Julia Terry

Professor Ingram
UWRT 1103

Three Column Notes

SOURCE

ANNOTATION

Morris, C. G.,
& Maisto, A. A.
(2015).
Understandin
g Psychology
(Eleventh
ed.). Pearson.

Part of Freuds theories is that we have

an id part of our personality that is
almost like our medulla in our brainwhat thoughts go to first, but it can be
controlled by other things. This part is
mainly associated with the pleasure
principle which basically is the part of
ourselves that wants to please everyone.
This is something that unconsciously
happens just like how our medulla acts
without us thinking about it. (pg. 358)
people need to find consistency and
stability even in the face of
inconsistency and unpredictability. (pg.
373)
Identity formation is an idea by Erik
Erikson, a developmental psychologist
and psychoanalyst, which states that
there is a point in our childhood where
we need to be less dependent on others
and rely more on ourselves and this
happens by having a sense of self. If this
does not happen, we will have a problem
with being dependent in the future. (pg.
332)
There is an actual gene that scientists
have found that make people not be able
to control emotional impulses and lack
compassion for others. (pg. 333)

THOUGHTS/CONNECTIO
NS

This I had to quote because

thats a big part of my paperpeople just want to find a way to
explain things, so they are likely
to believe things that makes
sense to them.
Maybe this is the point where we
solidify our beliefs? If they are
solidified then they are a part of
our identity, they are ours. So we
dont question it, because weve
convinced ourselves that they are
a part of us.

There has also been research that has

found that experiencing trauma when we
are kids can cause a brain structure to
become hyperactive, elevating
something that normally isnt. This could
be something like violence/aggression.
This normally occurs when the
prefrontal cortex becomes less able
to control impulsive behavior. (Amen,
Stubblefield, Carmichael, & Thisted,
1996; Schmahl, Vermetten, Elzinga, &
Bremmer, 2004). (pg. 334)
There are also factors like growing up in
a gun culture, feeling neglected as a
young child by family, feeling like an
outcast. At a young age there are certain
signs that you can look for if you are
worried that someone close to you has
this disorder. (pg. 334)
Frustration-aggression theory- The
theory that, under certain circumstances,
people who are frustrated in their goals
turn their anger away from the proper,
powerful target and toward another, less
powerful target that is safer to attack.
(pg. 494)
Cognitive dissonance is when we have
two contradictory thoughts, which makes
us uncomfortable because we want
things to make sense and be clear-cut,
which inevitably makes us choose sides.
(pg. 499)
Cultural truisms- the beliefs we learn
from our society and, therefore, accept
them as our own. We are reinforced to do
this by everyone in our culture.(Aronson,
Wilson, & Akert, 2005; Maio & Olson,
1998) (pg. 502)
Aschs Experiment on Conformity
(1956) (pg. 503):

This sounds very similar to when

Maiesto was talking about how
Americans have justified
violence in their movies, while
other countries have unjustified
violence and how that makes
you feel a certain way. This
probably has a huge impact on
our gun culture. Are we
primed to be violent? This also
goes hand in hand with the fact
that kids who are abused are the
ones who are going to be the
ones to abuse. So, although there
may be a gene, environment has
a lot to do with it. This further
proves that we are influenced
highly in our youth.
We should recognize that this is
uncomfortable, but embrace it.
Ignorance isnt always bliss, but
that is also where some people
will go against me.
A lot has to do with social
psychology and what some
people may call mind control.
This also is conformity. Is
conformity just succumbing to
the mind control? If you have
cognitive dissonance, that might
make you want to conform even
faster.

Perry, M.,
Hansen S.,
Posten M., &
Schlabach J.
(1998). Why
Your Favorite
Team is "Your"
Favorite
Team?: The
Psychology of
Sports Fans.
Retrieved

Size: Conformity increased as the

group became larger until it was
4+. Then it didnt make a
difference.
Unanimity: If one person didnt
conform, the conformity in the
group went from 35% to 25%.
Just the fact that they broke
away, even if you dont agree,
reduces conformity. (Walther et
al., 2002).
Personal characteristics: fear of
rejection- attracted to the group,
expects to interact with its
members in the future, holds a
position of relatively low status,
and does not feel completely
accepted by the group, the more
that person tends to conform.
For conformers, brain activity
doesnt change. For
nonconformers, parts of the brain
that are involved with emotional
regulation (ex: amygdala)
became very active.
suggesting nonconformity, or the
willingness to stand alone, comes
at an emotional cost (Berns et al.,
2005).
Social Identity Theory: when we identify
with the group around us.
Deindividuation: when we lower our
inhibitions and do things that we may
not normally do because we dont feel as
responsible for what is happening when
we are in a group.
Deindividuation is demonstrated when
you are waiting for someone else to help
another instead of doing it yourself.
Deindividuation is demonstrated when

