swaddling hypothesis

noun1

1. •
   A contentious theory, first proposed by Geoffrey Gorer, that purported the tight swaddling of Russian (and Eastern European) infants contributed to their supposed submissive and passively obedient nature and sudden emotional outbursts later in life, which made the rise of communist dictatorships in their countries possible.

   • Nevertheless, caricatured as "diaperology" the Russian swaddling hypothesis did much to discredit the culture-and-personality approach in academic circles. — 1999