Globalization, ideologies and well-being: a study of a West African and a North European society

Abstract

Ideologies shape people's belief systems about what constitutes a good life and well-being and how to navigate between considerations of own well-being versus the well-being of others. The present study investigates ideologies in West African Ghana and North European Norway. Comparative, longitudinal analyses of ideological shifts reflected in changes in language usage in public discourse (newspapers) in the two nations revealed how currently globalized ideology (consumerism, individualism and neo-liberalism) merges with local ideologies in unique ways with regard to the balance between individualist and communal values.

Communal Values and Individualism in Our Era of Globalization: A Comparative Longitudinal Study of Three Different Societies

“…However, every nation has its own economic, political, cultural, and social history which makes each nation negotiate, merge with, and implement the globalized ideologies in unique ways. We have previously argued (Nafstad et al 2009b ) that as a consequence of this complex interplay, positive psychology should continually be attentive to the situation and development of local ideology discourses. Such ideology discourses represent important socio-cultural information; they represent meaning systems, ideals, values, and norms in society and carry tremendous in fl uences on the lives of people as they shape people's belief systems about the good life, well-being, and how to navigate between considerations of their own individual needs and the happiness and the well-being of others and society.…”

“…In order to describe ideologies, then, words and expressions constitute useful analytical units (Nafstad et al , 2009b . They can represent empirical indicators of the ideological situation, of adjustments and pressures.…”

“…This ideology or worldview is based strongly on excessive individualism (Bauman 2000 ;Giddens 1991 ;Nafstad et al 2007Nafstad et al , 2009bStiglitz 2002 ) . Thereby, there is a danger of neglecting the human being as a social and civic virtuous person capable of empathy and concern for others and the common good (Batson 1991 ;Hoffman 2000 ;Nafstad 2005 ) .…”

Globalization, Threatened Identities, Coping and Well-Being

“…A noticeable change is that the process of globalization is rapidly fostering individualism in collectivistic societies (Coldwell-Harris and Aycicegi 2006). In a study of changing trends in cultural values as reflected in advertising in India, Gupta and De (2007) observed that traditional values are being replaced by trends of modernization / westernization dictated by globalization process, with a growing culture of consumerism, and the priority to individual over the collective which creates stress and tension (see also Nafstad et al 2009). Consumerism is also creating personal identities and social fragmentation based on niche marketing and specialized consumer tastes.…”

Ideology and Social Psychology

“…We contend that the globalized ideology of neoliberalism constitutes a highly predominant contemporary discourse. Increasingly more people all over the world are shaped by, and reproduce, this world view (Nafstad, 2002; Nafstad et al., 2007, 2009a,b, forthcoming).…”