This chapter examines the behavioural dimension of associational activity. It is motivated by one central question: is the social and cultural composition of post-communist society conducive to group participation and collective action? The question can be approached from the three social science perspectives outlined in the introduction, each focusing on somewhat different aspects of the socio-economic makeup of society. First, from the social psychological perspective, participation is taken to be a property of the democratic personality, in which a sense of personal effectiveness engenders perceptions of efficacy in public life. Post-communist society, it will be argued in this chapter, is unlikely to foster the sense of material security which has been seen as one of the essential prerequisites of the democratic personality. With its combination of opportunities and threats, market transition is reflected in a dual psychological response: either economic individualism and the pursuit of private material objectives, or a sense of powerlessness and anomie in the face of unfamiliar market forces. Survey data will be used alongside interview findings to investigate the effects of east Germany's accelerated market transition on psychological orientations towards participation in the associational arena.

A second approach equates democratic participation with the accumulation of social capital. In Almond and Verba's formulation, the roots of a civic culture lie in mutual trust and co-operation in social life spilling over into the political sphere.