Social psychologists are interested in the study of factors that make people behave in particular ways in the presence of others and examine the conditions that cause the specific actions or feelings to happen. Social psychology therefore tries to explain how these feelings, beliefs, thoughts, goals, and intentions are build and also how these psychological factors affect people’s interactions with others (Milgram & Gudehus, 2013). Prominent researchers have conducted several studies and it has been revealed that individuals behave very differently when they are put in a group. This article will discuss some of the studies. However, social psychology is mainly grouped into three main areas namely group behavior, social influence, and prosocial behavior.
Group behavior is one of the main areas that psychologists have carried out studies. Researchers deduce that the way individuals behave when they are independent is completely different when they act in groups. Particularly, the way they make decisions is altered (Milgram & Gudehus, 2013). It means that people do not decide independently, rather, they tend to conform to the majority of the group’s thinking. Social influence also examines how individuals’ perceptions are influenced by factors such as persuasion, peer pressure, among others. Moreover, psychologists study how people are coerced whether willingly or unwillingly to carry out actions that are inhumane without questioning or objecting. Prosocial behavior comprises of behavior that involves helping and cooperating. Some scholars have attempted to find out why some people sometimes refuse to help others while others do. The main concept studied in this area is known as the bystander effect, which refers to the phenomenon whereby the higher the number of people presents, the less they are likely to help a person in distress.
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The power of group influence
Groups have a significant impact on how people make decisions. Studies conducted by both Asch and Milgram best describe the effect of groups on individual behavior. In Soloman Asch’s experiment, participants are supposed to compare the length of a given line from a group. The experiment has only one real subject while the others are confederates. The researcher confines with the confederates to give wrong answers in some of the tests without the subject suspecting. When the experiment begins, Asch’s confederates begin to give correct answers, an act that convinces the subject. However, on the third test, the researcher’s accomplices give wrong answers. The subject conscious is convinced that the answer is wrong (depicted by the hesitation) but goes along to conform to the group’s response. He fears disagreeing with the rest or being the odd one out. In Milgram’s experiment, the so-called teachers are required to reward learners for giving correct answers and at the same time administer punishment for wrong answers. The experiment is designed to investigate why human beings would continue doing inhumane acts even when it was clear that their victims were in acute pain. One such time was during the Holocaust whereby the Jews were put in concentration camps and tortured (Milgram & Gudehus, 2013).
Milgram’s test requires that the teachers expose the learners to shocks each time they give a wrong answer. They begin with low voltage then raise it to extreme levels as the learner continues to give incorrect answers. When it becomes evident that the learner is in acute pain, the teacher hesitates but receives instructions to continue with the punishment. Through the two experiments, it can be deduced that groups have a remarkable influence on individuals. Though an individual will feel in his or her conscious that something is not right, he or she will be compelled to conform to the group. Some perpetrators of the Jewish holocaust must have felt that it was wrong to torture and maim other human beings, but they had their masters to obey (Milgram & Gudehus, 2013). In addition, they were in groups and just because the other group members were mistreating the Jews, the few compassionate individuals had no choice but to be in solidarity with their colleagues.
The power of roles and prejudices
Zimbardo conducted an interesting study that still to date is used especially in courts. To carry out the study, he runs adverts for participants who would be either prisoners or guards. He selects prisoners who are perceived to be the most mentally stable and have them arrested at their homes by real police officers and are charged with armed robbery. The events that unfold in the mock prison cells at Stanford university basement raise more questions than answers that the experiment was looking for. Zimbardo instructs the guards not to give any physical punishment to the prisoners and hopes that they would use their moral judgment while treating the prisoners. He is wrong. The guards mistreat the prisoners and subject them to humiliation several times. What becomes more astonishing is the way the prisoners adapt to the prison life and are willing to stay in the cells even when they are threatened that they will not be given their dues (Zimbardo, 2017). Zimbardo’s experiment was meant to explain how the Abu Ghraib abuses happened despite the American Forces being perceived as the most elite.
