Using your knowledge of mob mentality
from reading the articles linked below (South Source interview with Tamara Avant, and from your
reading about David Koresh and the
Branch Davidians), find a newspaper article that depicts de-individuation
in action.
What components in your story
connect directly to what you’ve read about Winston and O'brien in 1984 and what you’ve watched? You may even use information from The Crucible or Anthem to make your argument.
*****Create your response on a Word doc and then copy and paste to the blog!********
Be sure to include in your response:
- A summary of your article.
- Commentary about what effect mob mentality could play in brainwashing or cult indoctrination.
- Specific text references (with quotes) from your article & from the South Source article.
- Be sure to copy and paste the url to your article in your response.
Examining Mob Mentality
David Koresh Article on ABC
Interesting . . . Top Ten Instances of Mob Mentality
David Koresh Article on ABC
Interesting . . . Top Ten Instances of Mob Mentality
Use one of the following sources to find your article:
- The New York Times
- The New Yorker
- Forbes
- Smart Money
- The Washington Post
- Rolling Stone
- CNN
- USA Today
- BBC
- Fox News
- Newsday
- The Associated Press
In India, 15 men are charged for the attack of a Muslim family leaving one dead and two injured. The attack transpired because the man was accused of eating and transporting beef. Beef and cow slaughter is prohibited in most of Hindu-majority India for religious purposes. “In Hinduism, cows are deemed sacred and they’re killing a sin” says Ap in the CNN article. The question that is rising on everyone’s mind is if India is becoming intolerant to religion. Mob mentality can easily lead to brainwashing because people tend to follow what they grow up with and what they know. Mobs will follow what everyone else believes and doing and that is what happened in this case. These 15 men are an example of mod mentality by following what others are doing and while doing so they lose their individual thoughts, even if it is beating a man to death that may be innocent. “Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone.” According to Tamara Avant, Psychology program director at South University.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/2015/12/24/asia/india-beef-killing-suspects-charged/index.html
John Sganga
ReplyDeleteMina Cikara and her husband went to a baseball game to watch the Yankees play but are Red Sox fans. So they wore their red sox hats to the game but were immediately yelled at and booed. In return they left the stadium and didn't watch the game. They were stunned to see the way people acted and were curious as to why they tormented them. Cikara led a new research team to discover the reasons behind the Mob Mentality and they found some. And one of the main reasons was stated in the article and it said, “Cikara and her colleagues may have discovered a culprit we can't control: our brains." People are all about equity until two word get involved, “us" and "them". People second-guess their actions after the fact when their egos have been suppressed and the sense of responsibility settles in. Guilt plays games with a persons head and can do a number on someone’s stomach. So Mina Cikara’s experience may have been a bad experience for her and her husband but, in return it helped inform the consequences and the actions that can happen if the Mob Mentality is present.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/mob-mentality-brain-suppresses-personal-moral-code-when-groups-288342
Griffin Wagner
ReplyDeleteIn the David Koresh case, the children were raised in his cult, and knew nothing other than the cult, therefore leading them to follow mob mentality with the rest of the group. A situation just like this occurred in China, albeit over many more years. In Wild Swans, the story of a woman, her mother, and her grandmother. The book encompasses the hardships that each generation faced during the turmoil that resulted from the Japanese invasions of China, and the resulting communist revolution. The story shows the grisly conditions of China under the chairman Mao, and what the people were forced into. Chairman Mao, among other things, handed out his “Red Book”, that brainwashed children into thinking he was god. As the years went by, millions of children, now teenagers, blindly followed Mao to the dot, and did anything he said. The communist party broke up families, to the point where children loved Mao more than their parents. “Father is close, Mother is close, but neither is as close as Chairman Mao.” Mob Mentality can easily contribute to indoctrination and brainwashing. At this time, the people all went along with the communists, because they promised good things, and everybody else was going along with them. This brings in the psychology of conformity and compliance. Because the people saw others following the communists, even if they disagreed with them, they followed anyway. As a result, they began to do more and more the communists wanted, and in turn led to them being indoctrinated into the Communist Party.
Book: Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Joey Crayne
ReplyDeleteIn Mexico City, there was a prison riot headed by two rival gang lords. 52 were supposedly killed, but only 49 bodies have been found. It was a pitched battle, and many inmates were beaten or stabbed to death, including both gang leaders. Mob mentality could cause the inmates to see others rioting and want to join in as they have a chance to escape. They also view their leaders as a father figure and feel the need to obey his orders without question. “As the violence spread, inmates set fire to the prison warehouse.” Mob mentality caused these inmates to do crazy things, and they went to great lengths to cause trouble just because the other inmates were as well. The South Source article supports this. “When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness.” Setting the fire and the riot happened because the inmates were not self-aware, rather they were caught up in the mayhem.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/12/world/americas/topo-chico-prison-mexico-riot.html
Jackson Parli
ReplyDeleteIn the article “From Obama to Trump” by Ross Douthat, the author discusses why Obama’s actions during his presidency has preceded Trump’s rise to prominence in the Republican party. According to the author “Trump’s campaign is a kind of fun-house-mirror version of the celebrity-saturated Obama effort in 2008. Presidential politics has long had an escalating celebrity component, a cultish side that’s grown ever-more-conspicuous with time.” People have also gotten accustomed to Obama’s accelerated choices without backing from the senate, such as using executive orders to get things done. This makes Trump’s promises to build a wall and to deport people more realistic to the general public.
