Group Polarization and the Fad of Ethnomasochism

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In the field of social psychology, “Group polarization” is a term which refers to a phenomenon whereby individuals will become more extreme in their views when they are surrounded by a group of people who hold a similar perspective.

Group polarization is an observable phenomenon in itself, but there are different theories to explain why group polarization occurs. One such theory is called Social Comparison Theory. According to this theory, group polarization is caused by the desire to be liked by the rest of the group. What happens is that individuals within the group are constantly reassessing how other group members present themselves, they then readjust their own positions in order to be perceived in a more favorable light . Social Comparison Theory holds that people are

motivated by a desire to be different and distinct from other people in a valued direction (Fromkin, 1970). In addition, people are also motivated to present themselves somewhat more favorably than other people. In other words, we want to be different from as well as better than other people. Brown states, “To be virtuous . . . is to be different from the mean—in the right direction and to the right degree” (1974, p. 469). When making initial ratings along a dimension, individuals give themselves a rating that is somewhat more favorable than the rating they presume the average group member will give. When individuals directly or indirectly infer what the true norm is, they then “improve” their own ratings, thus producing the overall choice shift.  (Isenberg, 1986)  

Isenberg refers to this as “one-upmanship”. It’s like, “I’m similar to the group, but I’m a just little bit better than the group. I hold the popular opinion, but I hold it even more than others. I’m not just good, I’m outstanding.”

Now, consider Group Polarization and Social Comparison Theory in the context of our cultural struggle.

Think of the young European who emphatically spits on his own people. What drives him to such an extreme? Like all Europeans in the 21st century, he is sensitive to, and appreciative of, the ever-present threat of being labeled a “racist”. Pushed by this fear of persecution and pulled by his desire to come across as better than average, it isn’t enough for him to stop at saying “it’s bad to hurt other peoples” he has to one-up his peers and say,

not only do I believe in treating people equally, I actually really like other peoples! I don’t just really like other peoples, I prefer other peoples! I don’t just prefer other peoples; I hate my own people! My people are a bad people. See? That’s how far from racist I am. Not only do not dislike others, I actually hate my own people. That’s just how much of a great person I am. See how un-racist I am? I’m not just good, I go above and beyond, I’m outstanding.

For this young polarized European, this kind of self flagellation is an opportunity to prostrate and humiliate himself before the group—to demonstrate that, he is not a rebel; he is completely on board with the norms of the group—and then some—even if those group norms are actually screwing him over. He says “you don’t have to worry about me, Sir, I’m a thoroughly brain washed conformist and I like it that way!”

This is a depressing and pathetic state of existence. Like the high school outcast who makes a fool of himself in order to gain the temporary and superficial approval of the cool kids. Rather than standing up for himself and enduring the hardships of swimming against stream, he buckles under the pressure and embraces his own oppression.

The classic case of group polarization occurs in an actual group of people, but perhaps the same psychological mechanism can be generalized to a polarized environment of homogenous ideas.  The polarized environments to which the self hater is exposed include our movie theaters, our living rooms and most of all, our education systems, especially the marxist echo-chambers that are our universities. Raised on a diet of anti-Western propaganda, perhaps it doesn’t take much for those Europeans of an acquiescent disposition to be pushed to an ethnomasochistic extreme from within these polarized environments.

The pressures and the incentives of the group dynamic drive those conformist Europeans to abandon their homeostatic and adaptive instincts of self-preservation and instead they conform to a new extreme of maladaptive self hate.

The motivations to conform are palpable. Any European can feel for him or herself the forces at work which pressure us to behave in this way. We are encouraged to spit on our people. We are encouraged to spit on our ancestors; on our culture and on our history. It is socially easy to do so, it is fashionable to do so and it is lucrative to do so. We are rewarded for embracing our own dispossession and we are punished for daring to challenge the group status quo.

Motivated by the fear of ostracism and the need to feel superior to others, the European conformist, within his polarized environment, is transformed into an extremist, self-cannibalizing, ethnomasachist.  

Notes

Isenberg, Daniel J. (June 1986). “Group polarization: A critical review and meta-analysis”. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 6 50 (6): 1141–1151. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.50.6.1141

All the videos were found on youtube.

The image of the guy with the “Kick Myself” sign was found here:
http://randomfunnypicture.com/funny-pictures-signs/bum-sign-will-kick-himself-in-head-for-a-quarter/

The “Celebrate Diversity” image is from “alterni-tee.com”

2012-10-28 23:46:54

Source: http://www.westernyouth.org/articles/group-polarization-and-the-fad-of-ethnomasochism/