Psychocultural Approaches. Among the psychocul-
tural approaches to ideology, the work of Léon Dion
and of Clifford Geertz may be examined. Dion refers
to ideology as “a more or less integrated cultural and
mental structure.” By this he means a pattern of norms
and values that is both objective (cultural) and subjec-
tive (mental). More specifically:
Our hypothesis is that political ideology is a cultural and
mental complex which mediates between the norms associ-
ated with given social attitudes and conduct and the norms
which the political institutions and mechanisms tend to
crystallize and propagate. In other terms, political ideology
is a more or less integrated system of values and norms,
rooted in society, which individuals and groups project on
the political plane in order to promote the aspirations and
ideals they have come to value in social life
(Dion, p. 49).
Expressing dissatisfaction with the existing ap-
proaches to ideology, Clifford Geertz sets out to pro-
vide a more adequate nonvaluational theoretical
framework for its analysis. He approaches ideology in
terms of symbols and symbolic action, for he seeks to
show, at least in part, “how symbols symbolize, how
they function to mediate meanings” (Geertz, p. 57).
Geertz's initial assumption is that thought consists
of the construction and manipulation of symbol sys-
tems. Symbol systems, whether cognitive or expressive,
are extrinsic sources of information in terms of which
man's life is patterned (since intrinsic or genetic sources
of information are so few). Symbol systems are extra-
personal mechanisms for perception, judgment, and
manipulation of the world. Culture patterns—whether
religious, scientific, or ideological—are “programs”
that provide a blueprint for the organization of social
and psychological processes. More specifically, states
Geertz, “it is through the construction of ideologies,
schematic images of social order, that man makes him-
self for better or worse a political animal” (ibid., p. 63).
Ideology, in other words, is more than a mere psy-
chological response to strain; it embodies social and
cultural elements as well. Broadly understood, ideology
is a cultural symbol-system that aims to guide man in
his political life. The attempt of an ideology to render
confusing social situations meaningful accounts for its
highly symbolic form and for the intensity with which
it may be held. As such: “whatever else ideologies may
be... they are, most distinctively, maps of problem-
atic social reality and matrices for the creation of
collective conscience” (ibid., p. 64).
The psychocultural approaches, then, attempt to
unify the mental and the environmental elements in
ideology. In this view ideology requires both a psycho-
logical outlook and a cultural context. Its primary
function is to enable the individual to make sense of
the cultural symbol-system.
