We have all heard the expression “If your friends jumped
off a cliff, would you jump too?” Maybe you would. It could depend on who wants
you to jump. There are lots of factors that go into “jumping off that cliff” or
not. The people you surround yourself with have a big impact on what you decide
to do, and can influence you to do things that maybe the “old you” would have
never thought of doing. People (specifically groups of people) can hold a great
amount of power and impact others in a good or bad way. I’m going to
specifically talk about how groups of people that are in exclusive clubs and
cliques can transform the ways in which members behave and think.
Many people will join clubs and groups such as sororities
and fraternities in order to expand their friend groups, which is something many
people want to do when they get to college. The interesting thing about joining
Greek life is the number of norms and rules that each org has. I have never
been a part of Greek life so I cannot say what it is all about, so if you are a
part of Greek life, I would love to hear about your experiences. To start off,
I know that many organizations that are a part of Greek life do wonderful
things for the community and raise money for good causes. For the purpose of
this blog, I’m going to talk about how some Greek organizations and similar style groups have led to people
losing themselves and were reprogrammed to think and
act like others in their organization. I browsed the internet for a
bit to see examples where it is noticeable that such groups have transformed
members into people that dress the same as each other and act in the same ways.
While doing so, I stumbled upon this video from a few years back that I
remember seeing on Barstool Sports:
(Bleeding Ears, 2016)
This deindividuation process can cause people to do
something that can either better themselves or put them in a bad situation. There
is something called the Social Identity model of Deindividuation Effects
(SIDE). SIDE analyses whether or not being deindividualized has affected
people for better or worse as a result of shifting from personal identity
to social identity (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2017) . In exclusive
organizations, it can go either way because people are so easily swayed to do
things because everyone else is going them. We often feel persuaded by the majority. After striving to be a part of
something, we have this need to continue to fit in and be like the rest. Sometimes
that means doing some interesting chants that may be odd to those outside of
your group.
Now if you didn’t think that the first video was too crazy,
check this one out:
(Williams, 2016)
After I watched that video, I thought three things: 1) Is that real? 2) I don’t know what they were saying, and 3) are their necks okay? These girls have adopted this type of behavior as their own in order to feel a part of their sororities. An example of how this kind of behavior can lead people off the right path is an instance back in 2015 were the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Oklahoma was heard saying a racist chant (McLaughlin, 2015). The Fraternity has since been shut down as a result of this. This example goes to show how people do and say things because everyone else in the group is doing it. There are people that need to be a part of something in order to feel good about themselves, or in order to feel like they have a purpose regardless of it going against social norms.
Many people can end up sacrificing
their morals in order to fit into a group and lose touch with who they really
are. People have a need to belong, and this need is one in the well-known
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. This need to feel a part of something can drive
people to agree to and support an action or idea that could be very wrong (much like the people in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity). There
is a psychological term called groupthink that impacts many people that are
involved in any kind of group. Groupthink: “A group
decision-making style characterized by an excessive tendency among group
members to seek concurrence” (Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2017) .
There have been several instances in which groupthink has
led to serious situations, including those that have even led to fatalities. In the
news, we hear the horror stories about hazing in Greek life. In February of
2017, 19-year-old Timothy Piazza passed away after consuming large amounts of
alcohol while being hazed, and his fraternity brothers did nothing to help him (Andone, 2018) . There had been something established
within the fraternity to just ignore the fact that Piazza was lying on the
floor and to not help him, so no one did. A lot of organizations see this cruel
kind of behavior as a norm in their own society. It is tradition (in some Geek organizations) to haze pledges and to
make them do things whether that be something as harmless as
having to do chores in the house, or more extreme such as a pledge being forced to drink
vodka every time they get an answer wrong. Since this type of behavior is considered "normal" people may not perceive it as wrong. Groupthink occurs when a group all
agrees on a decision and everyone feels more confident in the decision, even
though it could be a stupid choice. It is like jumping of that cliff because
hey, everyone else was.
There are three characteristics that contribute to
groupthink that were identified by Irving Janis:
1) Highly
cohesive groups. Cliques and groups that are difficult to be a part of tend to
be this way. During rush week, houses will interview you and members will
decide if they think you would be a good fit. If you share similar opinions on
certain things, they will probably like you more.
