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The Paradoxical Indian Mindset

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Psycho-Social Analysis of the Indian Mindset

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Abstract

Cultures vary in moderating paradoxical ideas that naturally appear in the human mind. Unlike Western cultures that tend to dissolve or minimize paradoxes in order to maintain consistency in thought and behaviour, Indian culture allows adding new ideas and influences to existing ones, only some of which are integrated, leaving the rest intact to form paradoxes. As a result, the Indian mindset is full of paradoxes where the doctrine of karma sits comfortably with efforts to improve one’s destiny; masculinity coexists with femininity; non-violence is espoused while violence occurs; measures to reduce uncertainty cohabit with its tolerance and intuition takes over from analytical and synthetic ways of knowing. The presence of paradoxes signifies possibilities to use them in many ways in order to be adaptive and creative in both positive and negative in thoughts and behaviour.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GNS.ICTR.ZS. Gross savings (% of GDP) of Germany (24 %), India (30 %), Japan (11 %), UK (11 %), and USA (17%).

  2. 2.

    Hofstede, however, failed to realize the interwoven nature of femininity and masculinity in the Indian mindset.

  3. 3.

    Ahmedabad, Aligarh, Kozhikode (Calicut), Chennai, Guwahati, Kharagpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Noida, Patna, and Pune.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Professor of Psychology and Management, ASSERT Institute of Management Studies, Patna, Bihar, India

    Jai B. P. Sinha

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Correspondence to Jai B. P. Sinha .

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Sinha, J.B.P. (2014). The Paradoxical Indian Mindset. In: Psycho-Social Analysis of the Indian Mindset. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1804-3_7

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