Cultural complexes

Psychological complexes were presented in previous articles but always from the point of view of an individual. You can think of a complex as a collection of experiences focused around a psychological element. For example, a mother complex is a collection of experiences with one's mother or other people acting as one's mother.

A culture is simply a large group of people sharing a heritage, location or group affiliation. Just as an individual develops personal psychological complexes throughout a lifetime, cultures also develop complexes. As discussed in previous articles, complexes can become active, or be triggered, by an event, a person, a situation, an emotion or an experience. When triggered, an individual or a culture is overwhelmed by the complex and must express the complex. For example, when a couple begins arguing, complexes are triggered by words or attitudes each person expresses. Once the complexes are active, the complexes take over each person and the couple is no longer arguing. The complexes are arguing. From this example, we can begin to understand how cultural complexes are triggered and how people within cultures are taken over by the complexes.

In the U.S., we can say there are many subcultures, or diverse subcultures, due to the diverse groups of people. There also is a larger U.S. culture in which each subculture is thought to exist. In addition, there are two major political subcultures, Republicans and Democrats, within a larger political culture called democracy. Every subculture and their larger cultures have associated complexes and each person within a particular subculture and larger culture psychologically carries all the cultural complexes.

When we are captured by subcultural complexes, we lose our individualities and function from subcultural levels; that is, we express ourselves from subcultural perspectives. Often these complexes include anger and inaccurate beliefs about other subcultures. This is quite remarkable! Examples of these complex behaviors and expressions are in the news every day, particularly with respect to our political divide or two political subcultures. So, when people are triggered, their subcultural complexes are active, but what happens to the larger culture? Usually it is ignored or modified by the person's complexes for personal subcultural gains. Of course, this can be destructive to all people and the larger culture.

Give some thought to the many subcultures in your life. Then try to understand the larger culture and decide if it is being ignored or changed for personal gains. If you find yourself having trouble clearly seeing people from different subcultures or seeing the larger culture, it is likely you are living within a cultural complex.