2) Group structure. Groups that have people that are very similar and follow the
directions of a leader are easily swayed into falling victim to groupthink.
Many cliques (as we probably have all experienced in school) tend to share the
same ideas and there is usually a leader that everyone looks up to and mimics
in order to fit in.
3) Stressful
situations. Many times we feel uneasy in situations where we are pressured to do something. This can be something such as someone telling us to
chug that glass of beer, even though we may not want to. This stress can cause
one to make an irrational decision if others are pushing us to do so.
(Kassin, Fein, & Markus, 2017)
Many have experienced this pressure to be and think in a certain way in order to fit in. I know in my high school there
were cliques of people that would hang out together and they all acted the
same. We
want to feel a part of the in-group and sometimes we are lead astray by trying
to do so. This can happen in any group though. We normally don’t want to be the
one person too chicken to do something, or we are to worried we will be looked
down on if we speak up against the majority decision. Groups can be a great
way to meet others, but being a part of a group does have its downfalls. Have
you ever experienced groupthink or have been in a situation where you felt a
decision was being forced on you and you conformed? What do you think are ways
to avoid groupthink and deindividuation? Let me know your thoughts on this
topic as I think we are all affected differently from these kinds of situations
whether we are directly or indirectly involved.
References:
Andone, D. (2018, 8 December). They pledge. Get
hazed. The cycle continues. Retrieved from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/25/health/hazing-dangers-fraternities-sororities/index.html
Bleeding Ears. (2016, August 19). The internet is freaking out about this sorority recruitment video. Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zclb0ZdBlaM
Daniels, G., Gervais, R., & Merchant, S.
(Creators). (2007). The Office (US) S4:E1 [Television Series].
Kassin, S., Fein, S., & Markus, H. (2017). Social
Psychology. Boston. MA: Cengage Learning.
McLaughlin, E. C. (2015, March 10). 'Disgraceful'
University of Oklahoma fraternity shuttered after racist chant. Retrieved
from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2015/03/09/us/oklahoma-fraternity-chant/
Williams, N. (2016, 28 August). Sorority From Hell.
Retrieved from YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGBcqgmd8s4
This blog was super informative I liked how you weaved some of the Chapter 8 concepts as the support to your point. Its also super important to be talked about because it is a problem. I think one thing that might help avoid deindividuation especially with the topic of Greek Life is the responsibility aspect. There are still approximately 5 states that do not have laws regarding hazing and many others do not give serious charges. This is a huge problem especially when you tie in the accountability aspect. The fact is that people are choosing to be a part of this behavior because there are little to no consequences, and the likelihood of them being caught is slim. This reaches so much further than Greek Life, it happens in Highschool, Team Sports, etc. Here are some statistics I found on it.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.insidehazing.com/statistics
Thank you for taking the time to read my post! I totally agree if you. If people don’t think that there will be any consequences to their actions, they are more likely to do it. In many cases, this hazing activity is behind closed doors, in an area where no one outside the group is around. Without having any outsiders calling out the bad behavior, people are more likely to go with it. It kind of reminds me of a cult, since these people (whether they be part of a team, club, or group of friends) are isolated in a way. They are among others that are in the same group and do not have a “voice of reason” from the outside. The website you provided was really interesting, even on the front page it shows college age people wearing and doing some bizarre things and they are smiling while doing it. As you said, there needs to be more regulations for hazing because it can lead to people ruining their reputation or even cause physical and mental harm.
DeleteThats a really good point most times it is within closed doors. Maybe this is another reason the University should step in and take appropriate action to ensure things don't get out of hand because it is as much of their fault as the organization for things like this happening. They could do random checks or even meetings so that everyone is aware of what hazing is and what will happen if they partake in it and are caught. Yeah, it does have some similar features for sure especially the isolation part and the fact that there is a structured system with a a leader, captain, or president.