I wonder what emotions this

triggers. I feel that I dont
conform with a lot of my peers
(at least the ones my age) and I
dont really have a feeling about
it. Its just an indifference
because Im just doing what I
want to do. I wonder if this
emotion is visible to others.
Interesting

This is the Genovese/Bystander

Effect.

from
http://www.uni
ts.miamioh.ed
u/psybersite/f
ans/index.sht
ml

Ellwood A.
(Producer),
Gibney A.
(Producer),
Orner E.
(Producer), &
Gibney, A.
(Director).
(2006). The
Human
Behavior
Experiments
[Motion
picture].
United States:
Fearful
Symmetry
Productions.

there is a physical aspect involved

because no one can really know exactly
what you did, so you cant be blamed.
All of these actions are something that
someone wouldnt normally do, it may
even be the opposite of everything that
you stand for. But it is mainly because
you are following the crowds behavior.
This is typically negative/violent
behavior.
Matthew Carrington:
He was a young college man who
decided to join a fraternity.
One night, the pledges were
hazed by doing physical tasks
and then they tried to chug a 5
gallon water jug.
Our kidneys can only handle so
much water before you poison
yourself.
All of the other guys in the room
were intoxicated, but they were
still able to see that Matthew was
not moving.
Details are a bit hazy, but they
left him to just sleep it off even
though some of the guys thought
they should help.
When they came back, they
realized he wasnt breathing, so
they called an ambulance.
Paramedics said that he died a
long time before they got there.
Main takeaway: It wasnt that
they were immoral, it was just
that they were influenced by each
others reactions.
Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)
Psychologist Phillip Zimbardo
made an experiment where he

I think hazing in and of itself is

entirely about the group aspect
of obedience. You dont want to
be left out or singled out, so you
play along. I still think it is very
mysterious on how that actually
works, but hazing is historical,
so its not like its a new
generation fad.

The guard who was the main one

got interviewed in the movie. To
me, he seemed different just due
to his explanation. I know its
influenced by my preconceived
ideas, but he seemed to lack
empathy. Then we were told
about a guard who was having
trouble doing what they were

took 24 college men (volunteers)

and put them into a simulated
prison environment.
Each man was randomly selected
to be either a guard or a prisoner
and Zimbardo was the boss.
Once the prisoners got to the
prison they were strip searched,
given a number, had a chain on
one foot, and were given only a
dress to wear. They guards
were given a uniform and
sunglasses.
At first, the prisoners challenged
authority as the guards got a bit
harsher. One guard stood out as
he took on a role of a prison
guard he saw in a movie.
As things got worse, the
prisoners rebelled. The guards
started seeing them as dangerous,
so they started using physical
forces to stop them. One of those
being solitary confinement.
Many prisoners had actual
breakdowns and a few left.
On the fourth day, the
punishments started to become
sexual (very dehumanizing).
After 6 days, Zimbardos
girlfriend came to see the
experiment and she was
horrified. Zimbardo was hesitant
because it was a great
psychological experiment. It
turns out that even Zimbardo got
caught up with it all.
He realized this and put an end to
it immediately.
Abu Ghraib, Iraq (2003)

doing. So how much of it is

something that is already in us
and how much of it is just our
environment?

I think that it is fascinating that

even the researcher got caught
up in it. Not because I didnt
think it would happen, just
because it shows the strength of
what happens in those types of
situations. He wasnt obeying
anyone, he just got caught up.
We spend so much of our life
disobeying the authorities. Some
people drink when they are
younger, we all speed at some
point in our life, and just other
things here and there. We all do
it. Yet, when it comes to
something big, we obey. I
wonder where that line is and if
our environment moves that line
slightly in different situations.
Does age have something to do
with it? I know the next story
would make you say no, but I
still wonder.

