From the manifestations of culture to the underlying sensemaking process. The contribution of semiotic cultural psychology theory to the interpretation of socio‐political scenario

Abstract

Several explanations of the current syndrome affecting advanced democracies make reference to a process of cultural change that has been triggered by the complex and interrelated phenomena known as globalization. The rise of populist‐authoritarian parties, the advent of post‐truth politics and the increasing dissatisfaction with democracy are seen by many political scientists as rather direct consequences of social and economic transformations which had changed the context in which the democratic process takes place. The main limitation of this literature is that it treats culture as a black box receiving inputs from the social context and translate them into political consequences. By doing so it cannot explain why the same conditions produce different consequences in different contexts and it is silent on the criteria to develop anti‐crisis policies. This article argues that some of the insights offered by the Semiotic Cultural Psychology Theory, most notably the idea that cultural evolution is moved by the need to find affect‐laden, simplified interpretations of the reality to restore the capacity of making sense on an uncertain socio‐political context, can enhance the ability of political scientists to understand the current political phenomena and to develop methodological criteria to counteract the current scenario of democratic crisis.

The Meaning of Living in the Time of COVID-19. A Large Sample Narrative Inquiry

“…From this standpoint, the fact that a high affect-laden interpretation of the pandemic scenario emerges in our analysis of how people make sense of this time of crisis is not surprising. The more the uncertainty of the scenario, the more sense-makers are likely to restore the stability of their sense-making through their adherence to generalized worldviews (Russo et al, 2020). Findings of studies based on the Terror Management Theory (Greenberg et al, 1997;Greenberg and Arndt, 2012) provide empirical support to this thesis.…”

“…Cultural manifestations can be addressed and, eventually, counteracted only if the cultural dynamics underpinning them are explained in their specific and contingent way of functioning (Russo et al, 2020). The characteristics of sense-making outlined by SCPT offer a contribution in that direction.…”

“…The SCPT ( Valsiner, 2007 ; Salvatore et al, 2009 , 2019c ,d; Salvatore and Venuleo, 2013 , 2017 ; Salvatore, 2018 ; Russo et al, 2020 ; Venuleo et al, 2020a ) postulates the mediational role of sense-making in the way people represent and face their material and social world and in so doing shape their experience. Accordingly, people do not represent and respond to the reality of the pandemic as if it were the same states of affairs for everyone.…”

Patterns of Italian high school and university students’ attitudes towards physics: an analysis based on semiotic-cultural perspective

“…In other words, generalized meanings can be used for mapping and explaining variability in the individuals' attitudes embedded in a cultural milieu. In particular, on the one hand, a group of individuals can be described in terms of the set of generalized meanings that correspond to the cultural milieu in which the individuals are rooted; on the other hand, differences in views amongst groups of individuals can be explained in terms of these generalized meanings (Russo et al, 2020).…”

Geoethics, a Branding for Sustainable Practices

“…The Earth, as a human place, exhibits interwoven physical, cultural, and technological dimensions [15][16][17][18]. Nature belongs to that place and is tightly interrelated on any dimension of the human place.…”