Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- PART I INTRODUCTION AND CORE CONCEPTS
- PART II THE ROOTS OF HELPING OTHER PEOPLE IN NEED IN CONTRAST TO PASSIVITY
- PART III HOW CHILDREN BECOME CARING AND HELPFUL RATHER THAN HOSTILE AND AGGRESSIVE
- PART IV THE ORIGINS OF GENOCIDE, MASS KILLING, AND OTHER COLLECTIVE VIOLENCE
- 21 A Note on the Cultural–Societal Roots of Violence
- 22 The Psychology of Bystanders, Perpetrators, and Heroic Helpers
- 23 Steps Along a Continuum of Destruction: Perpetrators and Bystanders
- 24 The SS and the Psychology of Perpetrators: The Interweaving and Merging of Role and Person
- 25 The Origins of Genocide: Rwanda
- 26 Bystanders as Evil: The Example of Rwanda
- 27 Individual and Group Identities in Genocide and Mass Killing
- 28 Mass Murder: U.S. Involvement as Perpetrator, Passive Bystander, Helper
- 29 When Instigation Does Not Result in Mass Murder
- 30 Persian Gulf Conflict Was Reflection of Stormy Undercurrents in U.S. Psyche
- 31 Mob Violence: Cultural–Societal Sources, Instigators, Group Processes, and Participants
- 32 Understanding and Preventing Police Violence
- PART V THE AFTERMATH OF MASS VIOLENCE: TRAUMA, HEALING, PREVENTION, AND RECONCILIATION
- PART VI CREATING CARING, MORALLY INCLUSIVE, PEACEFUL SOCIETIES
- Appendix: What Are Your Values and Goals?
- Index
- References
27 - Individual and Group Identities in Genocide and Mass Killing
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 07 May 2010
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- PART I INTRODUCTION AND CORE CONCEPTS
- PART II THE ROOTS OF HELPING OTHER PEOPLE IN NEED IN CONTRAST TO PASSIVITY
- PART III HOW CHILDREN BECOME CARING AND HELPFUL RATHER THAN HOSTILE AND AGGRESSIVE
- PART IV THE ORIGINS OF GENOCIDE, MASS KILLING, AND OTHER COLLECTIVE VIOLENCE
- 21 A Note on the Cultural–Societal Roots of Violence
- 22 The Psychology of Bystanders, Perpetrators, and Heroic Helpers
- 23 Steps Along a Continuum of Destruction: Perpetrators and Bystanders
- 24 The SS and the Psychology of Perpetrators: The Interweaving and Merging of Role and Person
- 25 The Origins of Genocide: Rwanda
- 26 Bystanders as Evil: The Example of Rwanda
- 27 Individual and Group Identities in Genocide and Mass Killing
- 28 Mass Murder: U.S. Involvement as Perpetrator, Passive Bystander, Helper
- 29 When Instigation Does Not Result in Mass Murder
- 30 Persian Gulf Conflict Was Reflection of Stormy Undercurrents in U.S. Psyche
- 31 Mob Violence: Cultural–Societal Sources, Instigators, Group Processes, and Participants
- 32 Understanding and Preventing Police Violence
- PART V THE AFTERMATH OF MASS VIOLENCE: TRAUMA, HEALING, PREVENTION, AND RECONCILIATION
- PART VI CREATING CARING, MORALLY INCLUSIVE, PEACEFUL SOCIETIES
- Appendix: What Are Your Values and Goals?
- Index
- References
Summary
identity and the origins of mass killing and genocide: brief review
I will review and extend here the exploration of origins by describing how individual and group identities are involved in the paths to genocide or mass killing. To begin, severe economic problems deeply impact people. Unemployment, or the inability to provide for oneself and one's family owing to severe inflation, makes people feel insecure and ineffective. Such conditions call into question people's personal identity and self-worth: Who am I if I have no work and cannot take care of the basic material needs of myself and my family? At the same time that identity is questioned, ties to one's group can also weaken because the problems originate in society and social conditions.
Intense political conflict and disorganization also affect people's experience of their group and perception of the world. Rapid social change, which often occurs at times of economic and political crises, adds to social chaos and disorganization. Since substantial social change requires adjustment, even positive change places demands on people.
The different elements of difficult life conditions, which may occur separately but frequently are present in some combination, frustrate many of the basic needs. In difficult times, focusing on their own needs, people become disconnected from each other. At times when they need it most, people lack connection and support.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Psychology of Good and EvilWhy Children, Adults, and Groups Help and Harm Others, pp. 351 - 359Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2003
References
Bar-Tal, D., & Staub, E. (1997). Introduction: The nature and forms of patriotism. In D. Bar-Tal & E. Staub (Eds.), Patriotism in the lives of individuals and groups. Chicago: Nelson-Hall
Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Evil: Inside human violence and cruelty. New York: W. H. Freeman
Craig, G. A. (1982). The Germans. New York: New American Library
des Forges, A. (1999). Leave none to tell the story: Genocide in Rwanda. New York: Human Rights Watch
(1993). Accounting for genocide after 1945: Theories and some findings. International Journal of Group Rights, 1, 79–106CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gourevitch, P. (1998). We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Hitler, A. (1925). Mein Kampf. Translated by Ralph Manheim. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company
(1977). Modification of self-worth and increment of prosocial sensitivity. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 8, 45–53Google Scholar
Kincaid, E. (1959). In every war but one. New York: Norton
Kressel, N. J. (1996). Mass hate: The global rise of genocide and terror. New York: Plenum Press
, , , & (1998). Ethnic identity, legitimizing ideologies and social status: A matter of ideological asymmetry. Political Psychology, 19, 373–404CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, D. (1999). Social psychology. New York: McGraw-Hill
(1961). Relationships between self-acceptance and sociometric choices. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 62CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
, , , & (1999). Self-evaluated self-esteem, peer-evaluated self-esteem, and defensive egotism as predictors of adolescents' participation in bullying situations. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 25, 1268–1278CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schatz, R., & Staub, E. (1997). Manifestations of blind and constructive patriotism. In D. Bar-Tal & E. Staub (Eds.), Patriotism in the lives of individuals and groups. Chicago: Nelson-Hall
, & (1999). On the varieties of national attachment: Blind versus constructive patriotism. Political Psychology, 20, 151–175CrossRefGoogle Scholar
(1998). The psychocultural roots of genocide. American Psychologist, 53, 743–753CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
(1989a). Steps along the continuum of destruction: The evolution of bystanders, German psychoanalysts and lessons for today. Political Psychology, 10, 39–53CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Staub, E. (1989b). The roots of evil: The origins of genocide and other group violence. New York: Cambridge University Press
Staub, E. (1993). Individual and group selves, motivation and morality. In T. Wren & G. Noam (Eds.), Morality and the self (pp. 337–359). Cambridge: MIT Press
Staub, E. (1997). Blind versus constructive patriotism: Moving from embeddedness in the group to critical loyalty and action. In E. Staub & D. Bar-Tal (Eds.), Patriotism. Chicago: Nelson-Hall
(1999). The origins and prevention of genocide, mass killing, and other collective violence. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 5 (4), 303–336CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tajfel, H. (1978). Social categorization, social identity and social comparison. In H. Tajfel (Ed.), Differentiation between social groups (pp. 61–76). London: Academic Press
(1982). Social psychology of intergroup relations. Annual Review of Psychology, 33, 1–39CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Triandis, H. C. (1994). Culture and social behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill
Turner, J. C. (1987). Rediscovering the social groups: A self-categorization theory. New York: Basil Blackwell