Emotional Evaluation of the 1990s in Russia: Generational Collective Memory and the Pollyanna Effect
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2026.4.3090Keywords:
collective trauma, generation, collective emotions, collective memory, Pollyanna principle, identity, social optimismAbstract
This study aims to analyse current and reconstructed emotional assessments of the 1990s amongst members of two generations (Baby-boomers (born in 1947–1967) and Generation X (1968–1981)), as well as the contribution of socio-psychological and psycho-emotional characteristics to these assessments. Tests were conducted to verify the hypothesis regarding differences in the psychological mechanisms underlying the intensity of current and reconstructed emotional assessments of the 1990s, as well as the manifestation of the ‘Pollyanna effect’ (tendency for people to favour positive information, manifested in assessments of the present, memories of the past and expectations regarding the future). The study involved 677 participants aged between 50 and 77 (322 from Generation X and 355 baby boomers). The following instruments were used: the Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS, adapted by E.N. Osin), J. Gross’s Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (adapted by A.A. Pankratova, D.S. Kornienko), the PHQ-4 scale for diagnosing depressive and anxiety states (adapted by A.A. Zolotareva and colleagues), T.A. Nestik’s scales of civic identity and social optimism, and a method for assessing collective emotions. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, the Student’s t-test and path analysis. The results revealed the presence of a partial ‘Pollyanna Effect’, manifested in a lower intensity of negative emotions in the current assessments of members of both generations, though without a marked predominance of positive emotions. Baby-boomers are slightly more likely than Generation X to suppress their emotional expression, demonstrate a higher level of civic identity, and rate feelings of injustice more highly when reconstructing past emotions. The analysis revealed measurement and structural invariance of the path model for both Generation X and the baby-boomer generation. The main predictors of both reconstructed and current emotional assessments of the 1990s in both age groups are social optimism, civic identity, and negative affect in the present. Social optimism and cognitive reappraisal serve a protective function in relation to society’s psycho-emotional state and its perceptions of the past. Suppressed emotional expression, in turn, is associated with a higher level of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, a consistent negative correlation was found in both groups between moral emotions (guilt and shame) and a sense of injustice, which may reflect the operation of psychological defense mechanisms, including ressentiment. The study highlights the role of current emotional state in shaping assessments of the past and the need to expand the range of factors influencing the activation of collective memory in future research.
Acknowledgments. The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RSF), Project № 24-18-00570, https://rscf.ru/project/24-18-00570/.
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