This is the capstone of the three posts that it's not likely everyone has the time to read. But this basically, is good news. I did this research and then decided for myself that I was excited about the eventual motivation of the culture as a whole to idealize peace, valor, and agapean love. That's where it seems we all are collectively swinging back to. This is something I did academically, but I've changed the citations because I do not want to disclose the location of my university.
***
Contemporary
ideas about social change often involve things like the concept of shared
experience which builds social capital, the notion that an issue can become so
absolved simply through awareness of it, and resulting action toward social
solutions through the potential created through expenditure of social capital
in the process (Loeb, 2010). This is not incorrect, it is however a
contemporary viewpoint which happens to corroborate ideas about motivation
which were developed for understanding individuals. In the past I have written
in order to construct and articulate a motivational field toward an ideal of meaning in the peak experiences, which
are described in a way which indicates these kinds of experiences seeking
meaning in the west, must come through intentional practices of attentiveness
that are intrinsically motivated and psychophysiologically beneficial (Hixon,
2012a).
Taking motivation out of
the individual context, requires integrating ideas about individual motivations
into a context which describes the behavior of groups and societies, accounting
for individual identity and intergroup differentiation. Intergroup
differentiation is a function of personal social identity (Tasdemir, 2011). Prototypes
are created within the culture, which people begin to identify with as a
process of self-categorization, which facilitates group identity through the
emphasis of the distinctiveness of salient group traits (Tasdemir, 2011).
In order to take group
identity out of the individual context and apply it toward society one should
understand the existence of social prototypes in modern culture and mass media,
which become constantly available and mainstream, and provide mainstream
society with rapid information for generalizing individual traits toward social
group membership (Holtzman, 2000). People gain information from the culture,
for the rapid classification of individuals (stereotypes), which facilitates
intergroup differentiation in the wider scope of society (Holtzman, 2000). Media
producers do not necessarily intentionally facilitate these classifications but
rather, are providing prototypes in an effort to produce monetary gain, by
providing media which most people can recognize and will consume in the process
of self-categorization. People do internalize stereotypes from the culture, and
expectations from society can become a part of individual identities in this
reverse direction as well, so the relationship between media and individuals is
reciprocal (Holtzman, 2000).
Most people are not
aware of the reciprocal influences between culture and individuals, and
continue to be influenced by this process without necessarily being aware of
it. What is acceptable in mainstream culture is also continuously escalating
and changing over time, which is evidenced by comparing older media texts with
newer ones. One can compare episodes of productions within the same media
format and genre, such as the police drama Dragnet
and the police drama Criminal Minds
as a measure of mainstream attitudes about crime and violence on television
(Webb, 1951; The Mark Gordon Company, 2005). It has been said that modern
culture has escalated and de-sensitized our culture in a way that is not unlike
military training, and in a way that enables violence within the context of The
United States (Grossman, 2009). Exposure to violent content in movies and in
video games can be shown to make violent actions more available in the thoughts
of individuals exposed to the media, and people may gain more favorable
attitudes toward violence through constant exposure (Anderson, 1997; Anderson
& Dill, 2000; Rule & Ferguson, 1986). The social problem this paper
refers to is the tolerance of violence within The United States culture and the
continued escalation of violent attitudes within the culture.
The media is not the
only concern regarding violent attitudes and social policies. Violent culture
socializes the acquisition of social skills which are violent, these social
skills learned from the culture might be the only effective skills available
for social identification for certain individuals at certain times, resulting
in violent crimes like homicide (Lee, 2011). During wartime, people who serve
in the military may be more vulnerable to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
if they have been exposed to previous stressful or violent events (Brailey,
Vasterling, Proctor, Constans & Freidman, 2007). Cultural attitudes
regarding male-dominated power relationships can explain cases of domestic
violence, and these types of power relationships are systematically sanctioned
by the culture and institutions within the social context (Taylor &
Jasinski, 2011). For youth, video games and video game violence can contribute
to violent behavior and delinquency, and poorer performance in school (Anderson
& Dill, 2000). Cultural tolerance of violence and systematic dominance of
media-based prototypes can hinder individual development if the awareness of
the influence of culture and media texts is not recognized by individuals and
groups. Critical awareness of media and production techniques is one of the
skills which can mitigate the influence of prototypical behaviors presented in
the media (Eron, 1986). The observation of others who are exposed to the same
violent events and whether others appear to approve or disapprove of violence
can influence the acceptability of aggressive behavior in individuals exposed
to violence (Berkowitz, 1986). Clearly, awareness of violence as a problem is
the beginning of positive social change, however putting this in a motivational
context requires a theoretical framework.
