acceptance
Acceptance (from the Latin "accipere" for approve, accept, approve) is a noun of the verb accept , which is understood as accept, acknowledge, consent, accept, approve, to agree with someone or something .
Accordingly, acceptance can be defined as willingness to accept something or someone (Drosdowski, 1989).
It becomes clear that acceptance is based on voluntariness . In addition, there is an active component, as opposed to passive, by the word tolerance described toleration . Acceptance expresses an approving value judgment and therefore forms the opposite of rejection (aversion).
The concept of acceptance gains a first frame of reference by distinguishing between the acceptance subject , acceptance object and acceptance context .
Acceptance object
Acceptance is always related to an object, for example to
- a certain behavior of the other,
- a person or group who represents a specific role or function ,
- Offers such as offers or suggestions from third parties
- Objectives and values that are initially foreign.
In detail, acceptance can refer to
- on people or their behavior ,
- on their emotions (see also Encounter ),
- as well as comments and suggestions.
She concerns
- on the one hand, encounters on the social micro level ( couple relationship , dyad, group )
- but is also expressed and felt at the macro level by society , culture and politics .
As an object-related property, acceptance denotes the approval of what is represented, offered or suggested. It is therefore preceded by a conscious or unconscious assessment based on subjective value standards.
So the question of acceptance as “acceptance of what?” Is important. For example, B. the Heidelberg Acceptance Scale (Weimer et al., 1999) on the acceptance of migration, in concrete terms on the acceptance of migrants.
Acceptance subject
Acceptance is a subject-related term, i.e. That is, it is tied to accepting persons who recognize situations or facts for themselves as relevant and valid for their actions . This leads to the question “Acceptance by whom?” And thus presupposes a free decision of will (see will ).
Context of acceptance
Thirdly, both, the objects and the subjects of acceptance, stand in changing social contexts. This acceptance context is provided e.g. B. represent relevant reference groups that normatively influence the target group (Lucke, 1995). This would describe the acceptance in more detail by asking "Acceptance of what by whom and under what prerequisites and conditions?"
Alternative definition
The “ Brockhaus ” (1986) defines “acceptance” as an “initially affirmative or tolerant attitude of people or groups towards normative principles or regulations, in the material field towards the development and dissemination of new technologies or consumer products ; then also the behavior and action in which this attitude is expressed. ”In this definition, 'acceptance' is (initially) described as a (positive) attitude, but then, from a psychological point of view , it is equated with behavior which is dubious from a psychological point of view . It also remains unclear what behavior is meant or what a corresponding behavior would look like.
The “Dictionary of Sociology ” ( Günter Endruweit & Gisela Trommsdorff , 1989) defines “acceptance” as “the property of an innovation to achieve positive reactions from those affected when it is introduced.” The use of the property term is to be viewed critically (cf. Lucke, 1995). The implementation process is emphasized, i. That is, something new is to be regarded as accepted if the introduction is given in the affirmative. According to this definition there is no (non) acceptance of something that already exists.
Acceptance can be achieved through understanding (i.e. the knowledge that it can be so), ignorance ( repressing , finding an attitude ) or resignation (desperate approval ).
In German politician jargon, “acceptance” is an abbreviation for approval that brings votes.
Philosophical Definitions
From a philosophical point of view, the word “accept” is understood as the acceptance of structures of action / content of meaning that the individual accepts as truthful / relevant for himself and from which he justifies his own structures of action.
However, acceptance is not to be confused with “stubborn” conformity to rules, since acceptance includes the conscious decision for a topic and the action results from the acceptance of the validity of a situation for the individual without further reflection on social norms.
Acceptance in psychotherapy
The acceptance of the inevitable - for example the temporal limitation of one's own existence, the limited influence on the behavior of other people and the occurrence of aversive emotional reactions - is an important therapeutic goal in various psychotherapeutic schools in addition to changing problematic behavior. In particular, acceptance and commitment therapy and other mindfulness-oriented approaches within the framework of behavior therapy aim explicitly at strengthening the ability or willingness of suffering people to accept the inevitable part of their suffering. This is done, among other things, by distancing oneself from control-oriented thoughts and impulses to act as well as by emphasizing values which, despite all external and internal circumstances that are difficult to tolerate, can lend dignity and orientation to the life of the individual.
Individual evidence
- ↑ T. Heidenreich, J. Michalak (Ed.): Mindfulness and acceptance in psychotherapy. A manual. DGVT-Verlag, Tübingen 2004, ISBN 3-87159-060-6 .
- ↑ M. Wengenroth: Accepting life. This is how acceptance and commitment therapy helps . Hans Huber, Bern 2008, ISBN 978-3-456-84512-8 .
literature
- G. Drosdowski (Hrsg.): Duden Etymologie: Origin dictionary of the German language. Duden, Mannheim 1989, ISBN 3-411-20907-0 .
- Doris Lucke : Acceptance. Legitimacy in the “voting society”. Leske + Budrich, Opladen 1997, ISBN 3-8100-1496-6 .
- D. Weimer, M. Galliker, CF Graumann: The Heidelberg Acceptance Scale (HAS): An instrument for measuring the acceptance and rejection of migrants. In: Cologne journal for sociology and social psychology. Vol. 51, 1999, pp. 105-123.
See also
- Acceptance (automaton and complexity theory) as a technical term in computer science and mathematics
