Group Psychology and Conflict Model from a Psychoanalytic Approach

Group Psychology & Conflict Model PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH

1. The essence of a group, that which holds it together, is the system of libidinal ties among the members which is derived from aim- inhibited sexual impulses. 2. A primary group is a number of individuals who have taken the same person (the leader) for their ideal and who, by virtue of having a common ideal, identify themselves with one another (Freud, 1921)

GROUP IDENTIFICATION 1. Group identification generates emotional bonds between leader and the group members. 2. Bond with leader is more important for group stability than ties between members. 3. When ties of members with leader is broken the group dissolves unless another person acquires the status of an ideal figure.

THE EFFECT OF GROUP MEMBERSHIP The effect of group membership 1. It intensifies the emotions of the members 2. It inhibits the intellectual functioning These effects result from the libidinal relationships within the group. The person is more governed by his id than by his ego.

GROUP ARCHAIC PROTOTYPE The archaic prototype of a primary group is a father and his sons the libido denied discharge producing identification between sons and father.

GROUP FORMATION Group formation is a revival of the primal horde, in which primal father is the group ideal which governs the ego in place of the ego ideal.

THE ORIGIN OF SOCIETY TOTEM AND TABOO (1913) MOSES AND MONOTHEISM (1939) Down of society, group lived under strong leadership The father as leader Leader having unlimited power used sadistically against his sons All female members as property When jealous, killed, castrated, driven out of the tribe Sons stealing wives from other tribes leading to inter tribal warfare further strengthen group ties

THE ORIGIN OF SOCIETY Favored son chosen as tribal leader/successor Driven sons killed father identified father by incorporating a part of him Intra-conflict among sons for power fraternal aggression dangerous Social contract formed, renunciation of instinctual gratification This ensure group solidarity, establishment of taboo against incest and the law of exogamy (marrying other group member). Thus, first society developed out of the family Aggression was directed to other group to solidified the in- group and restore brotherly love. lead to discovery of

CONFLIT MODEL

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego Conflict Model: The self is NOT UNIFIED; it is not a coherent, singular entity. Not entirely rational, not entirely under one s control. There are competing elements within a person. No way to resolve competing elements only way to stay healthy is to not let any one of them get the upper hand or sickness (i.e. neurosis or psychosis) can occur.

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego Freud s conflict model is based on the idea of the Id, the Ego, and the Superego. These are the components of the self. First: THE ID: The oldest part of our mind most primal, most fundamental, most primitive. The Id precedes culture! and is universal.

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego Id does NOT stand for Identity. Rather, it means It n NOW! It is irrational, emotional, demanding and STRONG

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego The ID: The source for libido (psychic energy, not just sexual in meaning) Psychic energy fuels our thoughts, memories, sexual desires, perceptions, etc. Psychic energy fixed amount (neither be created nor destroyed)

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego The Id is ruled by The Pleasure Principle: (Always demands/wants) Pleasure Principle: Cares only about immediate self-gratification; does not care about holding back, doesn t care about others. ID IS SELFISH

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego A new baby is all Id. New born must successfully navigate the treacherous path to adulthood. A new baby only wants to eat, sleep, urinate, defecate, be comfortable, and gain sexual pleasure and wants it all now.

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego The Ego: I Functions with the rational part of the mind. The Ego develops in the child by about age 3. Child learns that it is often unwise and there are consequences if s/he cannot learn to delay her/his gratification.

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego The Ego is ruled by The Reality Principle, the Ego is pragmatic. One can t always get what one want. The Ego mediates between the Id and the world. The Ego develops strategies to help the Id make it until the urge can be satisfied. It takes a tremendous amount of psychic energy to help suppress the Id s urges.

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego The Ego is in service to the Id, yet it uses some of the Id s psychic energy to control the Id by reasonably satisfying the Id. Over time, the Ego becomes pretty good to keep the Id gratified. This causes the Ego to become aware of itself as an entity now the individual experiences him/herself as a self , not just a big ball of urges.

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego The Superego: Over-I It is the last part of the mind to develop (by about age 5). The moral part of the mind (because the Ego is not necessarily moral). Represents societal and parental values. Steps In when Mom or the Cops aren t around.

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego Two components to Superego: Ego Ideal and Conscience. (Don t confuse with conscious ) Ego Ideal: The rules or standards for what constitutes good or appropriate behavior. dictates what is right and wrong. Conscience: The rules or standards for what constitutes bad, immoral, embarrassing behavior. Dictates what is good and bad.

Freuds Theories Id, Ego, Superego If, as an adult, one s Id is too dominant? (very self-absorbed, don t care about others, only out for yourself) If, as an adult, one s Ego is too dominant? (distant, rational, efficient, unemotional, cold) If, as an adult, one s Superego is too dominant? (guilt-ridden or sanctimonious).

OBJECT RELATIONS THEORY (Volkan n Ross 88,93)

According to this version of the theory, ego, while becoming separate from id, acquires certain functions that have to do with the external world, i.e. relations of one's self with objects (persons and things). One of those functions is constructing images and representations: Self images as well as images of other persons and objects.

Volkan (1988 see also Ross, 1993) claims that the ability to construct images develops in infancy and early childhood in three stages:

STAGE 1 Infant begin differentiate from one to others FORM simple images of self n others Fail to grasp that pleasure n pain can be evoked by same object/person (mom feeding/depriving) Images formed are "all good/all bad" . It is "unwelded" and "unintegrated."

