Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

The idiom "Birds of a feather flock together" according to, A Dictionary of American Idioms states "People who are alike often become friends or are together; if you are often with certain people, you may be their friends or like them" (Makkai, Boatner, Gates, 1995). This paper will focus on the social influence of groups, the dynamics in regard to, formation of groups, concept of in-group, out-group homogeneity, and illusory correlation. The in-group discussed here is the Germans and the out-group, the Jews. This ethnocentric view of "us" the good ones and "them" the bad. How conformity, obedience, and compliance to authority within a group specifically during WW II parallels Stanley Milgram’s obedience study. Irving Janis’ term groupthink allowed Hitler’s "leadership style, group cohesion and crisis combine to suppress dissent within his in-groups to such a degree that group members end up supporting polices (norms) that are extraordinarily ill considered " (Baron, Kerr, & Miller, 1992). This thinking allowed the dehumanizing norm that continued the genocide by Hitler’s subordinates. They obeyed authority even though cognitive dissonance existed. Demonstrating how people can act like sheep in subordinate roles. The use of propaganda by Hitler enhanced Germany’s ethnocentric beliefs.

Social influence is one person’s (or group’s) influence on another. The Holocaust is an "extreme form of physical destruction and can be considered the ultimate degree of social influence ." Groups are defined as two or more participants. Groups can be powerful forces shaping our feelings, judgments and behaviors (Baron, Kerr, & Miller, 1992). Cohesion of a group effects the group functioning by...

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...aled. But they are also subject to cognitive dissonance when they perform actions they know to be immoral but comply anyway because of the sense of obligation to the group. We group in order to compare information, but when dissent is suppressed and members support polices that are ill-considered then ordinary people will again follow like sheep.

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Works Cited

Aronson, Elliot. The Social Animal. New York: Worth Publishers, 1999.

Baron, Robert S., Kerr, Norbert K., and Miller, Norman. Group process, Group Decision, Group Action. CA: Brooks/Cole, 1992. Pgs. 4, 61, 2, 140, 237, 140, 141, 7, 6

Behrens, Laurence and Rosen, Leonard J. Writings and Readings Across the Curriculum. New York: Longman, 2000. Pgs. 351,355, 343, 341, 352

Makkai, Adam, Boatner, M. T., and Gates, J. E. A Dictionary of American Idioms. New York: Barrons, 1995.