PHIL 2170 Chapter Notes - Chapter Notes from Assigned Moodle Readings (second half of course): False Consciousness, Learned Helplessness, Pessimism
26 Apr 2016
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John t. jost: negative illusions: conceptual clarification and psychological evidence. Note: jost"s article is an attempt to unravel the term false consciousness and the psychological evidence for it (trying to address political acquiescence) False consciousness: holding of false beliefs contrary to one"s social interests and which contribute to the disadvantaged position of the self or the group. Six types of false consciousness: failure to perceive injustice and disadvantage: Self-blame: everyone gets what they deserve, for better or for worse (lerner, 1980: identification with the oppressor: dominant groups convince others to protect them from internal and external threats to their supremacy (established hierarchy) Psychological dependence: results from link between domination and subordination (mason, 1971) Cognitive conservatism: (greenwald, 1980) tendency to adhere to thoughts/beliefs which are no adaptive or functional. Behavioural conservatism: people stick to old habits (of disadvantage) because they are familiar. Note: positions above help to maintain one"s state of helplessness and accept an ascribed status.