STAGE 2 2/3 year infant begins integrating opposing images Integration (welding) can never be completed Some good/bad images remain unintegrated, absolute, and primitive

STAGE 3 Super-ego formation: The unintegrated images of self and parents are idealized Children externalize those unwelded or idealized positive and negative images into certain people or objects of the outside world. It is necessary to maintain cohesion of the integrated self and object images/representations

There are Suitable Targets of Externalization (STEs) (reservoirs of images) determined by CULTURE (familiar objects of a child's environment) PARENTS OR OTHER ADULTS

Suitable Target of Externalization STEs symbols as flags, songs, dishes, places of worship, religious icons, memorials, certain animals, people, group of people Some STEs are negative ( ) n some are (positive) +. POSITIVE (+) STEs are reservoirs of unintegrated good representations are seen as allies, friends, leaders, etc NEGATIVE ( ) STEs reservoirs of unintegrated bad representations are regarded as enemies.

Every person needs STEs to maintain his cohesiveness, sense of self, and to differentiate it from the representation of others. As personality begin to crystallize in mid adolescence so do one's Positive + and Negative STEs.

GROUP IDENTITIES

It is adopted. How it prevails over individual identity? How it contribute to intergroup conflict? In every culture there roughly the same set of POSITIVE and NEGATIVE Suitable Target for Externalizations (STE) for children belonging to that culture. STEs ties them together, by adopting them, they connect to each other, that further reinforce STEs The connection through common STEs contribute to group cohesion.

INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY AND GROUP IDENTITY Each ethnic group have their own identity. It is like garment. He wears it. It belongs to him, it protect him from harmful effects of the environment. Each ethnic group also has a group identity. It is like a "large tent" that protects the individuals like "a mother"

As long as tent remains strong and stable, group go out daily without paying much attention to it without a need to prove or express their ethnic identity If the tent shaken or disturbed, those under it become collectively preoccupied "shore it up" again. At that time group identity supersedes individual identity.

HOW ETHNIC (GROUP) IDENTITY IS DEFINED?

Cultural symbols, rituals help to define ethnic identity but apart from it to define it positively it need MORE THAN SYMBOLS AND RITUALS

ENEMIES (helps to define them who they are not) CHOSEN GLORIES (important, mythologized n idealized achievements that took place in the past) CHOSEN TRAUMAS (losses, defeats, humiliations (also mythologized) that is usually difficult to mourn BORDERS (physical n mental) that help eliminate the confusion about the in-group and the out- group, about "we" and "them". Borders are extremely necessary when "they" are enemies.

CONFLICT N MAJORITY ACTION

1. Minorities considered as non-assimilable easily become targets for externalization (projection) of Majority's negative feelings and images. Such minorities attracts the hatred, suspicion, rage of majority They also serve as reservoirs of the majority's negative self-images.

2. Dreadful psychological dynamic can be seen in majority-minority relations Relation with minority becomes more strained if minority is linked to state or nation that in the past inflicted a deep TRAUMA upon majority group a trauma so painful that cannot be mourned. When balance of power change to majority, the minority may be seen as so dangerous, contaminated that it should be eliminated. The govt supported majority may try to purify the society from "dirty and harmful" elements. This perception may lead to "ethnic cleansing" for mass expulsion, massacres and even genocides. Such strategies to deal with minorities are "malignant forms of purification rituals"

SIT description of Conflict Types

THEORETICAL IMPLICATION ON DISTINCTION BETWEEN INTERPERSONAL AND INTERGROUP BEHAVIOR:

Theoretical implication First, intergroup phenomenon is very unpredictive if explained from interpersonal relation Second, Individual if depersonalized, group has its effect, intergroup behavior is influenced by intergroup relations of status, power etc. not by interpersonal relations. (e.g., Friend but Boss) Third, some variables that may have effect on interpersonal relations may have a different effect on intergroup relations. E.g., similarity may have attractive properties at an interpersonal level but it may threaten group distinctiveness and may lead to intergroup discrimination (BROWN, 1984)

Tajfel (1979): intergroup behavior requires a different level of analysis from intra-group or interpersonal behavior.

TYPES OF CONFLICTS Objective conflict Subjective conflict

OBJECTIVE & SUBJECTIVE CONFLICT Objective conflict: Conflict over power, wealth, or territory Outside the realm of psy require an analysis in terms of social, economic, political and historical structures. Objective conflict is distinct from psychological, symbolic/subjective conflict, such as attempts to establish positively valued distinctiveness (subjective). Distinct but both are interwoven & subjective conflict can exist long after objective disparities disappear (Deutsch, 1973 destructive conflicts)

EXPLICIT AND IMPLICIT CONFLICT

EXPLICIT CONFLICT Explicit conflict is legitimized and institutionalized by rules or norms (Sherif's study) According to Tajfel & Turner (1979) behavior toward out-group can be classified into 2 categories: Instrumental behavior: action aimed at causing the in-group to win the competition

Non-instrumental behavior Non-instrumental behavior: behavior is more interesting psychologically, because it is gratuitous (without cause) discrimination against out-groups and has no sense outside the context of intergroup relations negative stereotypes to members of out-group & to a group as a whole. Generally a set of traits is attribute to all members of category Individuals belonging to this category are assumed to be similar to each other different from in-group on particular traits. Treting out-group in this way makes them more predictable, can be used to justify discriminatory behavior. Helps members to differentiate the in-group positively from the out group.

Implicit conflict This conflict exist in the absence of explicit institutionalization) no conflict of interest yet it remains.Differentiations are made yet no reasons for these differentiations to occur (e.g., Hutu and Tutsi in Rwanda).