In Groups We Shrink
In Groups We ShrinkThe main position in, In Groups We Shrink, is so true when applied to
situations of aggregation of a large number of people. As stated in, In Groups
We Shrink, in large groups we are reluctant to deviate from the norm, however,
if alone we often act without even hesitating. We can apply this to everyday
situations as with, The Lottery. Why are people so hesitant to act out when in
large groups? There may be a broad spectrum of reasons from the mentality of
“diffusion of responsibility” to the fear of ridicule.
It seems as if within a group we act as single entity instead of a group
of individuals. “In groups we shrink” may sound paradoxical but it is evident
to be true. In a group we tend to think singularly instead of groups of many
single individuals. This could be due to the fact that people are afraid of
ridicule. So afraid that nobody is willing to do the morally correct thing.
As in The Lottery, we see that people are reluctant to act out against
the remainder of the group. Why did the town’s people just stand by and take
part in the senseless stoning of Mrs. Hutchinson? Why didn’t anyone intervene?
Nobody was willing to be an individual and step up to take responsibility and
put an end to the senseless lottery.
Another good example of the reluctance to act against the group would be
the Rodney King incident. As the officers clubbed, electrocuted, and beat
Rodney King to a bloody pulp, onlookers just looked on. Nobody did anything to
stop the senseless beating. It was obvious that the police officers were using
excessive force. Someone even shot the whole incident on videotape. Despite
the number of onlookers, to no one’s surprise, not a single person tried to stop
it. Even as other fellow officers watched on, they just stood around. Again,
we ask the question of why didn’t anybody do anything? What were the people
thinking?
In addition to being afraid of being an individual in the midst of a
group, people often look at others...
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