Citation

Volkan VD. Appl. Psychol. 1998; 47(1): 45-57.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998, International Association of Applied Psychology, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1464-0597.1998.tb00012.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Although ethnicity cannot be seen, its presence is palpable, and one would think it would be something rather easy to describe. Arabs and Israelis or Armenians and Azerbajanis, for example, so adamantly insist on being different that it should not be difficult to isolate the reasons. Yet it is impossible to find one single description of ethnicity that is acceptable by most scholars. The term ethnicity, and other large‐group identities such as religious or nationalistic affiliations, change in scope and substance according to the discipline studying it. This paper focuses on the meanings of large‐group processes. Large‐group psychology is examined from two perspectives. The first concerns the historical and biological evolution of large groups, be they called clans, tribes, or other names. The second relates to childhood development.