Gestalt psychology can
explain a suitable theoretical framework for the process of social change. Let
tolerance of violence become the social problem which needs change, it is a
pervasive and underlying force within the content of cultural texts within the
context of The United States. People who are acquiring skills from modern
culture and presenting them as a part of self-categorization may not
necessarily be aware of their behavior. People may not necessarily be aware
that the stereotypes presented within society do not always generalize toward
their own personal traits and identification. People who are not sensitive to
violent actions and consequences, because of exposure to violence (in the
media, without apparent consequences) may not be aware of the loss of keen
sensitivity. Finally, the tolerance of violence within the culture has human
consequences which individuals may not be aware of.
The gestalt cycle of
experience describes energy created by an underlying force, a need for
absolution of intuitive senses describing a deficiency, resulting in the
generation of a solution which dissolves the oblique awareness of the
deficiency. Joseph Zinker (1977) described the richness of information present
within individual creation of metaphor, and he described it as a means of
gaining insight into the underlying pathologies of individuals, which can be
molded through the creative presentation of analogies. The cycle of experience
begins with the sensation of the underlying difference between ourselves and
our environment creating a figure-ground relationship which must be adapted to (Gaffney,
2009). Analogously, experiences which demonstrate the full consequences of the
tolerance of violence create a true figure-ground relationship between current
de-sensitization to violence and sensitivity to violent behavior and awareness
of the consequences of violence.
After some research I
have described these kinds of figure-ground relationships as dialectics which
naturally move toward equilibrium or entropy (Hixon, 2013). Action research
has been described in terms of the work of Kurt Lewin, which also describes the
dynamics of dialectical forces that consistently move toward a state of entropy
(Bargal, 2006). The development of the gestalt cycle of experience described
the formation and dissolution of these dialectics, moving to and from a state
of rest or withdrawal. The full cycle of experience can be described in this
order, sensation (unfocused awareness), awareness (of figure), energized
mobilization (toward entropy), contact (dissolution of figure), and resolution
(creating meaning for the new adaptation) (Gaffney, 2009). Kurt Lewin (1935)
describes behavior as a function of dialectical fields between individuals and
their environment. The gestalt cycle of experience helps describe the discovery
of these dialectical fields, which results in motivation toward solution of the
dialectic, and the formation of meaning for and resolution of this heuristic
process. In my previous work I begin describing one of these dialectics as a
figure-ground relationship between the formation of ego and the dissolution of
ego as a process of self-transcendence and motivation (Hixon, 2012a). This is
based on Abraham Maslow’s (1974) assertion that being-cognition is a process
which is relational but opposite to the presence of egocentrism in western culture.
I also include Jorge Ferrer’s (2011) assertion that activities representing
full attentiveness or mindfulness must be intentionally created within western
culture, and his description of an optimal belief system requiring freedom from
egocentrism and the acceptance of pluralism. Bringing this into context,
through this process I had formed a figure-ground relationship between
egocentrism and self-transcendence, which can be described as a field that the
gestalt cycle of experience elucidates in terms of the creation of motivating
forces toward entropy. The process described as the solution and dissolution of
ego is a heuristic process, it describes the formation and development of
personality which continuously adapts to the environment, by going to and
moving from individual senses of self.
This heuristic process
can be induced for entire cultures through the analogous use of metaphor in
mainstream media. Unconsciously, within the context of The United States, the
media is already realizing communal ideals and representing them through
stories of successful heroes. The film Armageddon
represented a band of reluctant heroes, one such hero becomes idealized through
self-transcendence and the realization of agapean love for society, in the
movie one of the heroes is shown performing an act of valor sacrificing himself
to save his daughter and all of humankind (Bay, Bruckheimer & Hurd, 1998).
There are more examples of this type of movie and sometimes they are brought
into realistic social contexts. Act of
Valor is a movie which depicts extraordinary soldiers, saving the people of
The United States through dedicated selflessness and an extreme act of valor,
such as one solder covering a live grenade to save his entire team (McCoy &
Waugh, 2012). Paradoxically, Act of Valor
is also a movie which contains the most innovative and realistic portrayals of
wartime violence available in modern culture. The reciprocal influence between
culture and society is a heuristic process that is moving toward the resolution
of agapean love and acts of valor as American cultural ideals. It is a
heuristic process that not many in the American context are aware of or are
able to encourage or discourage through the critical analysis of the media.
Inducing recognition of this phenomenon in the public context might cause the
cultural awareness and formation of a motivational field toward sensitivity to
violence, and sensitivity to the consequences of violence as a cultural ideal.