ReplyDeleteThis blog was very enjoyable because it is very relevant in today's university wide population. There are so many people who are a part of a fraternity/sorority and treat it very seriously as a brotherhood or sisterhood. As Hali mentioned, this is a problem and there have been many cases where legal action had to be taken as you mentioned above because they just went too far. However, there is only so much a university can do to prevent hazing outside of dismantling fraternities and sororities entirely. As you said, most, if not all of these acts are done behind closed doors so I do not know how much more can be done to regulate it. Maybe I am missing a potential regulation, do you have any ideas as to what they can do to regulate these dangerous/illegal acts of hazing aside from removing these groups completely?
ReplyDeleteI think it would be really hard to regulate hazing and to completely get rid of it. I searched my brain and the internet for an answer, but there really isn’t one that will completely rid of this dangerous behavior. Some states make death due to hazing a felony (as it should be). New York Times stated in an article that some states proposed having house managers for each chapter. These ideas could stop some people, but there are certainly ways around them. As long as those doors are closed and no one from the outside hears what went on, the chance of the University finding out is pretty slim. As for the house manager idea, many people might see them as a tattle tale type of person and avoid being near them when doing activities such as hazing. It’s a really great question, and one I wish I could think of an answer to.
DeleteHere's the link to that NYT article if you want to check it out: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/education/learning/colleges-fraternities-laws.html
This post was a very interesting read! I did my blog post on conformity in high school, so reading this had a lot of similarities to mine. I am not in Greek life, so I am not really sure how it all works, but when I was growing up all I knew about Greek life was from movies and tv shows. The frats and sororities in the movies displayed the individuals as basically clones of one another and also showed the concept of hazing. You talked about how people will go as far as changing their morals just to feel like they are part of a group and I feel like you can see that almost everywhere. I think people try so hard to fit into a certain group because they want that sense of community or family. Like Ben had mentioned, Greek life is always stressing the sister and brotherhood of each group, and to some people that is a very big deal. There were a few girls in my high school graduating class who joined a sorority and changed their entire personality and look. They went from people who really didn't care about having social media or being popular, to people who had over a thousand friends on Instagram. It was crazy to me to see how much they had changed, just to feel part of something. Yes, everyone changes at least a little after graduating high school, but I feel like it is to a greater extent with others if they are looking more to fit in with a group and feel that sense of community. I am on the soccer team here at Michigan Tech and I feel like I haven't really changed much after being a part of this team and having a sense of community with my teammates, but I just question why people see Greek life changing individuals so much more. Is it because of the bigs and little situation going on, or the community feel I talked about, or something else? What are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteThat’s a really great question! It is pretty interesting how Greek life really seems to change people. Like you, I’ve been a part of sports teams and never felt like I had to change who I was to feel a part of the team. I can’t say for sure what makes some people in Greek life change so much, but it might be because they are not watched by the public eye. On a sports team, you have a coach (usually an adult who looks out for the team’s well-being), and an audience that watches the team perform in pubic. With a sorority or fraternity, people are more likely to be cut off from the “outside world” and only surrounded by those in the organization, making people more prone to conform and change. Another reason this might happen is that in a sports team, you already have something in common that is shared by everyone (the sport being played). This shared interest can create a strong bond between teammates, and even playing the game together creates a bond. With Greek members lacking such a strong similar interest, people may feel like in order to fit in they have to change a lot about themselves.
DeleteThat is a really good point you made about how teams are watched by the public eye, while Greek life isn't as much. I never really thought of it that way, but it is certainly true! I feel like in Greek life you have your brothers or sisters watching over you and whatever they do will turn into you doing the same. I also think living with all of them has some pull as well. I feel like if I lived with my whole team, we might start catching onto habits and what not of others and start doing those as well. It is all about who you surround yourself with and how often you are with that group.
