Abstract:
Each year, thousands of Brazilian adolescents sit the vestibular (university entrance exam). This process often results in clinically significant levels of anxiety and insecurity. This study consists of a psychoanalytic investigation of the imaginary of middle class adolescents in relation to the vestibular. A group interview was conducted with nine students in the last year of high school using the Thematic Story-Drawing Procedure. An examination of the participants’ manifestations resulted in the interpretive production of two affective-emotional sense fields or relative unconscious: “individual responsibility” and “the key to success”. The findings show that there is a general belief that the ability to pass the vestibular, and thus guarantee a successful professional life, is directly related to the candidate’s academic skills and capacity. This oversimplified view ignores the importance of the social context.
Keywords:
adolescents; university entrance examination; collective imaginary; qualitative research; psychoanalysis