that generations are dynamic, that their borders are blurred and change over time, and that their construction is interdependent, the authors have each chosen a specific perspective on and framework for generations. Several studies take an interest in how and by whom generations are constructed, and how generational identity has been perceived and reshaped over time. Others use generation as a concept or an analytical tool with which to investigate different social processes, or as a community of experience and carrier of memory. The volume suggests novel and diverse approaches to the definition of generation and the formation of generational consciousness, as well as to generational theory