Raising awareness of the influences of violence might be the catalyst which
asks individuals to become aware of and critically evaluate the production of
media which is a part of the shared experience of groups within the context of
The United States. In many ways young people are already aware of this though
not directly as in a more recent production The
Man with the Iron Fists, violence becomes an interpretive art form, which
contains visual aspects which are phenomenal but unrealistic and imaginary
(Roth, Abraham & Newman, 2012). The
Man with the Iron Fists also idealizes an end to the violence and an end to
the need for weapons in the fictional village created in the film, through
fantasies involving personal empowerment through mystical (in the film,
Buddhist) means (Roth, Abraham & Newman, 2012). Joseph Zinker (1977)
describes the creative use of analogy and the awareness of insight provided by
the use of metaphor, as a process applicable to the therapeutic growth of
individuals. These examples in modern culture demonstrate the effective use of
analogy through storytelling and the creative insight offered by the metaphors
in the film can be used to provide a description of the heuristic process which
mainstream culture is undergoing. People may not be conscious of this process,
and triggering awareness of it may begin a cycle of experience in a scope
including a mass cultural level for social groups to be motivated toward the
resolution of violence.
In the past I have
created media for the purpose of raising awareness of the influence of media
(Hixon, 2012b). Media campaigns which introduce social skills which people can
apply for understanding and interpreting the media may be beneficial in shaping
the direction the culture grows in. As noted in the introduction of this
document critical awareness of production techniques and awareness of other’s
responses to the same experiences both influence the choice to accept or reject
the social skills which media productions demonstrate (Eron, 1986; Berkowitz,
1986). Creating a sensation which produces awareness of and mobilization toward
resolving the availability of violence within modern culture, using the gestalt
cycle of experience as a template, can facilitate motivation toward a sensitive
and aware culture. I am not saying that violence is a solution, although mass
tragedy can be considered the kind of event which raises this awareness, I am
suggesting that the creative use of attractive and involving media can
demonstrate more proactive skills for use in the social context. Media provides
a very powerful teaching tool for demonstrating social skills and providing
prototypical identities in a relational culture. Perhaps, as our cultural texts
are already motivated in this direction toward selfless values, a media
production can also create the awareness required for the development of
successful social change. Deficient social skills for establishing social
identity have been cited as a cause of violence (Lee, 2011). Perhaps a richer
culture with more available useful and proactive social skills can innovate and
re-sensitize American society.
A realization that
violence is not attractive and has serious expense in both human and monetary
terms, can motivate change on the level of public policy. The United States has
been at war for a very long time and there are consequences of that beginning
to show culturally and internally throughout the subcultures within The United
States. Video games such as Call of Duty
idealize violence and military service (Chichoski, 2012). These violent video
games enable killing and are comparable to military training (Grossman, 2009). Although
this is useful if most of the American society chooses to identify with
military service people and perhaps enlist in the armed forces, critical
awareness of this inherent social value within these kinds of cultural
presentations, might help mitigate the effectiveness of video games as military
training. Perhaps video games can also be evolved to represent more effective
social skills, as the technology is also an effective teaching platform, and is
moving toward becoming a true social activity through multiplayer video games
which connect large groups of people together interactively.
A culture which is more
aware of the influences of the cultural artifacts which are produced as a means
of monetary gain, can empower groups within the culture, enabling groups to
become critical of the representations of social prototypes within modern
culture which serve as a component of intergroup differentiation. If I had the
means, I would create media dedicated to enable this empowerment.
Ideals like
self-transcendence are a part of military subculture, and successful service in
combat provides moments of peak experience, which can be adapted toward
awareness of selfless social ideals that can be applied toward effective
re-integration from military to civilian life (Osran, Smee, Sreenivisan &
Weinberger, 2010). This implication within the culture of The United States is
paradoxical, that people should be motivated toward violence in order to
realize ideals which promote unity and community. I am elaborating a premise
that if people become aware that goals like self-transcendence are a large part
of what motivates service, perhaps a proactive motivation could be developed
toward more collective ideals, before individuals choose to engage in combat.
Attitudes, judgments
about people specifically prejudices, can in many ways influence behavior
(Ehrlich, 1969). The values which people admit can influence the direction in
which people are motivated to achieve, as values can be described as a
particular class of motives which can be linked to affect (Geen 1984).
Epistemologies for establishing the values which are positive for society are
still being developed and this is a limitation of understanding motivation in
this way. Consequently this is one of the places where science and religion
confluence. Jorge Ferrer (2011), describes a spiritual epistemology for the
cocreation of relationships among human beings which enable growth in terms of
mutual respect, constructive rather than destructive confrontation, and the
spirit of solidarity. Ferrer’s (2011) ideas, represent the initial scientific
awareness of the need for communal values which imply respect for pluralistic
beliefs, and freedom from egocentrism. If this epistemology could be applied in
the creation of productions in terms of modern culture, perhaps modern culture
will produce attitudes about diverse world cultures, which can help mitigate
the use of intergroup conflict.
Overall the awareness
by individuals of the influence of affect and cognition can be beneficial too.
Affect is not a part of human experience which is completely separate from
rational thought processes and in many ways shapes choices which are available
for individuals to make in terms of achievement (Bjornebekk, 2008). People
experience mass media and culture provides affective experiences which require
full attentiveness, these artifacts can be proactive.
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