The Power of Situational Influences

"We like to think that we are in control of our own decisions and behavior, not at the mercy of our social environment...[yet] our universal capacity to perform evil acts under the influence of the group is matched by a universal capacity to resist peer pressure and do the right thing," (Michael Bond, "They Made Me Do It"). 

        Just take a second to think about this. No matter how free-thinking or independent we may think we are, as Michael Bond explains, when we are put in groups or under social pressure, we are subconsciously capable of extreme behavior. I mean, let's be real here; I'm sure you've heard your parents give you the old spiel about how if your friends jumped off a cliff you wouldn't go with them because it'd be a stupid idea.

But, what if you were actually in that situation? Ahh, welcome to the world of situational influence, my friends. 

        Group mentality and psychology is a powerful, vicious weapon in society. The terrifying thing here is that "almost everyone is capable of torture and other evil acts if placed in the wrong social context, (Susan Fiske, Princeton University). The only possible way I can make sense of this idea is by thinking about it in terms of modern-day trends (just so we can lighten the mood here a bit...): if all of my friends are raving about the new Taylor Swift song, and I hate it, I wouldn't necessarily admit that. Why? Because I don't want to be the one that stands out of the inner circle. I don't want to be the one that doesn't agree with all my buddies. So, I pretend to like it. Even though I completely despise T-Swift...

Likability and acceptance - two things we all crave in our human lives. 

classic example: Mean Girls and the Social Cascade Effect 

All Cady wants is to be part of the "it" group, right? Sure, "Africa". 

         Alright, all jokes aside; my point here is that even though we hate to admit it, we must recognize that many of the decisions we make on a daily basis are heavily influenced by what others around us are doing. And when we're in a group of people who think like us, we tend to obtain this sense of power and higher self-esteem because we are not being individualized - we're part of something. In my opinion, this isn't something we should encourage, because often time a few people in these bigger groups may have slightly opposing opinions, yet they blend in with the group our of fear of sticking their necks out there, like with my T-Swizzle example. Is there a way to stop this? The only answer I can come up with is pure confidence. Perhaps all it takes is just that one person to take a stance and say something. Who knows, maybe it could be life-changing...

      But now moving on to a deeper topic: the effect that these groups have on individuals within it. How are "good people" capable of evil? A hard question to unravel, this all wraps around the Lucifer Effect and the "bad apple vs. bad barrel" concept: is the individual responsible for their wrongdoing, or can they diffuse the responsibility to someone else (or, rather, everyone else...)? As Philip Zimbardo discovered and infers based off of the Abu Ghraib prison perpetrators, perhaps these "doers of evil" were only performing such horrendous acts because of their situation - the "bad barrel".  The perpetrators weren't necessarily awful individuals or "bad apples"; they were husbands, wives, friends, brothers, and sons that were placed in a bad environment situation. Thus, situational influences have more control over us than we'd like to think.
*I am in no way defending the treacherous behavior at Abu Ghraib - I am simply summarizing everything together. Human behavior is quite the complicated little puzzle. *Click here* to read more from Zimbardo on the fascinating Lucifer Effect. 

Ah, peer pressure: a lovely persuader.

     And now for the glorious task of relating all of this psychological behavior to Nazi Germany, though I'm certain I will never truly understand the mentality behind such a deep movement. When I think about the Holocaust and everything that it entailed, it seems so unworldly and inhumane that it's hard to comprehend it was less than 100 years ago. I can't seem to wrap my brain around what excuses there could possibly be for the perpetrators; do human behavior explanations allow them [the Nazis] to have an "escape"? In my opinion, absolutely not; although, I can see how many of the human behavior studies can be applied to Nazi ideology and how they were persuaded to do such barbaric things. Some people believe that these men were influenced by their system, and that they happened to commit these acts of terror because they were in the "wrong place at the wrong time". Others believe that the Nazis were just pure evil. And what about the other non-German Nazis? Are they to be blamed for being inactive and not stopping the perpetrators? I find the reasons behind their inaction relatable to my own life; there was this invoked fear of speaking out; they didn't want to distinguish themselves from the rest; they tried to wait it out and see "what would come next"; there was the justification aspect - the end would justify the means. So can't these normal people also be to blame for the timeline of events and extermination of the Jews? It really is a mind-blowing idea to ponder. 

If you haven't seen the film Conspiracy, take 2 minutes to get some background on this

The Wansee Conference & how the extermination was to be carried out

          In the picture/film above, we have Reinhard Heydrich (Kenneth Branagh), or the "controller", along with Adolf Eichmann (Stanley Tucci), who may have been the Wansee Conference "note-taker". The entire meeting was one of persuasion and lies; at first, the men around the table are calmly chatting about what to do with the overpopulated ghettos of Jews and how there was a storage problem. As many men just think that simple emigration is the answer to this, Heydrich has a different approach from which he won't back down: complete extermination. Stating it's an "inevitable solution" that it is the only possible way to ensure a "Jew-free society", Heydrich pushes the men to believe that the "evacuation" (killing) of the Jewish population will be best for everyone in the long run. He simply states: 

"Death is the most reliable form."

        So where am I going with this? Ah, the power of situational influences once again - sanction of authority, euphemisms, the inner circle, moral justifications, dehumanization; so many influences built in to one history-changing conference. It's hard for me to believe and comprehend that every single one  of these men  was completely 100% on board with liquidating the Jewish population. There's no possible way that 20+ humans could think this way...it just doesn't make sense. However, what does make sense is how they were persuaded by such influences to be "on board" with the Final Solution. Why would one man want to stand out from the rest? He'd look like a fool, or like he was trying to stand up for the Jews, which we all know would not have gone over well. So, in a way, these men at the conference were forced to go along and carry out this plan, for there was no other choice. They were convinced, by Heydrich (authority), that this would lead to a better world (moral justifications).

      It sickens me to think about this chilling concept... how group mentality truly affects us, though we hate to admit it. I've always looked at myself as a rather independent person that can make my own decisions and form my own opinions. But, what effect does society have on me?

Think about it.

So long,
Lynds