Key Question Flashcards
How can knowledge of social psychology be used to reduce prejudice in situations such as rioting & crowd behaviour?
P1 - Intro - Crowd behaviour occurs when people act differently when a part of a large group. It can lead to violence & vandalism, which is called rioting. An example of crowd behaviour would be a racist incident involving Chelsea fans on the Paris Subway in 2015. The fans prevented a black french man, Mr. Sylla, from boarding the train & shouted racist chants such as ‘John Terry’s (captain) racist and that’s the way we like it. Other Chelsea fans then raised money for Mr. Sylla to come to a home game to see the ‘true spirit of the club’. An example of rioting would be the Ferguson Riots of 2014, where many businesses and buildings were damaged as a result of protests against the killing of an African American man, Michael Brown, by police.
P2 - SIT explains crowd behaviour as the members of the crowd see themselves as the in-group, with all non-members being the outgroup, and therefore often treated with less respect, which may lead to violence. The Chelsea fans saw Mr. Sylla as a member of the out-group as he was French & Black. Social Identification explains the chanting together & Social Comparison explains why they refused to let him on the train. By inviting Mr. Sylla to London, Chelsea fans were including him in their ingroup, which may reduce tension.
Agency Theory may also explain the racist behaviour. The Chelsea fans believed that John Terry was racist, and as a result may have been in an agentic state and exhibited racism in obedience to John Terry.
Social Impact theory could also explain the behaviour. As the fans were in such close proximity, other fans may joined in the chanting as they felt strong social impact from the ringleaders. This behaviour could be reduced through the introduction of superordinate goals, shown by Sherif to reduce prejudice (outgroup friendship went from 7% to 30% after integration phase).
Social Psychology can also be applied to explain the Ferguson Riots, and show ways of reducing prejudice.
2/3 of Ferguson are black, yet the majority of its police force are white. SIT would state that the Ferguson community sees the police as the outgroup and vice versa. Social Comparison means they would each interpret each others behaviours in the worst way. e.g. the destruction of the shire may have been accidental, rioters saw it as disrespect. the Riots may have been peaceful, police saw it as criminal.
African American police chief, Ron Johnson, marched alongside the protesters in solidarity, in doing so, SIT would explain hat this was a joining of the ingroup, meaning the police may have been seen as less of an outgroup. This was also a superordinate goal of achieving justice, shown by Sherif to reduce prejudice) If Ferguson PD can recruit more black officers they might be seen as less of an outgroup, yet RCT would state that prejudice will always exist until the competition between different ethnic groups in America stops.
P3 - Conc. - SIT suggests prejudice can be reduced during crowd and rioting behaviour by seeing the others as ingroup members (Ferguson & PD, Chelsea Fans & black people), and RCT by introducing superordinate goals (would be difficult, but effective). However, RCT would state that this prejudice will not stop so long as African Americans still receive less opportunities than their white counterparts in America.