Through Zimbardo’s experiment, it can be depicted that individuals usually assume their roles and act as their roles demand. Their emotions and consciousness appeal less to them. Perhaps it explains why many cases of abuse have been reported in prisons such as Guantanamo Bay. When prison wardens are left unchecked, they naturally feel the power and would want to create a difference between themselves and the prisoners. They will then try to do all sorts of humiliating acts to attain their objectives. The prisoners, on the other hand, will submit and allow themselves to be ruled. Whenever one prisoner tries to riot, the others will criticize him or her.
De-individuation, bystander intervention, and altruism
Deindividuation is a concept in social psychology that means the loss of self-awareness especially when individuals act in groups. It is common to hear of reports where people commit unreasonable crimes when they are in groups (Diener, 2016). For example, during student riots, some students may set their learning facilities on fire and even torch property belonging to members of the public. Soldiers who would be trusted to maintain peace in war-torn regions could be reported to participate in carrying out heinous acts such as rape, torture and even killing of children. Whenever they are questioned about the offenses, they quickly say that they were not alone or that they were obeying commands.
Bystander intervention is a philosophy as well as a strategy that aims at preventing various types of violence. In Zimbardo’s experiment, the guards were left unabated hence; the study was running out of control. It took the intervention of Christina Maslach who was then a graduate student to stop the experiment. In Abu Ghraib torture dungeon, Joe Darby exposed the evil deeds that were being perpetrated and helped end the torture (Zimbardo, 2017). In every situation, it requires brave individuals to come out and speak against inhumane and unfair treatment to bring out sanity. Altruism refers to the act of being unresponsive about the interest or welfare of others (Maruyama, Fraser & Miller, 2012). The mistreatment that was done to the Jews in the Nazi concentration camps best describes this term. In the contemporary world especially with the advent of social media, human beings are unconcerned about the plight of others. Despite there being a lot of information about the suffrage of people in different parts of the world, nobody cares. Around the globe, natural hazards like floods, hurricanes, and thunderstorms render many people homeless and without food but people on social media are unmoved. Only a few people come out to help the disadvantaged.
The Holy Week and the Parable of the Good Samaritan
The Holy Week unravels the events that took place during the crucifixion of Jesus, his death, and resurrection. The Roman soldiers tortured Jesus and made him carry the cross without expressing any form of sympathy. Besides, they were encouraged by the huge crowd that usually accompanied them and did not want to disappoint them. Social psychologists seem to be right when they postulate that crowds to a large extent affect how individuals reason. On the other hand, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, it shows that only a few individuals are capable of doing the right thing. When a man who supposedly heads to Jericho is attacked, passersby including a priest do not attend to him. Only one person, a Good Samaritan helps the man. Likewise, it takes only brave people in the society to expose and condemn heinous acts. Trusted people (like the priest) who are expected to possess the best of manners offer little help.
Reflection
Conclusively, it is appalling that individuals like those trusted to be custodians of justice continue to go against basic human rights. It is imperative that whenever junior officers are given responsibilities, it is prudent that they are made accountable for their actions. However, they should not be allowed to carry on without checks and balances. Senior officers ought to conduct inspections from time to time to ascertain that they are doing what is expected of them. The information learned from the videos has had a positive impact on me. Whenever put in a group, I will exercise caution and will not hesitate to report any acts that go against the right way of doing things.
References
Asch Conformity Experiment . (2017). YouTube . Retrieved 28 December 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyDDyT1lDhA
Diener, E. (2016). Deindividuation: The absence of self-awareness and self-regulation in group members. The psychology of group influence , 209242 .
Maruyama, G., Fraser, S. C., & Miller, N. (2012). Personal responsibility and altruism in children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 42 (4), 658.
Milgram Experiment - Big History NL, threshold 6 . (2017). YouTube . Retrieved 28 December 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOYLCy5PVgM
Milgram, S., & Gudehus, C. (2013). Obedience to authority.
Zimbardo, P. (2017). The psychology of evil . Ted.com . Retrieved 28 December 2017, from https://www.ted.com/talks/philip_zimbardo_on_the_psychology_of_evil?language=en#t-1175860
