Developing Applications of "Field Theory" in Mass Studies

Abstract

In studying attitudes of people toward their surroundings, survey methods are most frequently employed (questionnaires, interviews, expert estimations, etc.). However, all methods that involve direct inquiries may give rise to a certain hesitancy in people since they fear that their responses can somehow be used against them. Even if the responses are absolutely honest, they may not reflect the full truth: they are formulated solely on the basis of thinking, and it is well known that attitudes not only take shape on the basis of logical conclusions but entail subconscious motives, instincts, and intuitions. To eliminate this shortcoming, it is proposed to determine people's attitudes toward events that involve them on the basis of the emotions those events arouse—indicators that reflect both conscious and subconscious motives. Emotions can be clarified according to K. Lewin's field theory. The variables in this theory (probability, valence, forces) can be estimated by means of words from a so-called fu...