A big part of being a Trump supporter is the mob mentality. People believe it is acceptable to repeat and support the politically incorrect and racist things that he says if other people are doing it. “The group seems to make some behaviors acceptable that would not be acceptable otherwise.” (Examining the Mob Mentality). If a large group is saying these things, which such a powerful leader, it is difficult to fight against the crowd.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/02/28/opinion/sunday/from-obama-to-trump.html
Ben Filippini
ReplyDeleteIn the summer of 2011 many people in cities of England started to become looters. There were many street battles and constantly there were buildings burning down. Many of these people had become looters and many more afterwards because it seemed to become the norm as more people had done it. This is somewhat similar to society in the book 1984. People wouldn’t want to be watched or have to fear an organization yet people came to accept it and it had eventually became the norm for society. Mob mentality plays a huge role in society cause in a way it can control people into what to do. Mob mentality is similar to peer pressure because it pushes you to do what the mob is also doing because it appears to be the norm. People may do violent and or illegal acts just to be following the mob. “First, many people believe they cannot be held responsible for violent behavior when part of a mob because they perceive the violent action as the group’s (e.g., “everyone was doing it”) rather than their own behavior.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14463452
In 2011, Vancouver quickly became a riot zone after the Stanley Cup when the Canucks lost to the Boston Bruins. The riots shook up the residents and turned into chaos with all of the people running wild. Police officers used batons and police dogs on the rioters to push them back. Two police cars were set on fire, stores were looted, and police officers were taunted. Anyone not leaving the immediate area was arrested. Many officers were called in to control the crowd and there were even two major traumas, a head injury and stabbing. The angry fans were flipping cars, breaking windows, and causing fires. No matter how much damage was done, they didn’t want to end the violence. “I’m living in it so I will definitely be helping, I would love to see the people who did this to my home forced to do the cleanup though.” says local women Beverly Akurst. The fans not only destroyed cars and the streets but also homes. Just a couple hours before fans were packed tight and getting ready for a fantastic game.”It’s absolutely disgraceful and shameful and by no means represents the city of Vancouver, we’ve has a great run in the playoffs here, great celebrations, and what’s happened tonight is despicable.” Not only did the city get destroyed but it’s embarrassing! The trashed towns show the damage innocent people caused. It shows to other cities that maybe Vancouver can’t control the people and that it isn’t safe to have any more events there! The loss of the Canucks caused frenzy and made everyone forget the rules. It caused disorder and dangerous situations. Like psychologist Tamara Avant says, “When people are part of a group, they often experience de-individuation, or a loss of self-awareness.” The people were blinded by the overwhelming emotions of themselves and others which caused rash decisions The mob mentality made these fans forget rules, break laws, cause harm to themselves and everyone around them. The only thing the people were focused on was themselves and doing what they wanted when the anger took control of them.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/riots-erupt-in-vancouver-after-canucks-loss-1.993707
Laurence Barr-Forget
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/11/25/man-dies-while-taking-part-in-ohio-state-michigan-pre-game-ritual/
http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/11/ohio_state_vs_michigan_who_has_2.html
A young man died at the most recent Ohio state Mirror Lake jump. The Mirror Lake Jump is a student run event in which thousands of Ohio state students jump into the Mirror Lake. The ritual has been going on since 1990 every Tuesday before Ohio plays Michigan in football. This is not the only injury to have occurred. Many students suffer hypothermia and get minor injuries. The man was identified as a junior named Austin Singletary. The jump is not mandatory to students, it is just a tradition that has been going on for many years. The students at OSU have been told for many years to stop the event. Wrist band are now needed to hop into the lake. Police are always on stand-by. The number of people jumping has increased over the last few years even with the advisory against it.
Mob mentality has a huge thing to do with the jump. The whole thing started as a few people wanted to have fun. But they won the game that year so the superstition started that it gave them good luck. This lead to more people jumping in the next year, and the year after, and as the years on the number grows and grows. “Mirror Lake Jump – Thousands of students each year jump in the man-made pond on the Oval the week before the Michigan game. The jump, which began in 1990, is not a university-sanctioned event. Although fewer than 100 people participated in the original 1990 jump by 2009 that number had swelled to 12,000, drawing concern from university officials.” This is mob mentality at its best. The number is grown exponentially as more students are pressured into jumping. In the south shore article, “Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone. Think about the last sporting event or concert you attended. It’s unlikely that you would have been yelling or singing the way you were if you were the only person doing it! The group seems to make some behaviors acceptable that would not be acceptable otherwise.” In other words our minds are blocked by the excitement around us, leading us to do things we anomaly would not. The student numbers grow because now that more people do it, students want to fit in and one way of doing that is jumping in. There are so many people jumping into the lake now that others follow even if they are not dressed for the event. People get caught up on the hype and jump not thinking of the future consequences may have. Austin Singletary certainly did not think that he was to die. He was with friends his mother said and they jumped so he jumped. Not wanting to be left out got him left in the lake.
People become different when they’re in groups of people instead of being by themselves. This is leading case in mob mentality. People can become more violent when they are in groups of people. In Koresh’s case he lead a cult and taught they people in the cult to act and respond in a certain kind of way. In my article, the example of mob mentality was when Mina Cikara, a sociologist at Carnegie Mellon University, went to a Yankee game with her husband. They wore a Red socks hat and the people at the stadium immediately booed and screamed at them. This shows that the mob of Yankee fans came together to hurt the others that weren’t with them. In 1984, we see mob mentality as in the technology or as Orwell would say it, the telescreen. The telescreen in 1984 can act as the cult/mob that is always spying or trying to catch the people doing something wrong. In the article, “Examining Mob Mentality”, the author states that mob mentality can be caused from “Deindividuation”. This usually occurs in groups, but it doesn’t have to all the time. When people get together they can be more violent, like Koresh’s cult. This cult and their mob mentality got so violent and horrific that it brainwashed the children in the cult into saying that people were going to die and that “the bad guys win”.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.medicaldaily.com/mob-mentality-brain-suppresses-personal-moral-code-when-groups-288342
John Sganga
ReplyDeleteMina Cikara and her husband went to a baseball game to watch the Yankees play but are Red Sox fans. So they wore their red sox hats to the game but were immediately yelled at and booed. In return they left the stadium and didn't watch the game. They were stunned to see the way people acted and were curious as to why they tormented them. Cikara led a new research team to discover the reasons behind the Mob Mentality and they found some. And one of the main reasons was stated in the article and it said, “Cikara and her colleagues may have discovered a culprit we can't control: our brains." People are all about equity until two word get involved, “us" and "them". People second-guess their actions after the fact when their egos have been suppressed and the sense of responsibility settles in. Guilt plays games with a person’s head and can do a number on someone’s stomach. So Mina Cikara’s experience may have been a bad experience for her and her husband but in return it helped inform the consequences and the actions that can happen if the Mob Mentality is present. Just like Cikara’s article, Examining the Mob Mentality, also looked for reasons why people go through this mentality. The article states not only were they looking for reason but how they were looking for how people react and how certain people react differently or why people with a bigger crowd all follow each others actions. Like in 1984, Winston is being put through torture to force his brain into the state of mind that O’Brien wants him to be in. Its almost like they are brainwashing so that he forgets about the past and his actions. When the Mob Mentality settles in, its almost like your brain has been wiped clean and all you know is anger or a force that drives your passion for something and you become completely out of control. The Mob Mentality takes over and you don’t feel the “sense of responsibility” until its too late and you have already lost control.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/mob-mentality-brain-suppresses-personal-moral-code-when-groups-288342
