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Unfolding the concept of person by verbal abuse
Author(s) -
Semin G. R.,
Rubini Monica
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2420200602
Subject(s) - collectivism , psychology , individualism , social psychology , verbal abuse , context (archaeology) , interpersonal communication , interpersonal interaction , interpersonal relationship , developmental psychology , human factors and ergonomics , poison control , medicine , environmental health , political science , law , paleontology , biology
Examined the prevalence of an interpersonal device, namely insult types, in a collectivistic and individualistic cultural context as an index of how the concept of person is culturally constructed. Insults were divided into three general categories, individualistic (those that refer directly to a person), relational (those that refer to a person and his/her significant relations) and swear‐words. An examination of the insults subjects produced in Catania, southern Italy (collectivistic), Trieste, northern Italy (individualistic) and Bologna, central Italy, partially confirmed the hypothesized differences in types of verbal abuse. In the collectivistic context instances of verbal abuse are significantly more likely to be directed to a person and his/her relations than in the individualistic context. The social psychological implications of these findings are discussed.