American guards were told to

rough up the Iraqi prisoners
that wouldnt cooperate. This
included torture and abuse.
Additionally, they were told to
soften them up for
interrogators.
Prison guards are supposed to
protect prisoners.
The guards were not even taught
how to be guards.
They were told that these people
were nothing more than dogs.
When the guards were having
difficulty doing what they were
doing, they were reminded that
whenever a bomb would go off
outside, that unless you help us,
their blood is on your hands as
well, referring to the American
soldiers.
Top administration gave
permission for all of this. In fact,
many believe that if it werent for
them, none of this wouldve
happened.
Although political leaders said
that the guards were just a few
bad apples, the truth is that
anyone wouldve done it under
those circumstances, specifically
that environment.
Main takeaway: The majority of
people will obey the authorities
no matter what. The people who
are heroes truly are rare.
Dr. Stanley Milgram (1962)
In his experiment, he told
someone to shock someone (that
they couldnt see) if they got a

Again, I just cant believe that I

could ever in a million years do
that. It truly makes me wonder if
I would since normal people did
do such horrific things. I feel bad
for them- all of them.
All of these things have to start
somewhere, with the leadership.
I wonder how people that are so
evil get into power so easily. I
know that some people who
have antisocial personality
disorders teach themselves to be
extremely charming. It truly is
amazing how good they become
at it. But then at some point I
feel like someone wouldve seen
what was going on under his
leadership and stop it. For
instance, we know that Hitlers
own men tried to kill him. But
that was after thousands of
people were already killed in the
camps.
Again, I wouldnt even
participate in a study like that. I
would not purposefully shock
someone. Period, end of story.
So were the participants already
primed to be a little less
empathetic than the rest of us?

question wrong.
As the intensity rose (and the
participants were aware of the
settings on the shock generator),
they started hearing the person
receiving the shock being in pain
and saying worrisome things.
Milgram wanted to see how far
they would actually go on the
shock scale. The person receiving
the shock was just a fake.
60-65% of the people went all
the way to the top of the shock
board.
Main takeaway: The participants
had an authority to blame for
their actions, so they felt less
responsible.
Con Man
A con man would call places
pretending to be a police officer
and, when he told him to do
things, they would.
Specific story: He called a
McDonalds and told the manager
to strip search a girl because he
said that she had a weapon. Then
it escalated to him having her jog
in place, jumping jacks, all the
way to doing sexual acts on the
managers boyfriend. She did and
no one said anything.
This man did the same thing to
70-100 other places.
Main takeaway: Anyone
wouldve done the same thing.
We obey authority.
Kitty Genovese (1964)
A young woman was assaulted in
the middle of the night.

This story is amazing to me.

Specifically because what police
officer would tell someone to do
those things? Especially the
jumping jacks but, really, sexual
acts? Who in their right mind
would hear that and think it was
legitimate? But, again, it
happened to so many people. So
I just dont know how that could
happen. It flabbergasts me.

Ive read many things about this

because it was so long ago, how
do they actually know what
happened? Apparently,
according to some people,
people did call. But no one knew
exactly what was going on until
the end, they just heard
screaming. So thats all that they
could report. Technically, you
would be alone in your own
apartment, so there would be
personal responsibility there, but
I could see the group aspect still
having an effect.
What most of this shows me is
that we are obedient not only to
our authorities, but to the people
around us. So, if someone told us
to believe something or we hung
out with people who believed
certain things, we would

Shortsleeve,
C. (2015, June
8). ISIS, Cults,
and Religious
Extremists:
How Mind
Control Really
Works.
Retrieved
from
https://www.y
ahoo.com/hea
lth/isis-cultsand-religiousextremistshow-mind12077649895
7.html

She was in clear view and in

earshot of approximately 38
people (who apparently were
aware of the noise), and none of
them did anything.
Eventually someone called the
police, but she bled to death
before anyone got there.
This has been tested a lot and it is
a fact that when you are alone
and someone is in distress, you
act immediately. When there are
other people with you and the
same thing happens, you wait to
do something and look at what
other people are doing.
Further proves that personal
responsibility fades when you are
in a group.
Steven Hassan- American licensed
mental health counselor
He believes that mind control has
the characteristics of instillation
of phobias, attempting to get
them into the cult at a time of
weakness, regulating what
people read or who they can
associate with, not encouraging
individuality or creativity, and
make you feel guilty for being
close minded about what they
believe.
BITE: Behavior control,
information control, thought
control, and emotional control.
He believes that cults, as opposed
to groups, have a lot of deception
attached to them. Specifically
when they recruit, they dont
exactly tell the whole story, they

eventually conform, especially if

that is all that you know. Its
been proven too much to not be
true, in my opinion. I just
wonder how this mind-control
happens and why it is so
powerful.

