title: The unbearable freedom of the others – Studies in exaggerated realism
title: Die unerträgliche Freiheit der Anderen - Studien zum überwertigen Realismus
Creators: name: Schmid, Veronika
Publisher: name: Philipps-Universität Marburg
Year: 2013
Subjects: Autoritarismus , Kritische Theorie
Konformismus
Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie, Anthropologie
critical theory
Utopie
Vorurteil
conformity
Konformität
prejudice, authoritarianism

description: Der von Adorno eher beiläufig
      verwendete Begriff des "überwertigen Realismus" wird in der
      vorliegenden Arbeit aufgegriffen und zu einem Modell
      weiterentwickelt, das Vorurteile sowie ein
      statisch-affirmatives Verständnis von Gesellschaft als nur
      kaum veränderbar erklärt. Überwertiger Realismus als ein eher
      trotziges Festhalten am So-und-nicht-anders-Sein wird als
      Bewältigungsstrategie verstanden, die es den Einzelnen
      ermöglicht, die Anpassung an das gesellschaftlich Geforderte
      zu meistern. Eine Folge dieser häufig voreiligen
      („überwertigen“) Identifikation mit dem Bestehenden ist die
      Abwertung von nonkonformen Lebens- und alternativen
      politischen Gestaltungsentwürfen. Um das Konzept des
      überwertigen Realismus empirisch näher zu untersuchen, wurden
      mehrere Studien (Experiment, Gruppendiskussionen,
      Telefonbefragungen, Online-Survey) durchgeführt, die für die
      Plausibilität des Konzepts sprechen.
description: Recent empirical analyses show
      that people who hold prejudices against one outgroup are
      likely to be prejudiced against other outgroups, too. But why
      do persons who discriminate against homosexuals also hold
      negative attitudes against Muslims, migrants, homeless
      people, and political activists? In this dissertation, it is
      argued that this tendency towards hostile attitudes against
      several out-groups stems from a socially demanded
      renunciation of autonomy which is less and less compensated
      for (e.g. in forms of social recognition). The individual
      compensates for this lack by re-interpreting the heteronomous
      demands of reality as the very own needs of herself/himself.
      The result is an over-affirmation of the status quo, which is
      called “exaggerated realism” by Theodor W. Adorno. According
      to this, facing minorities, political activists or
      nonconformist groups stresses the idea that the conflict
      between the individual’s and the society’s needs is not that
      irrevocably fixed as it seems to be. This insight might lead
      to aggressive reactions towards members of nonconformist
      groups. Dropouts, homosexuals, migrants who want to immigrate
      in order to start a new life, Muslims or Jews who indicate
      with their clothing a nonconformist way of life suggest that
      the conflict between individual and society could be dealt
      with differently. In derogating such outgroups the socially
      withheld compensation for one’s own renunciation of autonomy
      is–at least symbolically–restored. Thus seen, exaggerated
      realism can be conceived of as an identity management
      strategy that solves the cognitive dissonant perceptions
      between the individual’s needs of autonomy and the social
      demands to conform. Since Adorno mentions the term
      exaggerated realism only en passant, the term is further
      refined to explain authoritarianism on the one hand and the
      affirmation of the status quo on the other. The dissertation
      presents a theoretical model of exaggerated realism, sketches
      its potential for the analysis of prejudice and
      authoritarianism and presents first empirical evidences for
      its plausibility.