Scapegoats are usually selected from groups who are already devalued. Some are chosen for specific occasions, but others are used frequently and repeatedly. In the third century A.D., Tertullian, a Roman as well as Christian, wrote:
They take the Christians to be the cause of every disaster to the state, of every misfortune to the people. If the Tiber reaches the wall, if the Nile does not reach the fields, if the sky does not move or if the earth does, if there is a famine, or if there is a plague, the cry is at once, “The Christians to the Lions.”
Joining groups. Submerging the self in a group can enable a person to relinquish the burdens of unfulfilled goals and a threatened identity and to gain a new identity. It also helps to protect the psychological self and serves the need for connectedness to other human beings.45 Antagonism to another group intensifies feelings of belonging.
Shared enmity strengthens group identity especially when the ingroup is not greatly endangered by the outgroup. In an experiment two groups of boys in adjoining summer camps were pitted against each other in a series of athletic competitions. One group consistently lost. Their morale plummeted, the group disintegrated, members turned against each other, and their leaders deserted them.46 To increase cohesion the group must turn against a weaker enemy. Leaders try to select as enemies groups they perceive as weaker, although they often miscalculate, as Pakistan did in its war with India and Hitler and Napoleon did in their wars against Russia.47 Sometimes past enmity and hatred overcome judgment, as in the case of Cambodian attacks on Vietnam between 1976 and 1979.
When life conditions threaten national self-concept and identity, people need a different group (or improvement in the national self-concept) to provide “positive group distinctiveness,” which “serves to protect, enhance, preserve or achieve a positive social identity for members of the group.”48 Religions, cults, political movements, and even social groups that promote new life-styles can fulfill this function. As I have pointed out, scapegoating can accomplish the same end.
The greater the demands a group makes on its members and the more it guides their lives, the more completely the members can relinquish their burdensome identity and assume a group identity. However, submerging oneself in a group makes it difficult to maintain independent judgment of the group’s conduct and exert a contrary influence. Deindividuation, a disinhibition of the usual moral constraints on individual action, is a likely consequence. Experiments show that aggressiveness is increased by conditions that weaken a sense of identity or increase anonymity, such as wearing masks.49
Adopting ideologies. Adopting an ideology is another solution to difficult life conditions that threaten existence and self-worth. By ideology I mean a system of beliefs and values concerning an ideal social organization and way of life. When traditional ways stop working, an ideology may offer renewed comprehension of the world and give meaning and direction to life. It is useful to distinguish between the existing culture, which consists of beliefs, meanings, values, valuations, symbols, myths, and perspectives that are shared largely without awareness, and ideology, which I define as a primarily consciously held set of beliefs and values.
Psychological research shows that attitudes and values are related to behavior.50 Strongly held values give rise to the motivation to act. Attitudes, beliefs, and values will lead to action especially when a person feels competent or the circumstances clearly indicate what action is likely to succeed.51 Ideology, an interconnected system of beliefs and valuations, can be a powerful source of motivation.
History shows that people will sacrifice themselves to promote ideologies. As I have mentioned, followers of ideologies often identify some people as a hindrance and commit horrifying acts in the name of creating a better world or fulfilling higher ideals. This scapegoating occurs partly because the new social or spiritual order is defined in contrast to an existing order and partly because the ideal way of life is difficult to bring about or the new social system does not fulfill its promise. Examples include the great bloodbath after the French Revolution, the Inquisition and other religious persecutions, as well as genocides and mass killings.
Constructive reactions to life conditions. Responses to difficult life conditions can also be positive and constructive. Like Davitz’s children, whose training enabled them to respond to frustration with renewed efforts to reach their goals, so constructive coping efforts by a group can result in positive psychological effects and real improvement in life conditions.52 Ideologies can be constructive. Different groups can find common goals rather than focus on conflicting goals.53 Unfortunately, the culture and social organization that would give rise to such constructive responses often do not exist. How to create them is the focus of the last two chapters of the book.
a Most likely, people can learn to accept inequality with others in skills, character, and so on, and still have a positive self-esteem. What are the minimal requirements for positive self-regard? Can people accept, for example, less intelligence but a positive character in themselves as a basis for positive self-regard? This is an important question for creating a world characterized by the values of caring and connectedness (see Part IV).
b Traumatic events – accidents that result in significant harm, rape and other violent attacks, and certain combat experiences – shatter assumptions about the world and one’s place in it. The world is seen as less controllable and predictable, less safe, less benevolent.24 Similar changes in assumptions are likely to follow from severe
