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The Arab Basic Personality: A Critical Survey of The Literature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

Fouad M. Moughrabi
Fouad M. Moughrabi
Affiliation:
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
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Extract

A substantial number of social-psychological studies dealing with the Arab world purport to explain the ‘Arab basic personality’, or ‘the Arab mind’. The alleged purpose of these studies is to understand the ‘psychology of the Arabs’ the underlying motivations of their behavior, and the reasons for their underdevelopment. Most of these studies emphasize the use of projective analyses of the Arab personality on the basis of supposedly dominant childrearing practices. The personality pattern which emerges from this research includes characteristics such as free-floating hostility, rigidity, the lack of reality testing, and suspiciousness6 which are said to explain the nature of Arab political behavior.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 9 , Issue 1 , February 1978 , pp. 99 - 112
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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