You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Mannheim warns against frequent errors in the psychological investigation of social phenomena. Either groups are considered as mythological beings, and theoretical constructions about the 'mass soul' are made, or (the viewpoint of many psychoanalysts) the psychology of the individual is applied directly to 'society'. Statistical studies assume that social phenomena are simply products of summation, ignoring the origin through processes of interrelation in society. In these processes not only a combination of individual experiences takes place, but a gradual change of form occurs through certain social mechanisms. The study of such social mechanisms is the task of sociology, as the study of psychological mechanisms is the task of psychoanalysis.
To study the psychological effects of the war, primarily typical conflicts between groups, conflicts which are set in motion by the war should be investigated first. Those group conflicts have the same significance for sociology as the study of the actual conflicts for the psychology of neuroses; in them the essential dynamic processes, which take place in society, can be demonstrated most clearly.
There are problems of research on which psychoanalysts and sociologists can profitably collaborate. A basic problem is the correlation of the mechanisms of the individual ego with the social mechanisms which it influences—not descriptively only, but dynamically in terms of the life processes of the groups. Mannheim recommends the collection of data from individuals about the effects of war fantasies and war neuroses. Psychologists and sociologists should note and analyze the most important collective emotions which can be observed as a reaction to war. The aim of the study of the psychological effects of war should be to create a more effective social welfare to remedy the social difficulties which result from war.