You may have been closely following the riots spreading over the country in response to the homicide of a black man, George Floyd, by a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, and three other policemen fired in relation to his death.
Who is behind the current violence and rioting is still being investigated. There is some evidence that the violence may have been instigated by extremist groups.
These current events remind me of what I learned about group dynamics during my adult residency training at the University of Maryland. Every year we would have a “Donaldson Brown retreat,” held at the Donaldson Brown mansion overlooking the Susquehanna River. All the residents would attend and sleep in luxurious rooms filled with beautiful antiques and be fed gourmet meals. Different group sessions were scheduled around regular Tavistock groups throughout the day.
During one group session, things suddenly got out of hand, and something similar to the Lord of the Flies erupted during the course of the group experience. Afterward, we all sat around in a circle to process the violence that occurred. The energy that swept the residents away came from subconscious drives, distorted and amplified through the anonymity of the group experience. Read on to find out more about the powerful effect of a group on an individual’s behavior.
Have a safe and wonderful week!
Groups, Riots, and Dissent
When the Self Disappears in a Mob
It was late in the evening, and we young psychiatry residents were asked to gather together in a large, rectangular room for the last group session of the day.
The instructions from the attending psychiatrists were vague and nonspecific. No agenda was given to us. So we simply began to walk around the room.
Someone got the idea that we should elect a leader among us. I was asked to be the leader. The request surprised and flattered me, but I quickly dismissed it as a silly request. Who needs a leader anyway? But, the search for a designated leader continued until Dean, a fellow resident, agreed.
Some of the male residents hoisted him up in the air as if he was being raised up on a pedestal. Initially, he was surprised by his new elevated position. However, the group soon shifted, becoming rougher and raising him even higher. Chanting and shouting began around him as if a primitive ritual was taking place. Dean looked more and more distressed as he began to be jostled around. He asked the group to stop, but they ignored him. The “leader” had suddenly shifted to a victim, and what started as an act of respect shifted to a wild sort of mockery. Dean began to cry and shake from his distress. Soon after, the group set him down. In the silence, everyone sat down in a circle to process the events that transpired. It reminded us of the Lord of the Flies, where Dean had inadvertently filled the role of Piggy.
Later that same week, as an experiment, we were divided into four groups. Again the instructions were vague. We were directed into four different rooms. Immediately, paranoia about the other groups ensued and a quest for a leader began. I was asked to be the leader, and I agreed. We came up with a group name and discussed what our group would be about. I suggested that we take the time to relax and enjoy ourselves outside on the lawn. As if the suggestion was a command, everyone promptly marched outside and acted like flower children from the 60’s (not me, but the others), swinging from trees and acting high, while I sat on the ground wondering why people change so much just because they’re in a group.
As I remember my experiences during the Donaldson Brown weekends, I am impressed by the powerful influence that being part of a group has on the individual. It’s easy to lose oneself in a group. The anonymity creates a lack of responsibility for one’s actions as if one were wearing an invisibility cloak. Dynamics can change quickly, and without much thought, something takes over, and one can be swept away along its current like driftwood along a river. The energies that arise often come from our subconscious drives.
What also strikes me as interesting about groups is the consistent need to have a leader. Perhaps this need expresses the desire to release personal responsibility for one’s actions and the yearning to belong to a larger purpose. These aspects of being part of a group play a subtle role in our lives and begs examination.
”I don’t belong to any groups,” you might think. But we all belong to groups: race, gender, religion, occupation, education, living circumstances, and health status are some of the groups to which we belong, whether we are conscious of them or not. The ability to see how the influence of the group may mold our identity, interests, and behaviors can give us additional freedom to choose the group, to react against the group, or to affirm our own best interests.
Living during this historic time gives us the opportunity to observe how groups may influence our perspectives in subtle and powerful ways. I hope that you will be alert to these influences, protect your values, and keep your inner compass pointed true north. It is important not to let yourself be swept away by the paranoia and the need to escape from freedom we hold deep within our subconscious mind. Have a super week!