Concerns of the Israeli: Change and Stability from 1962 to 1975

Abstract

Change and stability in human concerns over time was studied, using questions developed by Hadley Cantril and based on data from two Israeli surveys, conducted, respectively, in 1961 and 1975. The questionnaire contained open-ended questions, to which the respondent described either his personal or his country 's future in a positive (hopes) or negative (fears) response and a Self-Anchoring Rating Scale, by which the respondent ranked himself and his nation in various time perspectives against a future described in his own terms. A basic hypothesis was that in the more than 10-year interval between surveys, concerns and their salience would have changed in response to major social changes (primarily, two wars) which occurred in Israeli society during this period. Nevertheless, basic concerns were expected to remain stable. Shifts in concerns were found, both on the personal and the national level. There was a drop in the general mood, and topics related to war and economy changed in salience. Issues directly concerning war and its consequences were mentioned more frequently in the later survey; and new, related issues became relevant (fear of terrorism, prolonged army reserve service, fear of destruction of the State). Economic issues, formerly concerned with productivity, now centered on inflation and standard of living. Yet basic concerns with health, children, and the family remained, overarched by the wish for peace and fear of war, the most important concerns of the 1970s.