Week of November 11, 1999
This week, The Infinite Mind explores the dynamics of groups. We're all
part of groups throughout our lives, but we also idealize the figure of the
loner. We look to groups to define our identities, yet fear what can happen
when a group gets out of hand. Dr. Goodwin discusses group dynamics with
experts including best-selling author Daniel Goldhagen, and takes a look at
an upcoming TV game show, Survivor!, that's really a complex experiment in
group dynamics-with a million dollar prize (also includes information on how
to be a contestant). Plus, commentary from John Hockenberry on the mistrial
in the New York subway pushing case.
When we think of groups, we think of families and workplaces, but also of
mobs and crowds. The lore of the American West romanticizes the figure of
the self-sufficient loner-but we tend to regard actual loners as misfits or
even dangerously anti-social.
We begin this week's program by listening to
Lt. Pete Durham, a
crowd-control specialist with the Los Angeles Police Department. He
discusses his experiences in the 1992 Rodney King riots and those that
followed UCLA's victory in a basketball championship. Durham says that the
nature of the police reaction is probably the most important factor in
whether a crowd turns violent. He explains how he looks for crowd
leaders -official or otherwise-and tries to make contact with them. And he
talks about how the anonymity of a crowd can lead people to do things they
otherwise would not.
Next, Dr. Goodwin speaks with two scientific experts on group behavior.
Dr. Donelson Forsyth
is professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth
University. He is the author of seven books on social and group processes.
Dr. Ervin Staub
is professor of psychology at the University of
Massachusetts at Amherst. Born in Hungary, he's an expert in the origins of
genocide and group violence and has also studied the psychology of positive
behaviors like altruism. He is the author of The Roots of Evil: the
Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence.
Dr. Goodwin begins with a question about the psychology of bystanders.
Sometimes people will just watch as another person is beaten or killed. Yet
there are also situations where bystanders step in heroically. What's going
on here?
Dr. Staub explains that in a victim/bystander situation there is a diffusion
of responsibility. Each person thinks the others could act, and they may
hesitate to act themselves. There's also self-consciousness associated with
acting in front of others. But if one person defines a need for action,
others will tend to follow.
Dr. Forsyth says that in ambiguous situations people look to others in the
group for cues on how to act. Then they may internalize that behavior as
their own.
Dr. Goodwin asks about mass hysteria, which the others say is actually quite
rare. He asks if it's true that young people are more concerned with groups
and more easily swayed by group behavior. The experts don't really think
this is the case. Dr. Forsyth points out that all of us need groups at
various times, from infancy on. But in adolescence young people often turn
to groups for a sense of identity that differs from that of their family.
Dr. Staub adds that the worse young people are treated when young, the
greater is their need for identity, and the more susceptible they are to
cults or hate groups.
The scientists discuss gender differences in groups. Experiments have shown
boys' groups to be more concerned with structure and leadership, and more
prone to disputes over who's in charge. In groups of girls, there tends to
be more emphasis on relationships. From an early age, both girls and boys
know how to manipulate others using inclusion and exclusion from the
group. Dr. Staub adds that while boys tend more to physical aggression,
girls tend to act out aggression relationally-through exclusion from
groups, rumors, etc.
Dr. Goodwin asks about stereotypes and group identity and Dr. Forsyth
explains how groups depend on the existence of other groups for their own
identity. He describes experiments with groups of strangers who quickly
adopt negative beliefs about other groups when placed in a competitive
setting. This segment of the show ends with a discussion of group
psychotherapy.
For more information about or to order books by Drs. Forsyth and Staub,
go to http://www.lcmedia.com/books.htm.
Dr. Goodwin next speaks with
Dr. Daniel Goldhagen,
an associate professor in government and social studies at Harvard University.
His book, Hitler's Willing Executioners, was a best-seller in this country and
received the prestigious Democracy Prize in Germany.
Dr. Goldhagen has challenged many theories about the Holocaust that explain
the killing of Jews as a product of people's fears of the Nazis and being
swayed by the pressures of crowds. In contrast, his research shows that
people often chose to kill when they were given the option not to. They
killed because they believed it was right, often not under immediate
pressure.
Dr. Goodwin and Dr. Goldhagen discuss so-called "charismatic" leaders. Dr.
Goldhagen points out that the charisma of a leader is actually something
people project onto him or her. He thinks that leaders can only take people
where they really want to go, and that a charismatic leader is one who taps
into the desires of the crowd.
Dr. Goldhagen is currently working on a book about other genocides of the
20th century, and he and Dr. Goodwin discuss how they differ from each
other. Dr. Goldhagen says that in Rwanda, for example, people were often
under extreme pressure of the moment and had to make choices very quickly
and in fear for themselves. In contrast, in Cambodia the killers were
mostly young people socialized into killing by the Khmer Rouge-more a case
of what is sometimes called brainwashing. The segment ends with a
discussion of the importance of this kind of retrospective study of
responsibility for the people and societies involved.
For more information about or to order Daniel Goldhagen's book, Hitler's
Willing Executioners, go to http://www.lcmedia.com/books.htm.
Now for something different-an interview with TV producer
Mark Burnett,
creator of the upcoming CBS game show Survivor! The show involves a group
of strangers spending 39 days on a remote island in the South China Sea,
competing for a prize of one million dollars. For more details about
Survivor! and to find out how to become a contestant, follow this link.
On The Infinite Mind, producer Burnett explains how the show will not be
about who is toughest or has the most survival skills, but about group
dynamics. In order to survive on the island, the winner will have to get
along with and be well-liked by the others in the group. The group will be
followed by TV cameras 24 hours a day-like MTV's The Real World-and viewers
will see how people react to the stresses of their new environment, where
they will have to fish for food and construct their own shelters.
Dr. Goodwin asks about the ethics involved and Mr. Burnett explains the
circumstances in which the producers will intervene-for example, if someone
breaks their leg. He also explains that there will be psychological and
medical screenings and civil and criminal background checks for applicants.
The winner will be the person who "survives" consecutive votes of the
"tribal council," which chooses one person weekly to boot off the island.
Finally, John Hockenberry shares his thoughts on the mistrial in the Andrew
Goldstein-Kendra Webdale murder case in New York. Goldstein, who has
schizophrenia, was charged with pushing Ms. Webdale in front of a subway
train. The jury became deadlocked on whether he could be held criminally
responsible for his actions. Hockenberry observes that the division in the
jury reflects a deep division in society about crimes committed by people
who are mentally ill.
