Jung describes Americans as having an “astonishingly feeble resistance to collective influences” which he found “positively terrifying”. His 1931 article on the uniquely American psychology is filled with novel insights into American psychology: its herdlike nature, the Heroic Ideal driving it as well as showcasing some of Jung’s more unsavoury Shadow elements
Jung, C.G. 1931. The Complications of American Psychology
American Collective Psychology
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Jung describes Americans as having an "astonishingly feeble resistance" to collective influences, being quickly absorbed into mass movements with "illusory goals" and emotional incontinence.
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American culture is characterized as a "monoculture of freedom" where individual expression is seduced by the illusion of free choice, resulting in a population of "carbon copies" with exhausted attention and little tolerance for novelty.
Cultural Influences and Stereotypes
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Jung attributes American psychology to influences from Native American landscape, Native Americans, and African Americans, with Native American influence visible in sports, skyscrapers, and the "tough, reckless, efficient" nature of American culture.
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The "heroic ideal" is seen as the crowning glory of American herd psychology, cultivated in every aspect of society and expressing the fundamental hopes, desires, and ambitions of the nation.
Media and Social Dynamics
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Jung notes the "boundless publicity" of American life, characterized by a lack of distance between people, belief in popularity, gossip columns, and the individual's defenselessness against the onslaught of the pres