this one
Quentin P. Collins 3.2.16
ReplyDeleteIn the article I found, Mob Mentality: The Brain Suppresses Personal Moral Code When In Groups, the writer spoke about how people’s decision making skills change when they are in groups. The author spoke with a sociologist named Mina Cikara. Cikara went to a Yankees game with her husband and they wore their Red Sox hats to support their home team. They were harassed and taunted by the fans of the Yankees. They left the stadium and were stunned at the way they were treated. Mina was curious about those fans’ actions. Mina created a new research team to study mob mentality. They discovered that our brains are the main reason for the change in moral standards in groups. Co-author Rebecca Saxe, an associate professor of cognitive neuroscience at MIT, told MIT News, “Although humans exhibit strong preferences for equity and moral prohibitions against harm in many contexts, people’s priorities change when there is an ‘us’ and a ‘them’.” When individuals think they won’t be recognized or held accountable for their actions, they are more likely to behave unprincipled. This is supported by a statement from Tamara Avant, the Psychology program director at South University. She said, “When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness. When people deindividuate, they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions and more likely to lose their sense of individual identity.” Mob mentality takes control of your normal decision making skills and disregards them. You make choices that you normally would not make.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/mob-mentality-brain-suppresses-personal-moral-code-when-groups-288342
Birmingham Riot-
ReplyDeleteBBC Article
In 2011 a Riot erupted in Birmingham resulting in 130 arrests. The cause of the riot started small and eventually grew until it became completely uncontrollable and needed to be stopped. The crimes committed included vandalism by mob in which many rowdy adults and adolescents vandalized both a Mcdonalds restaurant and an Armani store. The riot was started when two men began pushing up against the glass trying to break it and the crowd soon to be mod followed in suit. “The mob mentality could come from one person not being stopped, leading others to join in” There is a similar theme to this in 1984 by George Orwell only that form of mob mentality is controlled by the party and also the people who oppose the party. The party set rules in stone declining basic human rights but because they enforce them on so many people making them “Ok” this gives people a sense of belonging in a crowd or group of people. Mob mentality can be a major issue in society especially if it is not controlled or monitored. In a mob people have no thoughts on the bearings of their actions and act in any manor they please which can result in major issues and threatens the safety of the general public
http://mrswiles10.blogspot.com/2013/11/mob-mentality-in-our-current-culture.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-14452468
Lyla Finch
ReplyDeleteMob mentality gives people the opportunity to participate in certain activities that they wouldn't do otherwise. For example if your at a concert you most likely would not be singing and screaming the way you are you would be if you were the only one doing it. Participants in a cult become one with the action that they are participating in, they loose their sense of individuality. Especially when the cult or gang is specifically large, with a large group we think we can get away with more because the chance of something being traced directly back to us is slim but not slim to none. An ABC article on mob mentality states ”Most people who loot and riot would never do so unless they were one of an anonymous crowd. Their mayhem remains in fantasy. They act in a group because they know they won't be exposed.” This states that the brain is telling the person that the act they are about to do is okay because they are in a group and they think its okay because they don't think they will “be exposed”. The average human being sees the wrong in committing a crime even with in a large group of people, but there is still that small percent that believe something is okay to do if the odds of it being trace back to them are little to none.
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/london-riots-2011-psychological-myths-facts-solutions/story?id=14276532
Sonny Rifkin
ReplyDeleteIn Anaheim California, there was a KKK rally. A small group of people representing the Klan had announced that it would hold a rally at Pearson Park at 1:30. By 11 a.m. several dozen protesters had shown up to confront the Klan. Many fights broke out between civilians and Klan members. Three people were stabbed and 13 others were arrested. Klan members tried to explain that they were using “self dense.” There was blood all of the streets and sidewalks of Anaheim. This is a prime example of mob mentality because only one or two Klan members got many other Klan members to come together and rally together. If one Klan member starts hurting a civilian another Klan member will jump in to hurt. Mob mentality could play in brainwashing because if you are not what the Klan wants you to be then you are basically considered “bad”. If you agree with the Klan and believe exactly what they believe then you will most likely get accepted in the group. In the article on ABC News it states “The children remember a close-knit community in which they were allowed to have contact with anyone outside the cult. They were taught that there were only two types of people: “good” people who were inside the cult, and “bad” people who were everyone else.”
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-klan-rally-in-anaheim-erupts-in-violence-one-man-stabbed-20160227-story.html
Jillian Vargas
ReplyDeleteIn my article “Vancouver Riot: Psychology (Not Hooligans) Responsible for the Chaos” the author talks about the 2011 Vancouver riot that took place after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The author is explaining that the reason for this riot was not a “hooligan” but psychology. There were several environmental factors that did not help the situation, such as the fact that transportation was shut down so everyone was stuck in this one area and that they were upset because their team lost. Also the people could have been under the influence of drugs and alcohol. The most important factors, however, were the psychology behind it all. When in a large group people lose their sense of selves and start to think with the group, something known as deindividuation. Another concept was emotion contagion which is when an emotion, positive or negative, spreads throughout the group so everyone feels almost the same way. The people in these large crowds start to identify with it and become a part of it. With all of these people around them they lose their sense of responsibility over their actions because there are so many other people doing the same things as well. Their actions are reflections of the group’s goals, not their own anymore. The article “Examining Mob Mentality” explains the concepts that the author in the Vancouver article says are responsible for the riot. Tamara Avant says that when in a large group their is a feeling of anonymity that allows people to feel as though they are not responsible for their actions. She also says that deindividuation explains why all of the people acted as whole and in the same manner. The article “Child Survivors Recall Waco Fire 10 Years On” is a specific example of how a large group of people began to identify with their group and act through the group’s goals, not their own. Many of the parents that were killed in the fire probably would not have stayed a part of the Branch Davidian cult if they were really aware of their actions. The children would not have been hostile towards the people who saved them if they had not been trained to think this way. In 1984 the Party members are a prime example of how people experience mob mentality. When they have the Two-Minute Hate, when everyone starts screaming, they would not do that if they were not in a large group of people who were all doing the same thing. The way that the Party members treat others who are doing something wrong would probably not torture the others and turn them in if they did not identify with the group and value the Party’s goals and thoughts over its own.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/737263-vancouver-riot-psychology-not-hooligans-is-responsibile-for-the-chaos
Emily Ambrocio
ReplyDeleteIn the article “Mob Mentality: The Brain Suppresses Personal Moral Code When In Groups” several scientists conducted an experiment that tested the medial prefrontal cortex of various people. The medial prefrontal cortex is a unique section of the brain that lights up when people think about themselves and is more inactive when people act in groups. In this study, multiple participants were asked a set of questions about moral judgment first individually and then while rivaling in small groups. Results concluded that is was not easy for people that possessed low moral judgment to remember the questions asked before hand about their own morality and that the medial prefrontal cortex was more inoperative than others. This symbolized peoples moral compass is reduces during times of common endeavor.
