ANXIOUS CONFORMITY - ANXIETY AND THE SOCIOCENTRIC-ORIENTED SELF IN A TLAXCALAN COMMUNITY

This article examines emotional conflicts and anxiety associated with the formation and functioning of the sociocentric-oriented self in one highland Mesoamerican community. The principal argument is that cultu ral mechanisms subordinating individual interests to collective purpos es also generate resentment and distress. I examine psychoanalytic con cepts of anxiety and relate the deep sense of social responsibility co mmunity inhabitants experience to high levels of anxiety arising from inconsistent and often severe socialization practices and moral contro ls. In this case, individuals subordinate their own interests to colle ctive purposes because their drives and desires cause discomfort and t hey fear retaliation from social contemporaries and the supernatural r ealm.