Anne Trafton’s article, “When Good People Do Bad Things,” dives into the interesting phenomenon of how group dynamics can influence an individual’s behavior in surprising ways. Based on studies by Rebecca Saxe, a prominent researcher in neuroscience, the article emphasizes how individuals, when put into groups, may end up doing things they would not normally consider to be right. It is like a puzzle, revealing how our sense of right and wrong can alter when we are with others. By dissecting Saxe’s studies, the article dives into how being a part of groups can shift our moral compass, leading individuals to engage in actions they may otherwise deem unacceptable. This review aims to explain the mechanisms behind this phenomenon and encourage …show more content…
One of the studies performed involved measuring brain activity using MRI scans and conducting behavioral experiments to evaluate participants’ responses in both settings. The results found through this study indicated that individuals with lower brain activity related to self-reflection were more likely to hurt members of competing groups and had a difficult time remembering moral statements afterward. The author's purpose is to highlight the role group dynamics play in influencing individual behaviors and to investigate the neurological processes that underlie this situation. The article successfully communicates the main points of the research and its suggestions, completing the author's purpose. The article provides an overview of research found by Rebecca Saxe and her colleagues on how individuals in groups may stray from their personal moral beliefs to partake in behaviors that are harmful toward those outside of their group. The piece effectively talks about the many factors that contribute to this behavior, including anonymity, decreased personal responsibility, and a sense of belonging to a …show more content…
Another strength lies in how clearly the explanation of the study and its findings are presented. According to a study published in the journal NeuroImage, "In a study that recently went online in the journal NeuroImage, the researchers measured brain activity in a part of the brain involved in thinking about oneself. They found that in some people, this activity was reduced when the subjects participated in a competition as part of a group, compared with when they competed as individuals. "This quote serves to reinforce the importance of the study's neurological aspect in understanding how group dynamics influence behavior. The article outlines how brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans and how participants' responses were analyzed during individual and group tasks. This clarity enhances the reliability of the research findings and allows readers to understand the process behind the conclusions drawn. However, one weakness of the article is its limited discussion of the potential limitations of the
The author of the essay, Carol Tavris, seems to be very passionate about what she is writing. She has her doctorate in Psychology and has had her articles published in many well-known magazines. The intended audience of her essay is the general public. The purpose of this article is to inform the public that they need to stand out and use their own minds in a group setting instead of hiding in the comfort of their fellow friends and colleagues.
In several cases, folks will set aside their personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group. Group-think influences police officer’s rationalizations for some behaviors by preventing members of the group from reconsidering their beliefs while causing them to ignore warning signs. Group-think tends to occur more in situations where group members are very similar to one another and is more likely to take place when a powerful and charismatic leader commands the group. Situations in which the group is placed under extreme stress or where moral dilemmas exist also increase the occurrence of groupthink (Haberfeld et al.2014,
In Rushworth Kidder’s book “How Good People Make Tough Choices,” Kidder provides a series of different methods, codes and examples of what being an ethical journalist could mean. He gives examples of different situations where a person’s ethics are tested and what would be a good way to deal with these situations. He starts by explaining the difference between things that are right-versus-right dilemmas, and those that are right-versus-wrong dilemmas.
The battle of good versus evil is present in all aspects of life. Actions taken by people can determine how others view them. Some choose to do what is right and good, while others choose what is wrong and evil. Many characters are forced to choose between the two, and some do not foresee the consequences of their actions. In the book Peace Like a River by Leif Enger, actions committed by the Davy, Jeremiah, and Jeremiah’s friends, both good and evil, always have consequences.
“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” (Elie Wiesel) The Holocaust is a topic that is still not forgotten and is used by many people, as a motivation, to try not to repeat history. Many lessons can be taught from learning about the Holocaust, but to Eve Bunting and Fred Gross there is one lesson that could have changed the result of this horrible event. The Terrible Things, by Eve Bunting, and The Child of the Holocaust, by Fred Gross, both portray the same moral meaning in their presentations but use different evidence and word choice to create an overall
In a society where one must often compromise their thoughts and beliefs to fit into the social norms of society, one must be careful not to alter their views and morals too much. The consequences can be devastating. Experiments from Stanley Milgram, Solomon Asch, and Philip Zimbardo all show the effects and consequences the modification of ones morals and beliefs can have. We must learn from the past and attempt to keep these experiments in mind when our morals or beliefs are on the line.
The thought of good people brings warmth and joy to my heart. On a daily basis I would like to think that most, if not all, of the people we surround ourselves with strive to be good people. My initial thought that came to mind before I began to read David Foster Wallace’s “Good People” was that this would be a story about all the people around each other doing good for one another bringing happiness to me as a reader. The story took a huge turn as it did not talk about the good of the people, but the expectations and judgments we hold for others to be good people. My eyes and my heart opened up, as Wallace’s story unfolded, in which he used a controversial issue to make a point by tugging at the emotions of the reader. I now know that this story was not to make a statement about a very controversial issue, but to make us realize that being a good person doesn’t always mean we have to follow by the expectations or rules that have been set for us, but by being who we truly are and having an understanding for one another.