There are many effects of mob mentality could play in brainwashing. One significant effect is the diminishing of one’s moral judgment. As stated in the article, "A group of people will often engage in actions that are contrary to the private moral standards of each individual in that group, sweeping otherwise decent individuals into 'mobs' that commit looting, vandalism, even physical brutality." Therefore individuals think and act differently when unaccompanied by others as opposed to when placed with a group of people. This theory is also supported in two other contexts. In the South Source article Tamara Avant states that “When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness.” In the novel 1984, one main character named Julia acts as a rebellion when alone with Winston but acts as a different person with altered views when out in the streets or surrounded by a large group. Thus these two contexts further depict the psychology of mob mentality.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/mob-mentality-brain-suppresses-personal-moral-code-when-groups-288342
Kayla Berman
ReplyDeleteIn 2014, a young man named Dinh Bowman shot and killed a man driving in the car next to him. The man Bowman killed was Yancy Noll. Bowman claimed that Yancy Noll followed him off the highway after he accidentally cut him off. He says that Noll started cursing and had extreme road rage. At his trial, Bowman said it was self defense and that he was going to die if he didn’t pull out his gun and fire. The jury derided his defense claiming Bowman had a “thirst to commit a perfect murder” and it was a thrill kill.
This case is not the only time road rage has turned deadly. According to the article, “a detailed AAA study done in the 1990s found that road rage resulted in 218 murders over a seven year period.” Other studies show that about 1,500 injuries and deaths per year are linked to road rage. Psychologists think the reason for these severe cases of road rage is deindividuation, the loss of self awareness and of individual accountability in a group. This is because while people drive a car the feel as though they are anonymous. Also, when driving there are many social interactions that people don’t even realize occur. Under these conditions, when people believe they are unidentifiable they are more likely to take part in antisocial behavior.
Deindividuation can also occur with mob mentality. Individuals within a cult begin to believe that their actions can have no personal consequences. According to the South Source article, “many people believe they cannot be held responsible for violent behavior when part of a mob because they perceive the violent action as the group’s (e.g., “everyone was doing it”) rather than their own behavior.” With this loss of self awareness, people blindly follow the leader of the cult. Members of a cult are brainwashed and don't realize what they are doing.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/yancy-noll-murder-road-rage-turned-deadly-or-thrill-kill/
Jennifer Roese
ReplyDeleteIn the U.K., riots broke out, looters broke into stores, they stole expensive items, and then they proudly showed it. In my article it says, “Powerless people suddenly feel very powerful.” Meaning that when the people loot, as a group, they feel like they are in control, making them want to do it again. Being in a group makes them feel less likely to be singled out and to get in trouble. It gives the effect that because you are in a group, that you can do whatever you please. Because looters aren’t usually that wealthy, they feel that it is okay to steal whatever they want and be like the rich. Not only is the things they steal a bonus, they live for the thrill of it. When you are with a crowd of people, it can affect your decision to be like the crowd and not think for yourself. In, Examining the Mob Mentality, it says “When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness.” You may just not want to be the only one doing a totally separate thing as the crowd you are with, so you will just agree and go along with what the rest of the crowd is doing. That is called mob mentality. In brainwashing, you are forced to be like the rest of the crowd because the person who is brainwashing you is deciding what you will know and it will most likely be what the crowd already believes. In 1984, O’Brien brainwashes Winston to believe what everyone else believes and makes him forget anything he knew that was unapproved by the Party.
website: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14463452
Marcella Curcio
ReplyDeletehttp://www.newsday.com/opinion/letters/letters-upset-about-trump-ban-on-muslims-1.11250166
Donald Trump is looking to get elected by using fear. He wants to ban all Muslim’s and immigrant’s from the United States. If Trump gets elected and follows through with this he is going against what we stand for. It’s all of us as a whole not different groups for different people. Trump is judging the Muslim’s based off of the terrorist group of ISIS. Not all of the Muslim’s are terrorist and don’t work with ISIS. Before people go and vote for Donald they should rethink it because this is not what we stand for. Trump is brainwashing his supporters out of fear. Whatever he says people agree with him weather they actually do or not. He is telling people things that are not right or not necessarily true. Donald will say what ever he feels the need to say to get more followers. This is like 1984 because in the book they make people vanish or disappear whenever they go against the party. This is like what Trump is planning on doing with the Muslim’s and immigrants when he gets elected. “Trump is instigating a nationalistic mob mentality against Muslims and immigrants here illegally”.
