Society today faces several issues that affect human behavior. Among the major factors contributing to the changes are the issues of diversity. Owing to distinct differences, certain societies have remained either predominantly divided along racial lines. It has led to the assimilation of the minority groups within these diverse communities. For instance, the Africans taken from Africa during the slave trade were forced to abandon the practice of traditional African religion in favor of Christianity. As such, most of them took up Christianity and forgot about their original religion in a bid to avoid death.
Inequality has also been noted to be another factor that greatly influences human behavior. For instance, a study by Nishi and Christakis (2015) sought to investigate the effects of economic inequality on human behavior. The simulated games showed that the privileged participants were highly likely to exploit the less privileged in settings with high inequality. On the other hand, low inequality helped increase fairness from the more privileged members towards the less privileged ones. As such, the behavior of the privileged cohort was shaped by the levels of inequality in ‘practice.’
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Oppression affects the behavior of both the oppressor and the oppressed. Oppressors rely on the ever-growing sense of self-worth, leading to self-deception (Dover, 2016). The presence of power over the oppressed corrupts any sense of justice and leads to a bloated sense of superiority complex. As such, the oppressor is less likely to do the right thing if it humanizes the oppressed and gives them any form of leverage over the oppressor. It leads to reduced levels of empathy and sensitivity towards the needs and the rights of the not only the oppressed but for everyone else in society.
References
Dover, M. A. (2016). The moment of microaggression: The experience of acts of oppression, dehumanization, and exploitation. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment , 26 (7-8), 575-586.
Nishi, A., & Christakis, N. A. (2015). Human behavior under economic inequality shapes inequality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , 112 (52), 15781-15782.
