Ambiguity of belonging

Alternativer Bildtext:

somebody / something and like them) A thing that belongs to you Close relationship; camaraderie (= a feeling of trust and friendship among a group of people who have usually known each other for a long time or gone through some kind of experience together) Benefits of belonging Causes positive emotions (e.g. joy, delight) Provides strength & stability Prevent mental illness / better mental health Better economic and academic achievement Positive opinions about others Effect of not belonging Negative feelings Higher levels of mental and physical illness Prone to a broad range of behavioural problems ➜ Traffic accidents → Criminality ➜ Suicide Suicidal thoughts Factors of happiness Strong sense of belonging to a social group Support in times of crisis Thinking about others Feeling to belong to a group Factors that makes people belong / that contribute to a person's sense of belonging Feeling of security job Support Feeling of being loved and accepted Shared values and beliefs / outlook on life Traditions and (shared) history Family and friends The place you live in / place of residence Country, nationality Sex/gender Ethnic group/ ethnicity Religion / congregation Hobbies and sports Politics Personality Environment Society, social class, social status (degree of) integration Culture Language → The groups that one belongs to are (actively) chosen or not chosen, can or cannot be influenced or changed (age or ethnicity for example) 3 Englisch-Zusammenfassung Ambiguity Definition "ambi" = two / both "ambiguitas" = Zweideutigkeit, Doppeldeutigkeit; Mehrdeutigkeit a) in linguistics: Uncertainty / vagueness of meaning and intention Several interpretations of an expression are plausible, depending on the context (example: "She is an English teacher." either she is a teacher of English or she is a teacher from England) b) in psychology: A situation that involves uncertainty and / or insecurity A feeling of being torn and incomplete /fragmentary / isolated Perception of ambiguity Ambiguity can be perceived as something negative, as something that makes you feel insecure and doubtful because it is inconclusive, maybe you don't even know whether it is good or bad Ambiguity can be considered positive- as in the following statement: "Take advantage of the ambiguity in the world. Look at something and think what else it might be." Ambiguous vs. ambivalent Ambiguous (mehrdeutig) "The book has an ambiguous ending" Unclear, vague, confusing Something can be understood in at least two different ways (open to interpretation) Not used to describe people, but used to describe things people do or say Ambivalent (zwiespältig) "she is ambivalent about going to the party" Mixed feelings / attitudes, contradictory ideas One feels at least two ways about something Causes/Triggers of ambiguity Used to describe a person, feelings, attitudes, relationships Both may result in a state of being unsure / insecure Divorce (your parents, your own) Religion expectations by religion vs. a person's individual wishes / attitudes Death (e.g. of a family member) Ignorance, misunderstanding, bad communication War Uncertainty Change in one's living conditions (e.g. moving to a different place, new job, health issues) Only partial identification with a group you (think you) belong to In general: opposing or conflicting expectations of groups Pandemic (e.g. Covid19) 4 Englisch-Zusammenfassung Ambiguity of belonging Ambivalence between the people's actual beliefs and values and their ambitions to belong and therefor conform to a certain group People tend to conform (and assimilate) in order to be accepted by a certain group → values and principles, they conform to are often antithetic to their actual beliefs and therefor give up their actual identity → leads to uncertainty concerning one's identity Synonyms: having doubts / an uncertainty concerning one's identity English upbringing quirk belonging outlook on life perception doubtful inconclusive prerequisite latent sufficient commensurate Vocabulary German Erziehung Macke Zugehörigkeit Lebensauffassung Wahrnehmung Skeptisch, argwöhnisch, ungewiss, unsicher uneindeutig Voraussetzung verborgen ausreichend, genügend entsprechend, angemessen