Lexi Miller
ReplyDeleteIn the article, “Considering Collective Responsibility Through the Lens of Kristallnacht,” Kristallnacht known as the Night of Broken Glass, commemorated the start of the Holocaust. These were anti-jewish riots throughout Germany and Austria on November 9, 1938. This event engaged Germany citizens in these anti-semitic actions by destroyed Jewish businesses, homes and property. Although Kristallnacht was set up by the Nazi Party, it was accomplish through the help of German citizens. 100,000 Jews were arrested and more than 2,000 were killed on that night. Mob mentality played a large role in this event, even if you would never think of it like that. People were easily caught up in all action without even knowing the consequences that would come. In this article its stated, “Social groupings can lead people the join ideological movement inadvertently. In many areas of civil unrest, it is not common for young people to join violent groups because their friends have. As a social grouping, the violent of ideological aspects may be irrelevant.” When riots break out it is easy to join in otherwise feeling powerless to go against it even if you disagree with the violence. The citizens are almost brainwashed into conforming with what the group is doing due to mob mentality. You may not like the action or know the repercussions, but somehow you do it anyway. In the South Source article Tamara Avant says, “When people are part of a group, they often experience de-individuation, or loss of self-awareness. When people de-individuate, they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions and more likely to lose their sense of individual identity.” This is where the brainwashing factor come into play. People are very susceptible in join group behavior, when they feel a part of the group, there is more pressure to fit in and that is when you lose your sense of identity. The people that join these certain actions may not want to of even think it is right to, but do it anyways. Just like Kristallnacht, German citizenry didn’t stand up to the mob, or even think of trying to, even if they could have stopped the violent actions. In 1984, mob mentality can be portrayed through Two-Minute Hate. Everyone in the Party start rioting and yelling at a screen of Goldstein. Once one Party member begins to scream and throws down chairs, all the others around that person react in a similar manner. The Party is brainwashing people and making everyone identify in their group, which is why is someone goes against the party other members are so quick to turn them in because of the ties they have with the Party.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ariel-groswerter/kristallnacht-remembrance-collective-responsibility_b_1082760.html
Ema Vilcinskaite
ReplyDeleteIn 1974, Patty Hearst was kidnapped by a terrorist group called the Symbionese Liberation Army because she came from a wealthy family and they knew that they would gain a considerable amount of attention. They soon began to brainwash her “to the point that she felt that no one would rescue her”, and began to believe the SLA’s beliefs. From this she was taken advantage of both physically and mentally. Soon she began to use a different name, “Tania” and took part in a bank robbery. After the robbing, the group released a tape where Patty said that the SLA members were her comrades and that she wanted the group to lead a new revolution. Many people believe that she joined the SLA because of brainwashing, sympathy, or in other words because she became a victim of Stockholm syndrome.
Since Patty was brainwashed into following the group, she soon began to believe that she had follow their every decision. Patty not only recorded tapes calling her family negative names, but also threats to her loved ones. This is a clear example of mob mentality because after being brainwashed she obeyed what the Symbionese Liberation Army wanted and became “…a soldier of the people’s army.”
http://www.crimemuseum.org/crime-library/patty-hearst-kidnapping
Craig Connor 3/2/16
ReplyDeleteEnglish 10 Period 2
Trouble in Vancouver after Defeat
In June 2011 the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL lost to the Boston Bruins’ while playing for the Stanley cup. The people of Vancouver began to riot in the city streets, overturning cars, smashing windows and setting fires. Most of the upset people were wearing Canuck jerseys’. A riot very similar took place in 1994 when the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the New York Rangers. The city of Vancouver had implemented special measures costing over 1 million dollars to prevent another riot like the one in 1994 but they all failed. The people did things that they would not normally do because of this mob mentality.
This mob mentality effect makes people feel like it is okay to act out of character. All of the angry rioters in Vancouver are seemingly brain washed by each other. People who work in the same group feel this camaraderie that all of the other people around them are going to do the same exact thing and feel the same exact way. This is dangerous because this mob mentality can be used tot brainwash more people into joining and cult. The mob mentality almost has this “us against the world,” feeling that just drives people absolutely nuts. Normally torpid peoples can turn into a completely different person once they become deindividualized. Everyone around them is doing it so they feel that it becomes okay. This a is a chain reaction.
My article is a great example of the mob-mentality for several reasons. For example, all of the people who were rioting in Vancouver were upset about one common thing and that is loosing the Stanley Cup. A large group of people all became extremely about one thing at once. The people acted off of each others emotions and feelings. ”Images from the riot show that many of the people looting, destroying property and fighting were wearing hockey jerseys and did not cover their faces to avoid identification.” The people just have no care in the world when they are rioting because they are in a mob. This is a major characteristic of the psychology behind the mob mentality.”Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone.” Also, the sheer size of the riot creates an even bigger effect of mob mentality. Hockey is the most popular sport in Canada. Take a big city like Vancouver and make them lose the championship game and you have got problems.” Thursday night, with the last game of the Stanley Cup finals drawing to a close and the home team trailing 4-0, some of the estimated 100,000 fans watching the game on giant televisions in free public viewing areas downtown began a four-hour rampage, leaving a trail of destruction, looting and violence that far outstripped the melees of 17 years ago.” Again, this is a prime characteristic of the mob mentality.” Many people believe they cannot be held responsible for violent behavior when part of a mob because they perceive the violent action as the group’s.” Just like in 1984, the inner party is ganging up on everyone else to keep their priorities in the right spot. The people of the inner party have this cult like attitude where they feel as though it is them against the rest of their country. The
Julian Buchen
ReplyDeleteCentral Park Jogger Case
3/2/16
When in a mob, deindividualization may occur resulting in unintended abominable actions. Tamara Avant argues that when in a group the parties involved in a crime feel less responsible and are prone to lose awareness, and it is shown in the Central Park Jogger case and the Waco Clan case. Trish Meili was attacked, beaten, and raped, by a group of teens or a “wolf pack”. Colangelo, a police officer said “It was spontaneous… a crime of opportunity”. The members of a cult (parents and children) led by David Koresh killed themselves to protect themselves and ultimately defeat the “bad people”. Both of these instances show the power of group mentality and the loss of individuality. In 1984 the two minute hate, a traumatic experience with a group of people, causes people to lose their individuality and give into actions such as screaming and other irrational behaviors.
Dan Tocco
ReplyDeleteTampa Bay Takes Extreme Measures to Ensure Home-Ice Advantage
3-3-16
Last year in 2015 when the New York Ranger were in the Eastern Conference Finals, local Florida residents who had recently moved from New York "attempted" to go to the game. They had a 4 hour drive form Miami, which is where they live, to Tampa Bay, where the rangers were playing that night. As Rodenberg tried to enter his credit card number the machine noticed that he was not form New York. He was denied and was not able to get in the game. The Tampa Bay Lighting have a very strict policy to create a true "home-rink edge". Mob mentality plays a major role is a great amount of things. Because if a lie is told it will be forgotten. But if it is told over and over again it becomes the truth. Mob mentality is extremely important in all elections, especially the presidential one. In The Crucible John Proctor gets dragged into this because he is accused of being a witch which as time goes on more people start to believe the lies that are told around us.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/sports/hockey/tampa-bay-lightning-limit-wearing-of-opponents-colors.html?_r=0
Thatcher Cord
ReplyDeleteIn 2000 and 2009 the Lakers won the NBA championship and in 2009 the people of the city were thrilled by the game 7 win over the Boston Celtics. The people were so thrilled that they felt the need to start rioting. Soon everyone was on the gas and nobody on the brakes, leading to an all out riot in downtown Los Angeles. Lakers’ Big Win Sparks L.A. Rioting by Madison Gray says that a heavy police presence couldn’t terminate the riots. These riots are a perfect example of mob mentality. The people who took part in the riots would have never acted the way they did if they were alone, but since many other people were rioting as well they felt that it was the time to riot. Mob mentality could and has played a huge part in cult indoctrination and brainwashing. People can be too caught up in a group mentality to not realize what is happening and then be involved in a cult. In my studies in psychology we had looked and focused on how mob mentality is a dangerous and manipulative problem that people need to be careful of. De-individuation is another way of cults to indoctrinate or brainwash their followers to make them blindly follow the orders or instructions they are given.
