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://store.yahoo.com/lcmedia/featuredbooks.html.
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://store.yahoo.com/lcmedia/featuredbooks.html.
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.
