In this article we use a social representational perspective on a large sample of European students to consider the interplay between pacifist attitudes and representations of World War I (WWI). WWI gave rise to pacifist movements across the globe. Across 10 European countries (N = 1,347 undergraduate students), we invited participants to report the first 5 words that came to their mind when thinking about this event and measured their level of pacifism. Analyses of the reported words revealed the presence of seven lexical classes corresponding to 2 main perspectives on WWI. The first main perspective was characterized by "analytical" representations of the war, with a focus on the places and actors of WWI. The second perspective highlighted negative emotions and appraisals associated with war. Overall, we found that the pacifist attitudes we analyzed were associated with a view of the conflict in terms of negatively valanced words, both at the emotional level and in terms of concrete consequences. Conversely lower pacifist attitudes were linked with an emphasis upon weapons. The present results help fill a gap in the literature on attitudes toward peace and war by evidencing their interplay with the way individuals view war. These findings allow us to establish a connection between mainstream, individualcentered approach to attitudes relying on individual premises and social representation theory. Moreover, in line with historical scholarship, these results suggest that a common interpretational framework underlies a view of the conflict associated with the pacifist wave that emerged 100 years ago and current pacifist attitudes. Finally, the present study is the first large scale psychology study of the social representations of the Great War.

Bouchat, P., Licata, L., Rosoux, V., Allesch, C., Ammerer, H., Bovina, I., et al. (2019). 100 years after: What is the relation between pacifist attitudes and social representations of the great war?. PEACE AND CONFLICT, 25(2), 129-139 [10.1037/pac0000359].

100 years after: What is the relation between pacifist attitudes and social representations of the great war?

Durante, F;Mari, S;Volpato, C;
2019

Abstract

In this article we use a social representational perspective on a large sample of European students to consider the interplay between pacifist attitudes and representations of World War I (WWI). WWI gave rise to pacifist movements across the globe. Across 10 European countries (N = 1,347 undergraduate students), we invited participants to report the first 5 words that came to their mind when thinking about this event and measured their level of pacifism. Analyses of the reported words revealed the presence of seven lexical classes corresponding to 2 main perspectives on WWI. The first main perspective was characterized by "analytical" representations of the war, with a focus on the places and actors of WWI. The second perspective highlighted negative emotions and appraisals associated with war. Overall, we found that the pacifist attitudes we analyzed were associated with a view of the conflict in terms of negatively valanced words, both at the emotional level and in terms of concrete consequences. Conversely lower pacifist attitudes were linked with an emphasis upon weapons. The present results help fill a gap in the literature on attitudes toward peace and war by evidencing their interplay with the way individuals view war. These findings allow us to establish a connection between mainstream, individualcentered approach to attitudes relying on individual premises and social representation theory. Moreover, in line with historical scholarship, these results suggest that a common interpretational framework underlies a view of the conflict associated with the pacifist wave that emerged 100 years ago and current pacifist attitudes. Finally, the present study is the first large scale psychology study of the social representations of the Great War.
Articolo in rivista - Articolo scientifico
Attitudes; Europe; Pacifism; Social representations; WWI;
Pacifist Attitudes; Social Representations of the Great War
English
2019
25
2
129
139
open
Bouchat, P., Licata, L., Rosoux, V., Allesch, C., Ammerer, H., Bovina, I., et al. (2019). 100 years after: What is the relation between pacifist attitudes and social representations of the great war?. PEACE AND CONFLICT, 25(2), 129-139 [10.1037/pac0000359].
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/10281/210675
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