A Study On Public Stereotypes About Military And Their Influence On Reemployment And Job Search Of Ex-soldiers

When a soldier retires from the army and returns to the local area,he or she has to face a completely new learning,living and working environment,which tests to a large extent the psychological state and social adaptation ability of the retired soldier.In addition to social policies and the psychological distress of ex-soldiers,public stereotypes of ex-soldiers and their deviant behaviour can also hinder their social adaptation and integration to a certain extent.Based on the theoretical ideas of the Stereotype Content Model and the Behaviors from Intergroup Affect and Stereotypes map,this study examined the public’s stereotypical characteristics of the military and their influence on the re-employment and job-seeking process of ex-soldiers,using questionnaires and field experiments.The results found that,(1)The public generally perceives the military as a group of people of high social status and suitable to work with,and they are also seen in the minds of the people as highly enthusiastic-highly competent-and the public feels admiration and pride in them and is willing to take the initiative to help and protect them,and to cooperate and interact with them.(2)Stereotypes of the military can influence the public’s behavioural responses to interactions with the military through emotions,and there is a positive relationship.The stronger the stereotype of warmth,the stronger the public’s admiration and pride,and the more pronounced the tendency to act in a helpful and protective manner towards military personnel.Similarly,the stronger the stereotype of competence,the stronger the public’s admiration and pride,and the more pronounced the tendency to cooperate and interact with military personnel.(3)The persistence of seemingly positive stereotypes in public perception can also have a mixed effect on the social adjustment of ex-soldiers.Specifically in the job search process,companies with manual labour needs show a preference for "giving preference to ex-soldiers",preferring to recruit ex-soldiers.Companies with cerebral work needs tend to focus more on choosing ordinary people with real-life work experience,and may only consider ex-soldiers if the recruitment position requires a high degree of confidentiality or discipline or if the work is biased towards party and government affairs.The smooth integration of ex-soldiers into society is of great significance to the consolidation of national defence and the maintenance of social stability.The social adaptation and integration of ex-soldiers requires not only the support of national policies and the leadership of local governments,some assistance from enterprises and the efforts of ex-soldiers themselves,but also a change in the attitude of society.In the future,the image of ex-soldiers in the public mind should be concretized,so that the people’s understanding of ex-soldiers is concrete and vivid,in order to help the social adaptation process of ex-soldiers to get rid of the restrictions of stereotypes and better adapt and integrate into the new social life.