http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/06/18/l-a-s-rowdy-post-championship-ritual-continues/
Naomi Graney
ReplyDeleteThe article “5 Ways To Avoid The Herd Mentality” by Amy Morin tells about the power of social influences and the evidence that studies show about the mob-mentality and its adverse effects. Research shows, when someone does not have a strong opinion, they usually copy those around you. There are ways to prevent this; some include, taking “...time to make decisions,” (Forbes), and be aware of the stress it takes to make decisions on your own.
Mob mentality could definitely play a big role in persuading and cult brainwashing. When a “herd” or mob grows, it becomes over powering, and dangerous. For an example, “When in a large group, people tend to experience a diffusion of responsibility,” (South Source). This means that those people don’t take responsibility for their own actions, thinking it was the “mob’s” fault. With mobs, you are also not making personal decisions; you just get caught up in the flow of everyone else. This can be detrimental and show some “brainwashing” effects.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/07/25/study-shows-the-power-of-social-influence-5-ways-to-avoid-the-herd-mentality/#6f65df0c2495
In 2015, Baltimore erupted in mass riots and protests after a 25 year old african american man Freddie gray sustained injuries to his neck and spine while being arrested and transported to a police station. Gray later slipped into a coma and died the day after. This caused a great amount of turmoil amongst the african american community. In this specific article about the riots in Baltimore written by Greg Botelho, it shows how the uprising slowly develops to a large scale riot throughout the whole city. The author gives times at which different conflicts take place, with each conflict slowly getting worse and worse as the night continues.
ReplyDeleteMob mentality could have a massive effect on brainwashing and cult indoctrination. Usually when you are about to do something wrong, you weigh all the possible outcomes of the act you are about to commit because of the consequences. However, when there is a group of people along with you doing the same thing, all that thinking and evaluating the situation goes right out the window. If all these people are doing it along with me than it must be somewhat acceptable right? Wrong. This is the reason for most riots and outbreaks, because a large group of people are all united under one common belief or problem that they wish to resolve. Sometimes, being in a cult makes people feel like they are a part of something, providing another “excuse” for the acts they commit.
“ 11:59 p.m. ET: Police arrested two people for looting and one for disorderly conduct”. This is the beginning of the riot, the article adds times to show how the riot slowly escalates throughout the night. “11:55 p.m. ET: Baltimore police have made 10 arrests since the 10 p.m. curfew went into effect Tuesday night” This shows that the arrest number has grown throughout the city and that situations are starting to get more and more out of hand.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/28/us/baltimore-riots/
ReplyDeletehttp://time.com/4181807/cologne-attacks-mob-mentality/
Mob Mentality Article: The Role of Mob Mentality in Cologne Attacks
Reports of mob violence in places like Cologne, Hamburg, and Frankfurt on New Years Eve have shocked the nation. Several accounts include mobs of men harassing and assaulting women. Victims had filed more than 500 complaints against the assaulting behavior created in these mobs. Some believe these acts of violence are because of cultural differences, but it seems all evidence points to mob mentality. In a combination study of neuroscience and phycology, experts found that people in a group really do become less attuned to their own moral compass. Acting as a group tends to make individuals feel less responsible for their actions and more justified for their otherwise immoral decisions. They sometimes unconsciously come to think of themselves as anonymous. As written in the article “Cologne Attacks Mob Mentality” the author writes, “Alternatively, perpetrators may knowingly commit wrongdoing to seek the approval of those around them (what psychologists call normative social influence).” Cult worship is a huge example of social influence and it’s effects on a group. Cult followers will typically do anything to impress their leader; someone who’s usually highly intelligent and manipulative. This can be directly compared to the relationship between Winston and O’Brien in the George Orwell book, 1984. Even as O’Brien tortures him, Winston still feels a need for his approval and slowing gives in to his brainwashing and persecution. Like any cult leader, when O’Brien showed even the slightest kindness, Winston would feel a sudden thankfulness to his captor for something that otherwise wouldn’t be labeled a privilege. Study proves that acting as part of a group makes people lose their moral compass, or in other words lose themselves in the mob. More so, Winston was arrested by the Thought Police and isolated by O’Brien, who wanted him to forget any logical sense (like 2+2 = 4) he knew. He was made to believe whatever O’Brien told him, without a question. In the article “Child Survivor Recall Waco Fire 10 Years On” the children in David Koresh’s cult grew up believing everything outside of the cult was bad, but in reality faced more hardship under Koresh’s leadership than they would have outside the cult. The members faced serious beatings for making even the smallest mistakes, and were taught that one day they’d die for the cause. As written in the article, “Dana Okimoto, Sky's mother, remembers being so under Koresh's control that she beat Sky until he bled.” The cult had brainwashed Dana Okimoto into severely beating her own daughter, going against every one of her maternal instincts to protect her child. Cult leaders often use mob mentality when controlling their followers; many of which have lost their moral standards or individualism. As written in the article, “Examining the Mob Mentality “ the author writes, “When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness. When people deindividuate, they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions and more likely to lose their sense of individual identity.” When people are in a group they tend to believe they are untouchable, and are therefore much easier to recruit and influence to do wrong or even dangerous doings.
