This contradictory behaviour on the part of parents has significant effects on the child’s self-development and psychological disorders.

Therefore, our pages and our new theory are not intended to place blame on parents. In psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy, we recognise that all human beings have strengths and weaknesses. This also applies to parents.
On the other hand, parents play a key role in shaping and refining a person’s personality during the early years of life, when their relationship with society has not yet stabilised. We therefore view personal development as a dynamic relationship between the child and their parents, as well as between the parents and society, in which numerous challenges and conflicts must be overcome.

The importance and role of psychodynamic and psychoanalytic Psychotherapy

The psychodynamtic therapist understands the child’s behaviour and how it arises; this also applies to their approach to psychological disorders. We do not place blame on the parents. Psychodynamic psychology can offer us numerous explanations for phenomena that are widespread in Collectivist Cultures, which have been highlighted in many cross-cultural psychological studies and elsewhere, such as:

1- Why do people in collectivist societies feel a psychological need to remain connected to their families throughout their lives?

What role do parents and family ties play in psychological well-being and self-esteem? Is this bond or connection merely a ‘duty’ – that is, a debt to be repaid because parents become frail in old age and need help – or are there other reasons why ‘respect for parents’ is one of the most important factors contributing to maintaining a sense of self-worth in general?

What experiences do we go through in our childhood in Collectivist and Arab Societies, and how do parents instil in their children an emotional bond with them and a desire to please them, making this one of the most important elements that bring a person happiness and a sense of security?

2- People in Collectivist and Arab societies tend to boast about their achievements, or the successes of their children, relatives or close friends, or they tend to flaunt their possessions (such as a large house or an expensive car) in front of others, in order to gain their appreciation, respect and recognition of their high self-worth.
Why do people need all these symbols to maintain their sense of self-worth and balance? What happens to people when society doesn’t give or takes away the appreciation and recognition to their achievements and the other things they take pride in?

3- Why do people in Arab and collectivist societies attach such great importance to outward appearance, dignity, self-esteem and honour, whilst, on the other hand, we feel inadequate, feel that we are lagging behind the rest of the world and progress, and consider ourselves worthless?

4- When people in Arab and collectivist societies meet and interact with one another, they display certain behavioural patterns characterised by expressions of praise, appreciation and the importance of others to the individual. There is a tendency to exaggerate the worth, value or influence of others, which generates a sense of grandeur and importance.
It is also important to ask why this habit is so widespread in our societies, and what psychologically trigger this behaviour?

5- Why do people in Arab societies – and in collectivist societies in general – tend to distrust others and question their intentions and goals?

6- Some cross-cultural studies suggest that people in collectivist cultures lack firmly established social values (the superego). An individual’s behaviour towards their family, elders and ‘respected’ people differs from their behaviour when these people are absent and no one is watching. This explains, for example, littering in public places, vandalism, sexual harassment, and so on. What is it that happens, and what experiences does an individual go through in childhood, that lead them to behave in this dual manner without feeling remorse – a feeling that helps to regulate individual behaviour and align it with the values society, thereby positively influencing the social order as a whole?

7- In collectivist societies and cultures, people tend to refuse to take responsibility for the consequences of their behaviour or their mistakes. Even more strangely, a person who draws attention to another’s mistake or negligence is regarded as behaving inappropriately. We say, for example: ‘The bus or train missed me’ (whereas in Germany, for example, one would say: ‘I missed the bus or train’). If someone borrows a certain amount of money from me and promises to pay it back in a week, and I then speak to them about it or insist that they keep their promise, I become the ‘bad guy’ in this situation, even though the mistake or negligence did not stem from me. In such a case, I may also be treated rudely by the other person.
Why are people in collectivist societies, afraid to take responsibility for their mistakes?
Why are people in collectivist societies unable to tolerate criticism, and why does criticism provoke anger and violence?

8- People in Arab and collectivist societies tend to believe in non-human forces or sources of power that have a profound influence on their lives, behaviour, productivity and relationships, such as fate, various benevolent divine forces, or, conversely, malevolent forces such as the devil, the devil’s whispers, and so on.
Are there psychological or subconscious reasons why people feel a need for these forces in their lives, and what experiences do we go through during childhood that make these forces significant or psychologically meaningful in our lives?

9- People in Arab societies tend to exaggerate ‘the display of their abilities, possessions and selves’, whilst at the same time feeling inadequate and envious of others, or fearing the envy of others. What experiences do we go through in our childhood that give rise to this contradiction within us?

10- Violence is widespread in Arab and collectivist societies. In these societies, the strong dominate the weak, starting from childhood.

11- Oppression and sexual repression prevail, causing numerous sexual disorders and also being linked to the intense jealousy that is widespread in society.

12- There is a need to be racist and to humiliate certain people, whilst the status of others is unrealistically elevated and idealized. How does this contradiction develop, and how is it manifested in our behaviour and personality?