Exposition of Social Psychology
There are many theories about human behaviors. Child development theorists, psychologists, psychiatrists and social scientists have hypothesized about patterns inherent to human beings for many years. Included in this field of study are a number of studies about conformity and obedience. One of America's most prominent and earliest social scientists, Herbert Spencer, predicted that human behavior was linked to Darwin's theory of evolution. He postulated that those who conformed to expected educational and industrial/ economic standards would be more successful. Those who defied the American capitalist tradition would sink to the bottom of the socio-economic pool and be dominated by those who'd adapted properly. American social norms, Spencer said, required that the masses bend themselves to the capitalists' will or suffer the penalty of poverty. He additionally said, as Darwin had with other species, that there was a certain amount of biological predetermination involved. Some traits that would predictably affect one's ability might be race, ethnicity, and sex, among other pejorative claims. Spencer represents a perfect example for the American propensity to create parameters for social customs, but for this unit, I'd like to use some more contemporary theories, that aren't scientifically and morally corrupt, which may help students in completing the unit essay assignment outlined in the objectives section above.
The science itself is broken into discernable and definable schools of thought. And there are a number of them. For instance, in studies about conformity, obedience, and defiance scientists have created three categories: normative social influence, informational social influence, and obedience. There are, in addition several defined ways to approach and understand group influence: social facilitation, social loafing, deindividuation, and groupthink. To help students judge periods in history the way I have suggested, we must explore some of these to determine their applicability.
The notion that humans are inclined to either react positively or negatively to law is not a new or exceptionally profound concept. But social scientists are driven to reveal the processes by which this might happen. For instance, the theory of normative social influence predicts that people conform to prevent being ostracized; moreover, it is better to fit in than to stand out. We might think of the immediate aftermath of 9/11 when it was expected that all Americans would behave in a patriotic manner, any criticism of our government, advocacy of the terrorist act, or condemnation to our way of life being dangerously unpopular (Myers, 705).
The theory of informed influence is said to be a manifestation of an individual's value judgments. In other words, a person will prefer the group that thinks similarly to them, but is careful not to stray from any group dynamic. Furthermore, they often think of themselves as part of an open-minded rational sect and refer to those on the "other side" as partisan ideologues. So who are the deviants and who are the conformists? The answer is both. Each group conforms to its own standards while concurrently deviating from the other that they conveniently refer to as the norm (you can't be self assured without the moral high ground). Can you say American political pundit? (Consult anything written by James Carville or Ann Coulter) (Myers, 705).
Obedience theories, like the one conducted on the Yale campus by Stanley Milgram in the 1970's, calculate that people tend to obey as a product of their deference to the social order. The theories predict that in situations where people feel an obligation to a higher authority they are more likely to act in ways that their moral sensitivities normally wouldn't allow. In history we might think about the 9/11 terrorists or the Nazi soldiers in death camps who were programmed to do as they were told. Not that we excuse them of personal or moral responsibility, but we recognize, in cases like these, the possibility that "all it takes is ordinary people corrupted by an evil situation" (Myers 706-709).
Social psychologists also study affective group behaviors. For example, there are the concepts of social loafing and social facilitation. Some people socially loaf when they belong to a group working toward a common goal. They feel as if the task will be completed even if they do very little, someone will pick up the slack. My student council class often works in this manner. Teachers are well aware that in class group activities can result in one student doing all the work while the others collect the credit. Social facilitation means that people are often prompted toward hyper activity or absolute nervousness by the existence of a group. For instance, professional athletes often describe being "on their game" in front of big crowds. They perform at extraordinarily high levels of athleticism due to the "rush" they get from an audience. Some people, however, facilitate in the opposite direction. They become very nervous and lose their ability to perform especially when they lack confidence in their skills. Imagine a first year teacher in his or her first class on his or her first day (Myers 709-710).
There are also manifest group behaviors called groupthink, deindividuation, and social control. Deindividuation occurs when people seem to lose self awareness or self restraint in large groups. Teenagers at the rock festival in Woodstock 1992 torched refreshment stands and covered themselves with mud, did enormous amounts of drugs and committed endless violent acts, we might say, as a symptom of their deindividuation.. The combination of large crowds of adolescents, wanton rebelliousness, loud rock music, and a growing historical expectation that these variables should be combustible may have led social science to predict as much. Groupthink postulates that people move in harmony through a decision making process that ultimately lacks realistic forethought and often produces unwanted results. The rampant and collective fear of Japanese infiltration after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 resulted in egregious human rights violations via internment that our federal government later acknowledged through the payment of reparations. Social control theory suggests that very powerful, convincing individuals within a group sometimes are able to will the group to a new norm. Examples include Mahatma Gandhi who, though deviant in his original cause, became the symbol for humanitarian righteousness in the 20th century (Myers, 710-713).
Comments: