Lessons in Social Psychology

[Catcup]

As requested previously on another thread, here are more notes on Social Psychology and how people, groups, and organizations are led to do distasteful things against their better judgement. I will give you just a few basics and examples, some of which I have exerpted from a paper I did a while back, and then I will leave it up to you to draw your own parallels:

Human beings want to appear consistent in what they say and what they do. They naturally are invested heavily in public image, and once they make a public act, declaration or statement, even if they might not feel 100% comfortable with it, they will tend to attempt to bring their beliefs in line with that statement, declaration, or action. So, human beings tend to believe what they say. In other words, if you can get a person to say it, he will eventually try to believe it, in order to justify himself.

Various means have been used for centuries to capitalize on that basic human instinct, but the media and the sales world have long been familiar with two phenomena unique to humans that combine with our need to be consistent, and use them consistently with great success: The foot-in-the-door and lowball phenomena. These phenomena have been understood and used by many, for various purposes.

The foot-in-the-door phenomenon is basically, if you can get someone to agree to do a small thing for you, it is harder for them to say no to you the next time they are asked. If you can get them to agree to do it once, you have your foot in the door in order to later make another request, to which they are more likely to agree. For example, politicians know that if you can get someone to agree to place a small sign in their yard, next time you may be able to get them to agree to two or three larger ones.

The low-ball phenomenon is that once you can get someone to agree to some small, minimally intrusive, sometimes insignificant request or terms, the terms and/or requests can then be switched, or ratcheted up in intensity, and the person is less likely to object. For instance, when you go in to a car dealership and agree to the basic package, then you find pretty soon there are a lot of "add-ons" which many find difficult to resist.

(By the way, both of these phenomena were taught to my Corps, the 6th Corps, in our Christian Motivational Techniques Class as a means to sign people up for the class, in witnessing, and in undershepherding. It was interesting to see them show up in a Soc.Psy class in detail with their applications...)

Also, when someone receives favors from another whom they know to do, or to have done evil, they are then somewhat invested in not only that person, but in their own public image. Making public confessions of support for the person help to quiet any internal dissonance.

As an example of how all those phenomena can be brought to bear in groups, consider the case of World War II Germany.

In order to understand the factors, the societal context must be considered. World War II Germany was a society suffering the brutal effects of a humiliating defeat in World War I. The resultling Treaty of Versailles burdened Germany with what they viewed as unfair reparations, which crippled their economy, in turn creating immense hardships upon the population in general.

Ervin Staub, a prominent Social Psychologist, says such conditions predispose a society to dangerous ideologies (Staub, 2003 The Psychology of Good and Evil: Why Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others). Ideologies that focused the blame for Germany's problems on the Jews were particularly popular. At the very least, as far back as 1919, the consistent devaluation and dehumanization of the Jews could be seen and heard in newspapers and political speeches. Understanding these aspects of German society at that particular point in time is key to understanding what resulted.

Staub declares that "Culture not only affects group behavior, but shapes individual psychology." For example, the typical German soldier who was born around 1920 would have been raised from birth in a cultural atmosphere emphasizing respect for authority, and on a steady diet of growing virulent anti-Semitism, political instability, and economic hardship.

Through the foot-in-the-door and lowball phenomena, this soldier would have witnessed and participated in an increasingly constrictive legislation and repression against the Jews and the confiscation and destruction of their businesses and properties, which he would have grown to feel was justified. He may have been indoctrinated through the Hitler Youth program, and most certainly in other propaganda with the ideology that his Aryan race was superior, and that Jews were vermin to be exterminated.

This young man would have come of age at the pinnacle of Hitler's rise to power, participating in passionate Nazi rallies in which he would make public declarations of his commitment to Nazi ideals, and, in the need to appear consistent, bring his attitude in line with his declarations. Eventually, he readily embraced Hitler's assertion that Jews were the cause of all of Germany's ills and must be eliminated to ensure the survival and purity of the superior Aryan race. Thus, this young man and a multitude of others like him, dedicated themselves to implementing Hitler's Final Solution.

Also, for example, if you are familiar with the entire series of Stanley Milgram's experiments, they showed how easily we can succumb to social prssures and figures of authority. Normal, everyday people are in fact capable of unthinkable actions, especially in the face of authority figures and under social pressures. These pressures can sometimes be more powerful than even our most heartfelt moral values.

In coarser words, Milgram showed us you don't have to be a "nut job" in order to follow one. He removed, for anyone who cares to see, any false impressions we may have that we are too clever to fall for a ruse, or too strongly connected to our ethics to violate them, especially against our own wishes. He also showed how important it is to maintain connectedness and reach out within a group to find support in order to resist a malevolent authority. His study and the above comparison with what happened in WWII Germany, can find valid applications wherever people must function within hierarchical organizations such as educational institutions, corporations, social, religious, political organizations, or in government.

So what do you need to begin to control a person or group?

Find out what their need is, and show them exactly how you can meet it.

Demonize a scapegoat.

Get your target to begin to agree with you.

Get them to make a public declaration.

Repeatedly.

Watch their response.

Make a small request you think you can get them to agree to.

Get them to fulfill their request publicly.

Make demands which increase in frequency and intensity.

Keep up the public declarations of support.

Now, you have pretty much hooked them and they will do the rest for you.

Draw your own conclusions, parallels, or whatever.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Catcup

[rhino]

Great message Catcup ... you are the greatest ...