David Foster Wallace’s “Good People,” is a very touching, powerful story about a young, unwed, Christian couple facing an extremely difficult decision and the moral and religious implications that may result. As the story begins, we are allowed into the head of Lane Dean, a college student, as he sits on a park bench with his girlfriend, Sheri. Lane and Sheri find themselves faced with an unplanned pregnancy, which causes them to battle with several moral and religious dilemmas. Both of them are devout Christians who have built their moral beliefs upon God and their religious upbringing. Although torn Sheri schedules an abortion, which weighs on Lane deeply. Lane, frozen in fear and not having the courage to freely talk to Sheri about the situation, has a conversation with her in his own head which leads him to question love, morals, religion and life. As they face this unwanted pregnancy, Lane, controlled by fear realizes that sometimes in life certain situations are too complicated to solely be answered within the rigidity of religion. People are human and regardless of how strong their faith in religion is, the battle between right and wrong will forever exist. Ultimately, Sheri decides to carry the child, which Lane assumes is a statement of Sheri’s faith in him. Inspired by her leap of faith, Lane decides to break free from the fear, muster up some courage and ultimately makes a leap of faith of his own and decides to give loving her a try. Lane’s epiphany leads to the central idea that sometimes it takes breaking the confines of fear and having faith in love or in another person to win the battle between right and wrong, which Wallace conveys beautifully.
In-group relationships were built through activities that will promote group identification. Stereotypes were assumed, such as believing that in-group members are brave and friendly (described in favourable terms) and members of the other group – sneaky (unfavourable terms). Hostility developed rapidly, followed by bitter conflict. The experiment focused heavily on the concept of a 'group ' and what a perception of belonging to a group can actually do to the relationships of members within it and their relationships with people outside their group. Sherif remarked that anyone who came in at this point would have concluded that these youngsters were wicked and vicious. However, it was group processes rather than the personality that had produced the conflict. However, in one of Sherif’s studies, which, unfortunately, was never published, they refused to be divided and, together, they resisted attempts by the experimenters to set them against each other.
There are some human phenomena, which seem to be the result of individual actions and personal decisions. Yet, these phenomena are often - on closer inspection – as much a result of social factors as of psychological ones.
In her essay “Group Minds,” Doris Lessing discusses our paradoxical ability to call ourselves individuals and our inability to realize that groups define and influence us. We, as humans, hold individualism in the highest regard yet fail to realize that groups diminish our individuality. Lessing writes, “when we’re in a group, we tend to think as that group does... but we also find our thinking changing because we belong to a group” (p. 334). Groups have the tendency to generate norms, or standards for behavior in certain situations. Not following these norms can make you stand out and, therefore, groups have the ability to influence our thoughts and actions in ways that are consistent with the groups’. Lessing’s essay helps set the context to understand the experiments that social psychologists Solomon Asch, Stanley Milgram and Philip Zimbardo conducted to explain conformity and obedience.
By comparing ourselves with other people we categorize and label those who are similar to us as the in-group and people who differ from our-self are categorized as the out-group (Duff & Peace, 2012). We act in ways to favor our in-group rather than out group, this is called in-group favoritism. In-groups and out-groups are evident in many social environments, for example, children form groups with those who like playing similar games to them. In a study that explains in-group favoritism, an experiment was conducted by allocating individuals into groups based on the result of a coin flip (Billing & Tajfel, 1973). After having been told their group members, the participants then had to allocate points to members of their own group (‘in-group’) and to the members of the other group (‘out-group’). These members of the in-group ...
There are many themes that occur and can be interpreted differently throughout the novel. The three main themes that stand out most are healing, communication, and relationships.
The author Edgar Allan Poe from the texts “A Terrible Evil": Edgar Allan Poe Writes About His Wife's Illness and Death” By Rebecca Onion and “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe I can infer that Edgar Allan Poe is a negative gloomy person. Moreover, according to the text "A Terrible Evil": Edgar Allan Poe Writes About His Wife's Illness and Death By Rebecca Onion” states, “Being ‘constitutionally sensitive—nervous in a very unusual degree,’ he wrote, he became ‘insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” In other words, besides the fact that Onion describes Poe as being sensitive, nervous and horribly insane. Additionally supporting my claim that Poe is negative since he was unhinged and on edge he consistently had a negative attitude. Secondly, Onion states, “ During these fits of absolute unconsciousness I drank, God only knows how often or how much.
In the article “What makes us moral” by Jeffrey Kluger, he describes how morality is defined and how the people follow rules. Kluger discusses about scientific research that has been done to point out the important reasons of morality. Kluger explains that a person’s decision to do something good or bad is based on empathy, that humans tend not to do bad to those they sympathize with. Kluger also compares humans with animals and thinks that morality is the only thing that separates us from animals. I do agree with Kluger that people are born with a sense of right and wrong, but we should be taught how to use it. We learned to be nicer to those around us because we already know the type of person they are, and the morality we learned as children