Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Possible roots of extremism: the role of our ingroup-outgroup understanding

Most of us took note of the terrible mass murders in Norway by Anders Behring Breivik (if you haven't, where have you been)? Extremists such as Breivik's ideologies are often based on stereotypes - creating or defining a very definite barrier between 'us' and 'them', to such an extent that the 'them' or outgroup can become threats to their national identity and security.



Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D states in "The dangers of the ingroup-outgroup bias" (psychologytoday.com) that we are inclined to identify and associate with those that share the same qualities than we do.  This is part of human nature.  It is important for us to understand the boundaries for our own 'ingroup' or 'outgroup' since these are not and should not be cast in stone.  You might associate with a specific group of people in one context (colleagues at work) but not the next (you'll most probably prefer going to the movies with your friends rather than with colleagues from work).  The initial ingroup has therefore changed to the outgroup depending on the situation and context you find yourself in. 

Many people find this differentitation between defining and associating your ingroup versus outgroup in various different contexts to be quite easy.  For others this is much harder and even impossible in some cases.  The result is a person who identifies with a particular ingroup to such an extent that anyone who does not belong to this person's ingroup becomes the enemy.  A very dangerous situation indeed! 

Susan Krause mentions a couple of things to keep in mind and practice to ensure that our 'us' and 'them' fences can be torn down as and when needed.  The golden rule is respect for all - ALL other people, regardless of race, gender, religion or social standing.

1. Recognise the arbitrary nature of many ingroup-outgroup distinctions.  Keep the example of colleagues and friends in mind - our ingroup at one moment is your outgroup the next.

2. Put yourself in the place of the outgroup member. Think about times when you've been put in an outgroup position and remember how painful that was.

3. Look for commonalities between opposing groups. Fans of opposing sports teams equally love the sport. People of different religions regard their faith as important to them. There are basic human needs that transcend particular labels.

4. Work on building your inner sense of security. People are more likely to stereotype when they feel they have something to lose. If you feel more confident about your own identity, you'll be less likely to criticise someone else's.

5. Pass along the lesson. We can't all be the Nelson Mandela's of our time, changing society in very definite and tangible ways.  But we can teach others the value of overcoming outgroup stereotyping.

Let's keep these five lessons in mind - engaging positively with everyone we come across!

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