Month: February 2016

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Social Science Bites - Stephen Reicher on Crowd Psychology

There is a school of thought that groups often bring out the worst in humankind. Think only of the Charles Mackay book on “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds,” the U.S. Founding fathers’ visceral fear of ‘mob rule,’ or the influential social science of Gustave Le Bon and others during the French Third Republic.

And yet, as a university student future social psychologist Stephen Reicher often witnessed sublime behavior from collections of people. He saw that groups could foster racism – and they could foster civil rights movements. What he saw much of the time was group behavior “completely at odds with the psychology I was learning.”

“In a sense, you could summarize the literature: ‘Groups are bad for you, groups take moral individuals and they turn them into immoral idiots.’

“I have been trying to contest that notion,” he tells interview David Edmonds in this Social Science Bites podcast, “[and] also to explain how that notion comes about.”

In a longer-than-normal podcast, Reicher explains how group mentality can bring out the best in individuals and reviews the history of crowd psychology and some of its fascinating findings that have enormous policy implications in a world of mass protest and terroristic threat.

For example, in discussing studies on the escalation of violence, Reicher explains how indiscriminate responses by authorities can create violence rather than defuse it, a useful lesson for Western countries dealing with generally peaceful populations that may still produce a few terrorist inductees from their ranks.

Reicher is the Wardlaw professor at the School of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of St. Andrews. A fellow of the British Academy, his most widespread recognition outside the academy comes from his work with Alexander Haslam on the BBC Prison Study, or The Experiment.  He is also the co-author of several books, including 2001’s Self and Nation: Categorization, Contestation and Mobilization, with Nick Hopkins, and 2014’s Psychology of Leadership with Haslam.

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The Gist - What’s Next for #OscarsSoWhite?

On The Gist, why the Oscars matter to the future of Hollywood. We discuss the ideas behind #OscarsSoWhite with Slate’s Aisha Harris and NPR TV critic Eric Deggans. Aisha recently wrote “Why Creed’s Best Picture Snub Matters” and Eric Deggans is the author of Race-Baiter. For the Spiel, scary Trump supporters. Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

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SCOTUScast - Amgen Inc. v. Harris – Post-Decision SCOTUScast

On January 25, 2016, the Supreme Court decided Amgen Inc v. Harris without oral argument. Former employees of an Amgen subsidiary had participated in a benefit plan that offered ownership of Amgen stock. When the value of Amgen stock fell in 2007, stockholders filed a class action against plan fiduciaries alleging a breach of fiduciary duties, including the duty of prudence, under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. Although the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit initially reversed a district court decision dismissing the class action complaint, the U.S. Supreme Court then vacated the Ninth Circuit’s judgment and remanded the case in light of the Supreme Court’s then-recent decision Fifth Third Bancorp v. Dudenhoeffer, which set forth the standards for stating a claim for breach of the duty of prudence against fiduciaries who manage employee stock ownership plans. -- On remand, the Ninth Circuit reiterated its conclusion that the plaintiffs’ complaint stated a claim for breach of fiduciary duty, and the Supreme Court again granted certiorari. In a per curiam opinion the Court reversed the judgment of the Ninth Circuit by a vote of 9-0, holding that the Circuit had failed to properly evaluate the complaint. In its current form, the Supreme Court concluded, the complaint failed to state a claim for breach of the duty of prudence. In remanding the case, however, the Court indicated that the district court could decide in the first instance whether the stockholders might amend their complaint in order to adequately plead a claim for breach of the duty of prudence. -- To discuss the case, we have George T. Conway III, who is Partner, Litigation at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz.
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the memory palace - Episode 83 (Overland)

Notes Nearly all the research for this one comes straight out of the highly-readable, Cap’n George Fred, G.F. Tilton’s 1925 autobiography. I got my copy at a used bookstore for $11. It’s easy to find on eBay and Amazon and whatnot. Totally money well spent.

Music * First up is Lacrymae by Melodium. * Then we mix in Every Mournful Breath by Slow Meadow * Meeting the Neighbors from Marcelo Zarvos’ score to the delightful, Please Give, makes a return appearance. * There’s Steve Reich’s “Music for Pieces of Wood,” as performed by Smoke and Mirrors Percussion Ensemble. * Yes, that’s Immigrant Song, from Zeppelin III. * There’s a bit of Frost Trees from Lalo Schifrin’s extraordinary score to The Fox, from 1967. * End credits, as always, is Wien, by La Bradford. Buy their music, please.

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The Gist - Whale News!

On The Gist, Maria Konnikova of the New Yorker explains Sigmund Freud’s lasting contributions to psychiatry and castration anxiety everywhere. She’s the author of The Confidence Game. For the Spiel, we dive into whale news from around the globe.  Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at slate.com/gistplus.

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