Erin Kracke
ReplyDeleteThe article I read was “How Taco Bell brainwashes Americas’s youth into loving its tacos”. This article is about how this company is persuading and making people love there food. By having campaigns and commercials about the food, it is a way to hear people good opinions about them and make you wan to eat it. They put revering on the value menu so that the people feel they are getting a good deal and delicious food. Mob mentality plays an effect on brainwashing. Just like how brain washing make you do and say what the brainwasher wants you do, mob mentality is an influence of there peers that allows you to adopt certain behaviors, or trends. Taco Bell is using mob mentality to get people to buy their food. “Taco Bell released its top-secret innovation in a Super Bowl commercial that cost it millions. The fast-food chain hyped the creation as bigger than a Mars landing, hoverboards and Tinder”. By putting this add on a popular channel, they are making sure every one sees this and buys there product. Because they used such a descriptive add, they made people want to try there food. Mob mentality is used all over the place and for everything.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/innovations/wp/2016/02/09/how-taco-bell-tricks-americas-youth-into-loving-its-tacos/
Jack Tiska
ReplyDeleteThis article describes the brain activity of mob mentality. It shows that when people are in a group they do things that they wouldn’t normally do if they were alone because they feel they can’t be distinguished as an individual if they are in a group. We can’t control our brains because of this. Our brain tends to forget whatever we do during this time to prevent you from feeling guilty, you can’t feel guilty about something you don’t remember.
Mob mentality makes your brain not feel guilty about doing inappropriate stuff when you are in a group. Your brain is programmed to forget and deny anything that you did while you were in that group.
“When people feel they will not be recognized or called to answer for their actions, they are more likely to behave wantonly.” From; Mob Mentality: The Brain Suppresses Personal Moral Code When In Groups. "A group of people will often engage in actions that are contrary to the private moral standards of each individual in that group, sweeping otherwise decent individuals into 'mobs' that commit looting, vandalism, even physical brutality.” From; Mob Mentality: The Brain Suppresses Personal Moral Code When In Groups. “Group violence is most likely to occur when the group is large, people are able to remain anonymous, and people experience a diffusion of responsibility.” From; Examining Mob Mentality.
4.
http://www.medicaldaily.com/mob-mentality-brain-suppresses-personal-moral-code-when-groups-288342
Brandon White
ReplyDeleteIn 2011, there was a time in the United Kingdoms when people would loot and rob from stores, places set cars on, and just cause havoc on the streets. Some people do not even bother covering their faces as they raid stores for their own nefarious purposes. In the article Professor John Pitts, a criminologist, says “powerless people suddenly feel powerful, and that is very intoxicating.” This means since people have been looting stores and reeking havoc, other peoples feel like they could do so too. This starts a chain reaction and more people feel this power that they can take whatever they want, like they are above the law. Psychologists say that a person loses their moral identity in a large group. Feeling like empathy and guilt leave their mind because they are doing what everyone else is doing. Dr Lance Workman, a psychologist, says “Watching people getting away with it can act as a motivation for others to start looting.” He says that there is evidence for psychopathic tendencies. This is known as mod mentality. If there is a group of twenty people robbing a store, people around them might say “I want that,” or “I deserve that flat screen TV.” When mob mentality occurs, people feel above the law, which is not a good thing. Some people also might be enraged with personal things in their lives, so they might be with the mob to get some anger out, which is still a form of mob mentality. In the South Source article, it says “When people are part of a group, they often experience de-individuation, or loss of self-awareness. Through this people feel a rush, they feel powerful and invincible. This power could go to their head and they could do something reckless, like some people did in the United Kingdom. Mob mentality is a very dangerous situation, and can cause people to do awful things like in the United Kingdom.
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-14463452
Noah S.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-14618605
In the article the author talks about how in Birmingham there was a riot and several stores got broken into. In the article the author says "When one person goes at it, several others join in because it's now been established it's ok to do that because someone is doing that and no one is stepping in to stop them.” This shows that mob mentality can play a role in brain washing because all it takes is one person and a group of bystanders to start doing things that aren’t normally acceptable when you are alone in public, but once there is a group it then becomes acceptable. This happens because when people are in large groups they become viewed as the group and not individual people, which can cause them to act differently. “When people feel that their behavior cannot be traced back to them, they are more likely to break social norms and engage in violence.” This is why individuals in large mobs of people begin to become violent and break social norms.
Sebastian Herrera
ReplyDeletePatty Hearst kidnapping was one of the most famous cases of Stockholm syndrome. William Randolph a newspaper mogul was Patty Hearst’s grandfather. The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped her in 1974. Patty Hearst was held captive for over a year before the FBI captured her and those of the Liberation Army. Patty Hearst joined the Army, helped them in their robberies and was later sentenced 35 years in prison in 1975 and was released in 1979 and President Clinton gave her a full pardon.
The reason she most likely suffered from Stockholm syndrome was because they didn’t treat her badly or abuse her and perhaps were actually be nice to her. So she started to feel safer with the people that abducted her and starts to actually care for them and will fight for them if they are in danger. She even claimed that she was brainwashed by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/patty-hearst-kidnapped
Lillian Simons
ReplyDeleteMarch 3rd 2016
Mob Mentality is when people are influenced by their decisions or what is going around them to agree with the situation. For example, Jaycee Dugard who was reunited with her family after 18 years of being kidnapped, refused to run while being captive. She states that while being “married” to the man who took her, she became a mother. She was taken when she was eleven years old while waiting for her bus in California. She was kept captive for so long that she became a friend to her two captors. She lived behind their home in tents. Phillip and Nancy Garrido were the couple who took her when she was eleven. In the Live Science article, Bonding With a Captor, the author says “One reason people may develop sympathy for their captors is a psychological idea called cognitive dissonance: When people recognize inconsistent views within themselves, they tend to alter their thinking to remove the conflict.”
