We are often shocked to hear of groups that are said to take irrational actions, radically undermining the basic values on which they had previously relied. This is what some believe to have happened in the recent incidents of brutality by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib Prison. The Holocaust and the Inquisition have been described as related acts of group irrationality. These events, however, can be explained another way. According to a Kleinian analysis of group dynamics, these group behaviors can be linked to a pre-existing form of psychotic-like thinking that already tends to characterize our social groups, thinking that stubbornly fends off members’ inquiry into the underlying principles of the groups’ operation. Extreme incidents such as those at Abu Ghraib can then be seen to occur, not because unusual events have led the group to suddenly become irrational, but rather because these events have led to an increase in the dimensions of psychotic-like thinking which already tends to characterize our social groups. The primary issue, then, is not that extraordinary conditions have led to a situation where things have gotten out of hand, but rather the unchecked existence of psychotic-like processes in the everyday operation of our social groups.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Mar 2014 09:07:31 +0000