Commitment in an Israeli Kibbutz

Abstract

This paper attempts to deal with the concept of commitment to a society in the context of a commitment-alienation continuum. Twcr aspects of commitment were measured: cohesion or affective commitment and control or ideological commitment. Data were collected in a society intentionally structured to solve the problem of alienation: a kibbutz in Israel. Measures of the two dimensions of commitment were related to overall satisfaction and a series of ten variables (involving social roles, values and interpersonal relations) which were posited to be significant in the lives of kibbutz members. The main findings were:

1. The degree of commitment to the society is positively related to the degree of overall social need satisfaction.

2. The degree of commitment tends to be higher the more the individual is satisfied in those areas of life which are important to him.

3. Persons occupying roles considered important in the society tend to be more committed to the society than persons occupying less important roles.

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