http://www.livescience.com/7862-bonding-captor-jaycee-dugard-flee.html
In the article I found the concept of mob mentality and brainwashing went a bit extreme. The article tells the story of the tragic death of Javon Thompson, a 19 month old baby who was starved by 1 Mind Ministries, a religious cult, and later died. This little boy was starved for not saying “Amen” after his meals and was thought to be a demon. Ria Ramkissoon, the boys mother was charged with first degree murder along with several other member of the cult. They stopped feeding the boy in December and his body was found in a suitcase in the spring. Ramkissoon's family claims that the mother should not be held responsible for her son's death because, "She had no control over that situation at all,” and it wasn't her choice to not feed her son the also told the police "My daughter was a victim, just like my grandson” …. ”Somebody made that decision to not feed that child, and my daughter had to follow instructions.” It was also later discovered that the members of this cult did not seek medical care for Javon when he stopped breathing, as they don't believe in medical care and in some cases insisted that pregnant women give birth without a doctor. It is also known that the boy died in his mother's arms. Another member of the cult also charged with first degree murder, Queen Antoinette, had left the boys body in a room for over week, claiming that "God was going to raise Javon from the dead.” She later burned all the boys clothes and his mattress, placed him in a suitcase, which she would periodically open to spray disinfectant on the boys body, in order to mask the smell, then left the suitcase in a shed and the whole cult packed up a left. Mob mentality led to the members of this cult to all follow orders not feed the poor child. The leader clearly had to much power and brainwashed his followers to believe that what he said must be right and must be done. In the David Koresh you can see just how far brainwashing can go. The children in that cult believed that anyone not in that cult were the “bad” people and they could only trust those in the cult. “They were taught that there were only two types of people: "good" people who were inside the cult, and "bad" people who were everyone else.” They even felt sorry for the people who caused them so much physical pain and psychological and emotional problems. “And although it was her mother who drove her to the motel where Koresh molested her, Kiri Jewell says she still adores her.” According to the mob mentality article the size of group and the type of people affects how people perceive themsleves and how sucepitible they are to conformity.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.foxnews.com/story/2008/08/11/police-cult-starved-toddler-who-wouldnt-say-amen.html
The article i chose, is about how mob mentality suppress the brain and in mob mentality when a person sees a lot of people doing one bad actions they think its ok to do it to, thats how a bad mod can break out. "Although humans exhibit strong preferences for equity and moral prohibitions against harm in many contexts, people's priorities change when there is an 'us' and a 'them,'" Also stated in the article it says that "A group of people will often engage in actions that are contrary to the private moral standards of each individual in that group, sweeping otherwise decent individuals into 'mobs' that commit looting, vandalism, even physical brutality." And that is how mob mentality surpasses the brain. and how both the articles are the same.
ReplyDeleteAn example of mob mentality is a gang that spans across countries. The MS-13 gang is made up of thousands of people who fled Central and South America and the gang violence and poverty that came along with it. It was this move from a different country with next to nothing and the vulnerability of the individuals that drove them to join the MS-13. By acting as a gang with 10,000 members, individuals are deindividuated. Members believe that they are above the law because the gang will “protect” them. We see this example of deindividuation in 1984. People are so used to being the same as everyone else that when the government feeds them information everyone believes it is true.
ReplyDeletehttp://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/07/28/ms-13-recruiting-newly-arrived-migrant-kids-on-long-island-police-say/
Jon stevens
ReplyDelete1 my article was about people speaking out and protesting Donald trump. These people protest him now but they were the ones who influenced him in the first place. These mobs are just going to keep breaking out if Donald keeps talking and putting out the things he does
2 Mob mentality can play in brainwashing because sometimes people don’t even know why there protesting or what the mob is about. They are out there simply for fun with nothing better to do.
3 “Why do you want to shut down Trump’s rally”, Roberts asked several individuals. “I don’t want to give my reason” replied one protester. In other words, “I have no idea why I’m out here but I got nothing better to do and I’m always up for causing some trouble.”
4 http://nation.foxnews.com/2016/03/12/musings-average-joe-clueless-mob-protests-trump-man-they-helped-create-and-may-have-just
North Korea is brainwashing children to hate Americans. For example, the article states, “In gym class, there was a wooden target of a human figure with pale skin and a huge nose, with “cunning American wolf” written on it. Lee and her young schoolmates would practice their throwing with a wooden “grenade.” They are indoctrinated into the Kim personality cult from kindergarten. Since the brainwashing begun at such an early age, the kids don’t even question the information that they’re told. They take in the information as if it’s all factual. They praise their leader even if they shouldn’t because they are taught to. The mob mentality article states, “When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness.” This is relevant in this case because the children are unaware that most statements told to them aren’t true since they are taught to believe otherwise.
ReplyDeleteIn the article, “Mob Mentality: The Brain Suppresses Personal Moral Code When In Groups,” they talk about Mina Cikara, a sociologist at Carnegie Mellon University, and her husband. The couple recently went to a Yankees game together but since they are Red Sox fans, they wore Red Sox gear. They immediately got booed by everyone in the stands and were forced to leave the game. "Although humans exhibit strong preferences for equity and moral prohibitions against harm in many contexts, people's priorities change when there is an 'us' and a ‘them.”
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMatthew Anastasia
This article is about how soldiers and even normal citizens are capable of committing terrible violence toward other people. The example used in the article is the German soldiers during the Holocaust who killed millions of people in a massive genocide. The reason they did this can be attributed to mob or herd mentality. As stated by Tamara Avant in the Examining the Mob Mentality article “the bigger a mob, the more its members lose self-awareness and become willing to engage in dangerous behavior.” This is the reason the German soldiers committed the acts they did and this also relates to the Waco Fire article where members of David Koresh’s cult were willing to die and commit horrible violence for the cult, even the children. So people are more likely to engage in violent behavior they would not typically do when in a group, and the larger the group the more likely members would be willing to carry out orders to do horrible violent things such as riots and genocide.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/11/25/sbm.perpetrators/
http://source.southuniversity.edu/examining-the-mob-mentality-31395.aspx
ReplyDeleteThis article highlights the major issues surrounding mob mentality and the dangers that it may cause. When people are in a group sometimes they can experience deindividuation which is a loss of self awareness. People who are afflicted begin to think less individually and act based on the group and what the group does. A major reason for this is because when people are in a group and the group is doing something irresponsible, the people feel they can't be held responsible because they are in a group. When people think they cannot be held accountable for their actions in a group it is called a diffusion of responsibility. Mob mentality plays a major role in brainwashing and cult indoctrination because when in a mob mentality the people don't stop and realize what they are doing, everyone is on the gas pedal and nobody is on the brakes and soon enough those people find themselves in places and in cults they really don't want to be in. The article gives a reason for the violence in mom mentality, "many people believe they cannot be held responsible for violent behavior when part of a mob because they perceive the violent action as the group's rather than their own behavior" which is true and in fact I have experienced the feeling of mob mentality and this quote is very accurate. So many people everyday make mistakes that they wish they could take back when they are in a group with the mob mentality.
Thatcher Cord