Peasant identity: Contributions towards a rural psychology from an argentinean case study

Abstract

Within the field of psychology, little attention has been paid to studying the identity of rural people, in particular the peasantry. To explore this issue, a case study was undertaken in a community located in Argentina. The research identified three different dimensions of peasants' identity. The first one, positive identity, is based on peasants' view of themselves as hardworking people well versed in rural work. The second dimension, the pragmatic identity, is one that encompasses peasants' view of themselves as poor and in need of assistance, which in turn legitimizes efforts to obtain public assistance. Finally, a third dimension, of scant quantitative importance, revealed a negative identity at its core. Furthermore, it's worth mentioning that different dimensions of their identity were activated depending on the particular context within which they were set and favored the development of either passive or active positioning on the part of the peasants.