Reading about Katrina
First off, if you haven't already donate to Redcross.org. They will use money for water, food and shelter.
Secondly, I've been reading the message boards on various news stories. Primarily about Katrina. It saddens me that a lot of people write the most henious things about people in dire circumstances. But it angers me when people really distance themselves and "punish" the victims.
I'm talking about people who are condeming those who are looting. Apparently, this is happening. People are looting all sorts of things like food, water, supplies, clothes, jewelry, etc. This made me ask a question: What drives someone to loot?
I decided to do a little research and found an interesting article about a book called Social Influence at Ground Zero: A Review of American Ground: Unbuilding of the World Trade Center, by William Langewiesche.
In the article by By Elaine Cassel, we learn various reasons as to why people loot. It was interesting to learn that the firefighters at the World Trade Center looted...and I don't blame them in the least. The article gives definite reasons why psychological states are stressed to cause this mentality.
"While norms can lead to orderly social behavior, they can also lead to anarchy. In a section that has already been attacked by New York City firefighters, Langewiesche reports on his observation of firefighters who engaged in looting of expensive clothing and jewelry from stores inside the WTC towers. This resort to lawless behavior can be explained as a result of deindividuation, a psychological state in which a person becomes submerged in a group and loses a sense of individuality. When people experience deindividuation, they undergo heightened emotional arousal and intense feelings of cohesiveness with the group. Deindividuation seems to be caused by two factors: (1) the belief that one cannot be held personally accountable for one’s behavior, and (2) shifting attention away from internal thoughts and standards and towards external environment. Both were evident in the firefighters’ looting. Langewiesche tells how the people working in Ground Zero developed a survivor mentality that surrounded them with an aura of "specialness." But the firefighters thought they were more special than others, especially police officers, with whom they shared a mutual lack of affection both within and without Ground Zero. Deindividuation also leads to conformity and compliance, and all workers at Ground Zero, firefighters and non-firefighters, behaved similarly when faced when unexpected dangers. One of the high points of the book is when the workers journey deep within subway tunnels to check the status of the Freon units connected with the WTC’s huge air conditioning system. Langewiesche describes how, following a leader who was one of the engineers for the building of the WTC and who knew every detail of the towers’ infrastructures, each party in the search crew did exactly as the leader told them to do, demonstrating obedience to authority. Obedience is defined as the behavior change that comes in response to a demand from an authority figure. "
You can read the entire article here: http://college.hmco.com/psychology/resources/students/shelves/shelves_20021016.html
Secondly, I've been reading the message boards on various news stories. Primarily about Katrina. It saddens me that a lot of people write the most henious things about people in dire circumstances. But it angers me when people really distance themselves and "punish" the victims.
I'm talking about people who are condeming those who are looting. Apparently, this is happening. People are looting all sorts of things like food, water, supplies, clothes, jewelry, etc. This made me ask a question: What drives someone to loot?
I decided to do a little research and found an interesting article about a book called Social Influence at Ground Zero: A Review of American Ground: Unbuilding of the World Trade Center, by William Langewiesche.
In the article by By Elaine Cassel, we learn various reasons as to why people loot. It was interesting to learn that the firefighters at the World Trade Center looted...and I don't blame them in the least. The article gives definite reasons why psychological states are stressed to cause this mentality.
"While norms can lead to orderly social behavior, they can also lead to anarchy. In a section that has already been attacked by New York City firefighters, Langewiesche reports on his observation of firefighters who engaged in looting of expensive clothing and jewelry from stores inside the WTC towers. This resort to lawless behavior can be explained as a result of deindividuation, a psychological state in which a person becomes submerged in a group and loses a sense of individuality. When people experience deindividuation, they undergo heightened emotional arousal and intense feelings of cohesiveness with the group. Deindividuation seems to be caused by two factors: (1) the belief that one cannot be held personally accountable for one’s behavior, and (2) shifting attention away from internal thoughts and standards and towards external environment. Both were evident in the firefighters’ looting. Langewiesche tells how the people working in Ground Zero developed a survivor mentality that surrounded them with an aura of "specialness." But the firefighters thought they were more special than others, especially police officers, with whom they shared a mutual lack of affection both within and without Ground Zero. Deindividuation also leads to conformity and compliance, and all workers at Ground Zero, firefighters and non-firefighters, behaved similarly when faced when unexpected dangers. One of the high points of the book is when the workers journey deep within subway tunnels to check the status of the Freon units connected with the WTC’s huge air conditioning system. Langewiesche describes how, following a leader who was one of the engineers for the building of the WTC and who knew every detail of the towers’ infrastructures, each party in the search crew did exactly as the leader told them to do, demonstrating obedience to authority. Obedience is defined as the behavior change that comes in response to a demand from an authority figure. "
You can read the entire article here: http://college.hmco.com/psychology/resources/students/shelves/shelves_20021016.html
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