essay

The psychology of Great Russians

people of great Russia: a psychological studyLondonPublished In 1949 • Pages: 91-194

By: Gorer, Geoffrey.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This study highlights behaviors presumed typical of adult Russians, the most important reflecting deep-seated contradictions and ambiguities in the Russian cultural ethos related to equality, hierarchy, love and compassion. In particular, the author notes the ubiquity of extreme behavioral swings (e.g. between cruelty and kindness), not just in living Russian men but also in major fictional characters in the works of popular novelists, poets, and playwrights, attributing this trait to infant swaddling. A swaddled infant cannot physically express pain and frustration as its body is held tight. It instead relies on other means, most notably communicating with the eyes, and, to an extent, with words.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Drives and emotions
Social personality
Ethos
Social relationships and groups
Ethnopsychology
Infant feeding
Infant care
Child care
Techniques of socialization
Transmission of cultural norms
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Russians
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Europe
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Eastern Europe
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
essay
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Anthropologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Teferi Abate Adem ; 2019
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
no date given
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1917-1947
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Russia
NotesAdditional notes
By Geoffrey Gorer
People of Great Russia: a psychological study, by Geoffrey Gorer and John Rickman
Includes bibliographical references
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
50002111
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Russians
Soviet Union--Social life and customs