DeleteI really enjoyed reading this post based on how unbiased it is. I have had a few experiences where I will ask someone why they chose to join greek life and how they feel about hazing issues. In most situations I have recieved the same exact response, from different individuals, like they were reading a script to persuade me side with them when the purpose of the conversation was just to ask they thought about it. Personally, I believe the SIDE analyses is a very frightening idea. I have never really understood the idea of someone being able to completely change their identity to match someone else or another groups, which is what I understand greek life to be like. I know that I have changed a bit since high-school but I have seen people change completely based on who they are talking to. Although, I do understand the idea of changing to meet the group when under stress. It reminds me of the video we watched in class where the people in the elevator were standing the "wrong" way. I laughed at that video but I'm pretty sure if I was in that situation I would have stood the "wrong" way with the. Do you think you would follow other people if you were in a stressful situation? or do you think you'd be able to keep your individualism?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed my post! I think in stressful situations, we are far more prone to make decisions that we wouldn’t have had we had more time to think. When I was younger, I cared a lot more about what people thought about me, so I would have definitely caved in when feeling the pressure. I’m not nearly as prone to follow others like I used to be and have finally grown a back bone. So, I like to think I’d keep my individualism in a stressful situation. It kind of depends on what the situation is. With something as silly as which way to face in an elevator, I could see myself facing the same way as everyone else because I might feel a bit awkward. In scenarios where I feel like my morals are being tested, I don’t conform no matter what the situation is.
DeleteI also relate to being younger and caring a lot more about nonsense things. I sourrounded myself with people who were older than me, so this made me feel like I had to "prove myself". This is where I most frequently saw a peak in me conforming. Since observing this behavior I think now that I am aware of deindividuation I would be able to resist it. I too usually stand up for my morals. Its something I take pride in, so it would take more than a little observational pressure to sway those.
DeleteI've personally have never been interested in joining Greek Life but, like anyone else, I am apart of many other groups. For example, in my high school years, I was in colorgaurd (the kind where you dance with flags) from freshman to senior year. I was forced to do many girlish things that I normally wouldn't like to do which, luckily, isn't anything as harmful as being forced to drink or anything like that. For our marching band performances I had to wear lots of makeup, have my hair styled with hairspray, wear a uniform that showed more side-boob than I considered appropriate, wear a miniskirt on occasion, I even wore pink once – stuff I didn't really like doing. However since I thought colorgaurd looked really cool, my brother was already in the marching band, and everyone in the band seemed to be having a really good time, I just went along with it. I didn't have friends when I started high school anyway. I don't regret conforming to the unspoken rules of colorgaurd, but it's definitely an example of conforming for the sake of belonging.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of us have been a part of groups where we may have had to do some things that made us feel a bit uncomfortable. It’s natural to want to feel a part of something, especially if you think that being a part of it will help you in certain ways. I’ve tried new things and joined new clubs when I was in high school, and some of them were full of people who were nothing like me. I did not change at all, but I did feel like I didn’t really belong. So, I think it’s really easy for people to change a bit (even if that’s just having to dress in a way that you dislike) in order to be a part of an organization or club.
DeleteHello Morgan! Very nice post, I very much enjoyed reading it and watching the interesting/disturbing videos. I agree with almost everything that you said but I am hung up on one statement you made: "Many people can end up sacrificing their morals in order to fit into a group and lose touch with who they really are." Can you explain how you got here a little more? I am not sure that people end up changing their morals to be apart of a group, but even if they do there are sure to be instance of both the negative and positive change of morals. Thanks is advance.
ReplyDeleteThere are certainly times where people change for the better because they are in a group. Groups can help people be exposed to experiences that can help themselves and their community, so there is no question that there can be a positive change in morals. For my blog post, I looked at ways that being in a group can do the opposite. When looking at Greek life, there are several instances that you can find on the internet where people go against morals that the majority of society has, such as not putting others in harm’s way. People don’t have to necessarily change their morals, but they tend to let things slide that go against their morals. I once read a story of how this sorority had pledges do a rigorous obstacle course outside in the cold where the higher ups would scream at the pledges and spit on them. This is an extreme situation, and I don’t think many people would look at this situation and think it is the right things to do. However, when you get caught up in the heat of things, you can let your good judgement (and morals) slip away from you. For example, maybe growing up you believed that drinking was something one should never do. However, you end up joining a group and part of that culture is to hang out and drink. With the want to feel a part of this group, you may end up deciding to drink with everyone else in order to feel more included. These changes in morals can be very serious (like watching people drink deadly amounts of alcohol, and not saying anything because no one else is), to even a minor change in a moral (such as a group deciding that they should all cheat on an assignment). These changes in morals do not necessarily happen in order to get into a group, but rather in order to continue to feel a part of it. Thanks for the question, and hopefully I did a good job answering it!
