ChapteR 10 Behavior in Social and Cultural Context 373Recite & Review
Recite: Try to overcome your prejudice against quizzes by reciting what you know about four ma-
jor causes of prejudice, hostile and benevolent sexism, explicit versus implicit prejudices, five ways
of measuring implicit prejudice, and four conditions necessary for reducing prejudice and conflict.
Review: You have just read a long but important section; you really should reread it.Now answer this Quick Quiz question:
Surveys find that blacks, Asian Americans, and Latinos often hold prejudices about other minorities.
What are some reasons that people who have themselves been victims of stereotyping and preju-
dice would hold the same attitudes toward others?
Answer:Study and Review at MyPsychLabTheir own ethnocentrism; low self-esteem, anxiety, or feelings of threat; conformity with relatives and friends who sharetheir prejudices; parental lessons; and economic competition for jobs and resources.PSychology in the newS reviSited
N
ow that you have read about the many external
forces and situations that can cause good people
to do bad things, what do you think the story of the
terrorist bombing at the 2013 Boston Marathon
teaches us?
First, it seems clear that the two brothers accused
of setting off the bombs were not pathologically dis-
turbed loners or mentally ill. For most of their time
in the United States, they had been doing well in
school and at work. They had loved participating in
their respective sports of wrestling and boxing; they
had hopes and ambitions for careers in their adopted
country and had every reason to think they would
achieve them. The younger brother had become an
American citizen, but the older one, it seems, never
became fully acculturated into American society and
apparently could not find a comfortable resolution
between his Muslim identity and American culture. As
we saw, there may be a critical period for becoming
truly acculturated to a society that is very different
from one’s culture of origin.
By 2011, Tamerlan had become radicalized and
told his mother he was prepared to die for Islam; his
younger brother soon shared his beliefs. On March
14, 2012, Dzhokhar tweeted: “a decade in America
already, I want out.” Why? Perhaps the brothers felt
themselves to be victims of prejudice and discrimina-
tion, a feeling that would have been inflamed by the
jihadist Internet sites that Tamerlan visited and his
trip back home to the Russian republic of Dagestan
that year. Whatever the process, the young men’s
decision to set off bombs at the marathon would not
have happened overnight, but through steady entrap-
ment, in which they justified each step on the way to
committing their final act of terror.
Second, this story shows the power of cognitive
dissonance. At a news conference in Dagestan, theyoung men’s parents angrily denied evidence of
their sons’ guilt and accused the United States of
conspiring to kill them. Many observers found their
reaction sad or pathetic, but it was predictable.
The dissonance between “We are good, devoted
parents with kind, loving sons” clashed with “We
came back here and left them in America, where
they committed a horrible terrorist act.” The most
tolerable way to reduce this excruciating dissonance
was: They didn’t do it, but if they did do it, it’s all
America’s fault.
Third, the story highlights the way that people in
Boston and the rest of the nation became united in a
common cause. Locals reaffirmed their social identity
as “Bostonians” and felt increased solidarity and co-
operation in working for a shared goal of recovery. As
in every disaster, it was not only the first responders
who acted heroically to help the wounded but also
the countless citizens who did whatever they could:
Strangers comforted the wounded and applied tourni-
quets, sometimes with their belts or their own hands.
The need for help was unambiguous, and the sight of
others rushing to help quickly created a crowd norm
for altruism.
In short, our opening story illustrates a central
theme of this chapter: “Human nature” contains the
potential for unspeakable acts of cruelty and inspiring
acts of goodness.
The philosopher Hannah Arendt (1963), who cov-
ered the trial of Adolf Eichmann, used the phrase the
banality of evil to describe how it was possible for
Eichmann and other ordinary people in Nazi Germany
to commit the atrocities they did. (Banal means “com-
monplace” or “unoriginal.”) The Nazis, of course,
systematically exterminated millions of Jews, Gypsies,
homosexuals, disabled people, and anyone else who
was not a “pure” Aryan. But virtually no country has340BEHAVIOR IN SOCIAL
AND CULTURAL CONTEXT10Dead, One Captured^ One Suspect in Boston Marathon Bombing^ BOSTON,^ MA, April 19, 2013.^ Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, once
Dzhokhar hoped tling team to fight and Tsarnaevwas on , 19, attending the had U.S. been the Olympic University on his team. high of Massachusetts school His brother wres-at a to region the Dartmouth United of Russia. on States a city They about scholarship. lived (^10) together years The ago brothers in Cambridge, from Chechnya, had come and
were captured. Now Tasaid merlan to Both be Tare sarnaev devout suspects Muslims is dead in who the and Boston did his not brother Marathon drink or has smoke. bomb-been
ing last Monday that killed three people and severely injured more than 170 others. The bombs used were crudely fashioned from ordinary
kitchen sions ball bearings killed pressure an designed 8-yearcookers -old to packed boy inflict and with maximum two explosives, young harm. women, The nails, exploone and -a
graduate student from China. dent Tw (^) magazine o years ago, that Tahe merlan did told not a have Boston a single University Americanstu-
friend. his had coach many “I don’t and American friends understand friends said them,” he and was was he “quiet” said. well liked, But and Dzhokhardeeply thoughin (^) -
fluenced angel.” reached in by Chechyna, his older described brother. The his father younger of son the suspects,as “a true
Psychology in the News
Roles and Rules and Behavior Social Influences on Beliefs
Individuals in GroupsUs Identity Prejudice and Group Versus Them: Group(^) Revisited Psychology in the News, Conflict^
TYo (^) Differences aking Psychology u: Dealing With CulturalWith
by ing^ down authorities The brothers a sidewalk, a few appeared days unnoticed after in the a surveillance by bombing. spectators They video at were released the walkrace. -
Investigators men, pects and reportedly calls asked carjacked began for flooding the a publicMercedes in. ’sA help few in in hours identifying Cambridge. later, the the Policesus-two
chased and passengethe r.vehicle, Tamerlan and Tsexchanged arnaev was gunfire critically with injured the driverand
(^) in white cap) and A surveillance camera captured this image of Dzhokhar the police; Dzhokhar was wounded and captured alive. Boston marathon bombing. (^) Tamerlan TsTaarnaev (in sunglasses), suspects in the merlan was later killed in a shootout with Tsarnaev (left, (^)