I appreciate you doing this small thing for me ... I will be asking for more later ;)

But really, I will try to contribute more later ... :)

As they said on "Laugh In" ... "Veeeeerrrrrrry interesting"

[Ham]

Human beings want to appear consistent in what they say and what they do

I tend to think that human beings want and desperately seek equilibrium. They want rest, comfort, often the safety that a larger group will provide. Often they will make a few sacrifices (i.e. the foot in the door, the small "favors") to enjoy the comfort.

Maybe that is part of the "sell" you're talking about, Catcup.

You give it to them, CHEAP. Love them like there is no tomorrow..

then "ask" for another favor, or two.. or three..

not so bad. Not asking you to sacrifice your firstborn or anything..

yet.

Then come the demands. Soon you'll do almost anything to get back to that point of rest you once THOUGHT you owned, or enjoyed.

I look at it mathmatically. It is called a "sink", where if you put some "thing" someplace, it will seek rest at the point of equilibrium.

I think it does model human behavior at least fairly well..

[cinderpelt]

Great message Catcup ... you are the greatest ...

I appreciate you doing this small thing for me ... I will be asking for more later ;)

But really, I will try to contribute more later ... :)

As they said on "Laugh In" ... "Veeeeerrrrrrry interesting"

...But not funny! <_<

[cinderpelt]

...But not funny! <_<

Seriously, these are some GREAT points on the inner workings. You pointed me to deep considerations of how I ended up where I was until 1987.

I remember after being out for several years, having a locksmith who came to fix our back door lock, He "witnessed" to me, and I felt like merely a potential notch in his Bible cover. That was a day of reckoning for me.

[polar bear]

Thanks Cat-

You have helped me understand how I was "hooked" by twi. It relieves me to some extent as to why I condenmed myself so much for being so stupid as to not see the trap.

Twi's indoctrination must be done very subtily and in a "baby step" fashion or none of us would have fallen for it.

Edited July 19, 2007 by polar bear

[JavaJane]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, right? And any great journey begins with one step?

Thanks for your thread, Catcup. It's helping to see how the deception happened. I can see how each step you listed happened to me.

[Catcup]

This is my own personal opinion here in brackets, you may feel otherwise.

So what do you need to begin to control a person or group?

Find out what their need is, and show them exactly how you can meet it. [Done easily through observation & questions]

Demonize a scapegoat. [Traditional, organized churches. Unbelievers. Cop-outs. Unbelieving family members...., ]

Get your target to begin to agree with you. [Easily done if you've tapped their need and identified their problem areas...]

Make a small request you think you can get them to agree to. [Come meet my friend, come to a fellowship, picnic, concert, Headquarters ... ]

Get them to fulfill their request publicly [Comes to fellowship, participates in singing, prayer, sharing]

Get them to make a public declaration. [Sure, I'll come back, I'll take the class... ]

Repeatedly. [Takes the class, attends more functions, responds positively to leadership...]

Watch their response. [Are they receptive so far? If so, up the ante...]

Make demands which increase in frequency and intensity. [Abundant sharing. Deeper involvement. Report back to me. Give me your schedule...]

Keep up the public declarations of support. [WOW, Staff, Way Disciple, Way Corps, ...]

By then, the hook is set, and the demands continue to ratchet up tighter and tighter. You know the drill...

Edited July 19, 2007 by Catcup

[excathedra]

catcup, i love summer, because you come here :)

how do you think having already been abused fits in to all this ?

[Catcup]

Thanks, ex. I enjoy my summertime vacations at the Cafe! :B)

If a person has already been abused, this may unfortunately have left them even more vulnerable, especially if they had unresolved issues stemming from the original incident.

For instance in post WWI Germany, the people were left destitute and hung out to dry by the world community. Not only did they have to pay to rebuild their own country, but were saddled with paying to rebuild the countries of everyone they fought against. An entire nation of people with a poor self-image, holding the blame for a world conflagration, a people who couldn't pay back their debts or even feed themselves, and trying to figure out how it all happened. That left them open to Hitler's dangerous ideology. He sold the German people such a bill of goods that he even talked them into believing Germany had actually WON WWI, and had been robbed. He helped them rid their poor self-image by telling them they were actually a genetically superior race, who deserved to dominate the world, but to do it they must eliminate the "defectives"-- Jews, etc., etc.....

Being abused, you take a major hit to the core of who you are. Often you blame yourself. The damage is extensive and deep. If those issues of self-image and responsibility are untreated and unresolved, like the folks in post WWI Germany, you are open to anyone who may say they hold the answers to your questions and offer you hope and strength.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Catcup

[Ham]

Yeah. What is interesting, people actually learned a lesson from history.

Japan, Germany, Europe.. to this day some are still quite angry that "we" rebuilt after the war. But what would be the alternative? Load down the average German and Japanese citizen with hardship and debt that they couldn't repay for decades?

I think world war three would have risen out of the ashes.

Edited July 20, 2007 by Mr. Hammeroni

[Catcup]

Yeah. What is interesting, people actually learned a lesson from history.

Japan, Germany, Europe.. to this day some are still quite angry that "we" rebuilt after the war. But what would be the alternative? Load down the average German and Japanese citizen with hardship and debt that they couldn't repay for decades?

I think world war three would have risen out of the ashes.

Not accounting for interest, if Germany still had to repay the entire war debt from WWI, they wouldn't have paid it off until the mid 1980's.

If the interest were accounted, they would still be paying it off today.

You are right. If we hadn't helped rebuild them after WWII, this old world may never have seen the turn of the century.