DeleteI really like your answer Morgan! Do you know if people always have this feeling of wanting to belong? Or as we get older we do not care as much? Being in college and wanting to make friends I can definitely see as to how/why people lose who they are, or their morals in order to "fit in" or make friends, but after college, when people get older can this type of thing still happen to them? Thank for you response!
DeleteHey Emily! I can’t say if everyone has this felling to belong. However, I think that (for the majority of people) as we get older we care less and less about fitting in. When I was younger, I cared way too much about how people saw me. Now, I don’t care hardly at all. When you get to a certain age, you realize that you don’t necessarily have to be a part of a group in order to be successful. On the other hand, this is not the case for everyone. Some people thrive when they feel they are a part of something, and will continue to try and “fit in” for their entire lives. Everyone (no matter what their age) can be susceptible to group think, and change who they are. It’s all kind of a matter of how confident they are in themselves in order to not “join the majority”.
DeleteHello Morgan. I really enjoyed your post and am curious about the implication of groupthink and decision making. Do you think that most individuals loose a sense of individuality when joining a sorority or fraternity? And if so, did the normative constraints exist for our hypothetical person in the first place if they already live a life violating social norms? It may be highly unlikely that this person would like to join an organization emphasizing tradition and structure, but how do you feel this situation would pan out?
ReplyDeleteIt’s hard to say if the majority of people do or do not lose their individuality while in such groups, unless you keep tabs on all the people that join these groups. I think a lot of people change a little bit (even if it’s not very noticeable) after being in a group. People might join these kinds of groups because they have friends that are in it, or maybe it is a family tradition to be a part of Greek life. Of course, there are many other people that have no interest in being part of this kind of group. So I would agree with you in saying that I think people who normally do not follow the rules of the majority would not want to be a part of such a group. Still, it’s hard to really say how this situation would pan out. Every individual might handle situations of groupthink differently, regardless of their background. Everyone usually has a chance to make their own decision as to whether or to go along with a group. I guess it’s really a question of how easily a person is swayed to do as the majority does. My guess is that someone who already goes against norms has the backbone to do what they want no matter what everyone else is, and therefore would be less likely change. The normative constraints of the group would likely seem less important to this type of individual as well. I really appreciate your questions, and I’m glad you enjoyed my post!
DeleteThank you for the very insightful answer! I definitely feel that your explanation may be the most likely case. I also really enjoy all the questions on your post and your answers. They are thoroughly though out and have great evidence backing your opinion.
DeleteI really like that you pointed out the connection between group think and fraternities and sororities. I definitely agree that in those organizations people really tend to lose themselves and start to all blend as one person (i.e. dress that same, start to think the same, have the same ideas, and all follow the "leader" of the group no matter whether it is wrong or right). I am not saying that being in a frat or sororities are a bad thing but I definitely do agree with you people can start to lose who they originally were. I wonder tho if boys or girls are more inclined to follow a bad decision in groups like these? When you hear stories of hazings usually (or at least me) hear stories that mainly involve frats more. Are boys more inclined to follow bad decisions that are being made? or is there something else?
ReplyDeleteYou bring up a really good point! I think that guys may be more willing to join in this hazing behavior because they don’t want to be seen as a wuss. In today’s society and throughout history, many men take pride in their masculinity. They don’t want to look weak and so they go with the flow (as one may say). This is just one explanation that I could think of in order to answer your question. However, there could be many other reasons this may be.
DeleteYou're definitely right about groupthink being a huge factor in sororities/fraternities. I think we can see a good example of this near campus (if the sign is still up)--but one of the frat houses had a sign saying "you honk, we drink". Trivially, that's really reckless and could end up with you in the hospital with alcohol poisoning, or, if you're not feeling like drinking and need to study for a test, for example, you might drink anyways, just because you don't want to be seen as part of the outgroup.
ReplyDeleteMaybe if you dissented, and said "hey guys, I really can't do this and need to study" they might reply "come on man, don't be a downer!", effectively amplifying the effects in that now you're being singled out as *not* following the group, which is being cast in a very negative light.