In Groups We Shrink :: Carol Tavris Psychology Psychological Essays

In Groups We Shrink As smoke poured into the room the three strangers waiting in the lobby just sat there until it was unbearable to breathe. Believe it or not people do this, just so that they don’t get embarrassed. Carol Tavris’s essay she is successful in getting the point across that people act different in groups than they do alone. She has many appeals to emotion, logic, and being the renown psychologist she is, she has credibility. She wasn’t trying to change the way people act in this essay. just to try and make people realize what happens in groups and the horrible things that could conspire. Carol Tavris was trying to get across the point that people act different in different situations. When it comes to ones personal safety then they act different. One person would get up at the first sign of danger, or go to someone’s help. But when there are other people involved and they are in a strange environment they don’t know how to act. They aren’t sure whether smoke pouring into a room or any other threatening situation is normal. They don’t want to get embarrassed or make a fool of themselves. Carol Tavris was born in 1944, and got her PH.D. in Social Psychology. That is why she has so much credibility in this field of study. This essay wouldn’t mean anything if it wasn’t coming from someone who has the background and the credibility she does. A strong example of emotion is when she talks about Rodney King and the savage beating he received. It again shows how people in groups act different. There were 11 officers watching 4 of their colleagues beat this poor man. What were they thinking? Did they agree? These are some of the questions you have to ask yourself. One explanation, of course, is that they approved.(18). They may have identified with the abusers, vicariously participating in a beating they rationalized as justified.(18). This is sad but true, but what about the Kitty Genovese story. She was stabbed and killed in front of her apartment, while 38 neighbors heard and watched, not one called for help. This is called diffusion of responsibility or soci al loafing which pretty much means the more people in a group the lazier everyone gets thinking that someone else will do the right thing. This is just another example of emotion in Carol Tavris’s writing.