1. What is the flatting portrait Lessing paints of people living in the West? Lessing paints the Westerns as free and "educated in many different ways." She also said that Westerns have an idea that they live in a free society, that they are making their own decisions, their minds and opinions were made without nobody pushing their own opinion, and that they are "free to do as [they] want to do. But, they will never go around and look into the things that causes them to pick a side. 2. Lessing believes that individuals in the West are "helpless against all kinds of pressures on them to conform in many kinds of ways." Why? Lessing believes that mindset because we (humans) are always looking for a group to surround ourselves with. Almost everyone wants to be some sort of group during their lifetime and those people often look down on others who don't want or need a group. They called those kind of people selfish and peculiar for not joining a group. Humans that have joined a group have the hardest time finding out about themselves because they often listen to the group and do what that group says. Because of that group's mindset, those people can not think for them and making it harder to become individuals. …show more content…
Lessing writes that "what is dangerous is not the belonging to a group, or groups, but not understanding the social laws that govern groups and govern us." What is the danger Lessing is speaking of here? The danger Lessing is talking about is how groups can change a person's thinking and opinions. These groups that govern the people "are never discussed, never challenged, probably never noticed..." according to Lessing. What she means is how members of that group often discuss and challenge other groups than their own, blocking our way to being individuals. If we can't question our own group's actions without facing consequences, then what's the point of thinking for
After insisting that Albert Boutwell was not different enough to warrant patience, he launches into an expanded claim that "privileged groups" will always restrict action that undermines the status quo. They will always consider attacks on their benefit as "untimely," especially because groups have a tendency towards allowing immorality that individuals might
Although challenging conformity has many consequences, in certain situations it is necessary for the wellbeing of those involved. There are many situations in history where a group of people
He mentions “People need to belong, to feel a part of ‘us.’ Yet a sense of ‘us’ brings a sense of ‘them’” (Berreby). Berreby backs this up by describing how we see this everywhere on college campuses. Students will cheer and stand up for their school, giving it a sense of ‘us.’
This excerpt showcases the mentality the leaders of this society have and how well they've implemented it to make it seem as though collectivism and abolishing individualism is for the greater good, but just because their forefathers had the right intention does not mean to say they had the right way to do it. It's perfectly fine to have rules to keep people in line, but when it starts to kill the soul of a person and it keeps them from doing something so human as asking questions, these rules become simply cruel
The only real way to combat the negative effects of groupthink is to cast aside your surrounding society’s norms of what is ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and to take a personal stance against that society no matter what the cost may be. The Salem Witch Trials as represented in The Crucible by Arthur Miller are a perfect, if slightly extreme, example of what herd mentality can lead to if left long enough to fester and grow. John Proctor is the character who takes a stand against his surrounding society, losing his life in the process but also breaking the thrall of groupthink for the town of Salem, effectively setting them free from the Witch Trials. There are two main types of people affected by groupthink: those who unconsciously go with the crowd and are unaware, and those who are simply too scared to speak up.
Joining a group gives them power. By using “us” and “them” it puts many people into a category
When everyone agrees on everything, nothing ever gets done, no change is brought about, and no issues are addressed. People are too afraid to stray from the general consensus. This is displayed in Logan Feys’ ¨Leopard man¨ where he articulates ¨Society looks down upon freakish and extraordinary individuals alike and views them with suspicion. Ordinary people fear what they don’t understand. They especially fear loners, those mysterious creatures who pursue their own values without seeking others’ permission or permitting others to hamper them.¨ (paragraph 4) showing that people are afraid of those that aren't like them because they don't understand them.
When no influence is strong enough to unify people, they divide. They struggle” (91). During times of instability, people only look out for themselves, instead of helping out their community. This stimulates the division of like people and as a result, the community struggles. She examines individuals around her to make sense of her thoughts and values and to find her place in the world.
The Freshmen are a prime example of how being in a group can change decision making for the better in certain situations. These types of groupthink situations are consistently found throughout the story. This example of forming a group with a different, positive opinion goes against a small study done by a man named George Hodan. He claimed that, “individuals have evolved to be negatively influenced by their neighbours, rather than rely on their own instinct” (Hodan). This quote is true in some situations, but it does not mean that every form of mob mentality resulted from being negatively influenced by a neighbor.
Annotated Bibliography Introduction: Examine different kinds of advertisements and the problem at hand with how they perpetuate stereotypes, such as; gender, race, and religion. Thesis: The problem in society today is in the industry of social media. In efforts to attract the eye of the general population, advertising companies create billboards, commercials, flyers and other ads with stereotypes that are accepted in today’s society. Because of the nations’ cultural expectation for all different types of people, advertisement businesses follow and portray exactly what and how each specific gender, race, or religion should be.
Rationalizing, pressuring, and stereotyping are effects of groupthink that negatively demonstrate how groupthink affects the quality of heterosexual and homosexual American lives by forcing them, changing them, and hurting them by their own unwillingness to think out side of their own personal opinions and
When no influence is strong enough to unify people, they divide. They struggle” (91). During times of instability, the “influence” that once brought people together is long forgotten, people only look out for themselves. This stimulates the division of like people and as a result, the community struggles. She examines every person around her to make sense of her thoughts and values and to find her place in the world.
Due to groupthink a person that accepts the goals and means of the society will most likely disregard the means after being subject to the ideals of a group of deviants for a long period of time. Due to these many reasons, of which there are many more, it should be understood and mentally maintained that while there may always be choices, there may not be any good choices
It is a natural human instinct to want to be acknowledge by your peers, yet it is also important to be a critical thinker. Irving Janis in 1972 created the term groupthink. He believed groupthink occurs inside a group of similar people that want to keep from being different, resulting in incoherent decision-making. The 1957 film "12 Angry Men," uses groupthink, which influenced the verdict vote in the case of a teenager accused of murdering his father. The purpose of this essay is to examine groupthink and to represent Dr. Irving Janis’ symptoms of groupthink in the film.
Since the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe in 1989, Western European began to stereotype Eastern European in many negative ways. Eastern European was mostly seen by Western European as either lazy, poor, or undeveloped countries. They were seen as inferior and consider being lower class compare to others due to their economy downfall. The major negative stereotype associate it with them is that they are either considers being alcoholic and close-mind to things.