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"McDougall's Group Mind - the "Unreasoning Impulsiveness" of groups are Very Relevant w/ a comparison to Durkheim, Geertz, + Bargh's recent research showing - Poll: Black Americans fear more racist attacks after Buffalo shooting" )Washington Post)
- Author(s):
- Charles Peck Jr (see profile)
- Date:
- 2008
- Group(s):
- Cultural Studies, German Literature and Culture, Global & Transnational Studies, Psychology and Neuroscience, Science and Technology Studies (STS)
- Subject(s):
- Anti-racism, Sociology, Ethnology, Psychology, Social psychology, Social cognitive theory, Manners and customs
- Item Type:
- Blog Post
- Permanent URL:
- https://doi.org/10.17613/wvaq-y019
- Abstract:
- As the authors of the article "Beyond the Group Mind: A Quantitative Review of the Interindividual–Intergroup Discontinuity Effect" which was published in Psychological Bulletin, observed, It is estimated that just in the final decade of the twentieth century, the deadly wars of places like Rwanda, Bosnia, and Ethiopia claimed the lives of 30 million people and made refugees of another 45 million (McGuire, 1998). Still, even though human relations may be as “stubbornly set” as ever, this meta-analysis underlines that great strides have been made toward understanding why intergroup relations are often more antagonistic and competitive than interindividual relations." William McDougall (1871– 1938) was a psychologist who was influential in the development of the theory of instinct and of social psychology. McDougall, who predated Carl Jung, advocated the concept of a ‘Group or Collective Mind. McDougall stated: “We must recognize……the existence in a certain sense of over-individual or collective minds. We may fairly define mind as an organized system of mental or purposive forces, and in the sense so defined, every organized human society may properly be said to possess a collective mind…. which yet is not compared within the mind of any Individual. (1921, p.9 – p. 899 Social Psychology Handbook of Principles, edited by Higgins and Kruglanski) McDougall also observed: “Participation in group life degrades the individual, assimilating his mental processes to those of the crowd, whose brutality, inconstancy, and unreasoning impulsiveness have been the theme of many writers; yet only by participation in groups life does man become fully man, only does he rise above the savage. (1921, p.20) (Soc Psych Handbook, p.899)
- Metadata:
- xml
- Status:
- Published
- Last Updated:
- 4 months ago
- License:
- All Rights Reserved
mcdougall-8-8-23.pdf