And yet, cults like ISIS still get

people to join when what they do
is everywhere and anyone can
access it.

twist things.
The leaders of these cults are
convinced that they are correct,
but they are also narcissistic and
have some antisocial
characteristics.
Mind control is on an influence
spectrum.
with mind control, there is an
illusion of having control over
your own life.
When it gets to the point of what
people call brainwashing, that
is mind control when force is
attached to it.
When people say us versus
them and good versus evil,
thats when it goes up on the
influence spectrum because they
are being close-minded.
Part of how Scientology works is
because they tell you to cut ties
with anyone around you who
doesnt believe in what they
believe in.
Cults make you avoid critical
thinking.
When the movie Jaws came out,
a lot of people wouldnt go into
the water because a fictional
movie made them believe that
shark attacks are common when,
in actuality, they are very rare.
This is called phobia
indoctrination. It also works for
when religious people say that
you will go to hell if you dont
believe in God.
There is a difference between
being born into it (because thats
all you know) versus having your

So, this applies to religion then.

It seems that mind control is
basically how our parents raise
us, which makes sense if you
think about it.
How do they get you to actually
do this? I feel that you must have
some free will in this, but maybe
it is too complex for that.
This is why places like North
Korea dont allow outside news
to come in.

If things arent working out for

you in life, you may take
comfort in something new that
will make your life better,
allegedly. This goes back to
getting someone to join when
they are vulnerable.
I think that is a perfect way of
putting it. I think thats why we
cant just say dont have your

Flores, R.
(2015, March

identity got broken down and

replaced by a cult identity. For
example, ISIS works by twisting
concepts from Islam and, since
Muslims are more familiar with
these concepts, they are more
likely to believe it versus
someone who is completely
unfamiliar with any of it. This
gives the latter an advantage of a
sort because they have a different
perspective.
With not being born into it, the
process of mind control its
like falling in love. However,
you have extreme dissonance
between your real identity and
your cult identity.
Humans are vulnerable simply
by being a social species. we
are hardwired to conform to what
we perceive to be our social
group. So, if those people are
our authority figure as well
(specifically, parents), then we
are even more likely to follow
them.
Philip Zimbardo, PhD
Mind control- The process by
which individual or collective
freedom of choice and action is
compromised by agents or
agencies that modify or distort
perception, motivation, affect,
cognition, and/or behavioral
outcomes. It is neither magical
nor mystical, but a process that
involves a set of basic social
psychological principles
CIA director John Breenan said that

opinions, dont have your

groups, be open minded,
because we have to do this in a
sense for society to function.
If you think about it, all of our
beliefs and ideas are potentially
made up by man. So are any of
us correct or is this just a way for
us to feel like we belong and to
make friends? What if we never
learned to communicate
properly? Would we have beliefs
at all? In psych we talked about
how stories get so engrained in
us that we start thinking it is
true, so maybe this is what
happened? All of our beliefs
started out as a story?

I would like to point out that his

13). CIA
director on
ISIS: They
aren't
Muslims they're
"psychopathic
thugs."
Retrieved
from
http://www.cb
snews.com/ne
ws/ciadirector-isisnot-muslimspsychopathicthugs/
Navarro, J.
(2015,
February 4).
Psychopathy
and Mass
Movements.
Retrieved
from
https://www.p
sychologytoda
y.com/blog/sp
ycatcher/2015
02/psychopat
hy-and-massmovements.

Us Domnech,
J.L., &
Nescolarde Selva, J.A.
(2015). What

most-many-of them are psychopathic

thugs, murderers who use a religious
concept and masquerade and mask
themselves on that religious construct.
He said that this is true because the
majority of the Muslims out there do not
believe at all what ISIS is doing.

Joe Navarro, M.A. is a 25 year veteran

of the FBI, where he was a
Counterintelligence Agent.
Nothing gets attention like
killing and slaughter.
Psychopaths have to run it and be
a majority because they have to
facilitate and rub off onto others.
Eric Hoffer, moral and social
philosopher
We join groups and believe those
who we see ourselves in- who we
identify with. It goes as far to say
that psychopaths want to be with
other psychopaths.
These things (referring to ISIS)
give people hope. We may not
see the advantage, but they can.
Its about perspective.
In beliefs we live, we move and we are
[...] the beliefs constitute the base of our
life, the land on which we live [...] All
our conduct, including the intellectual
life, depends on the system of our
authentic beliefs. In them [...] lies latent,

point is not wrong, even though

it is extreme. Even Al Qaeda are
against ISIS. Also, why are
people like young American girls
joining ISIS? Its not because
they believe in Islamic practices.

We identify with our parents, so

thats why we believe the things
they believe in. I think that is a
pretty valid argument.

are Belief
Systems?
Foundations
of Science.
doi:10.1007/s
10699-0159409-z

as implications of whatever specifically

we do or we think [...] the man, at heart,
is believing or, which is equal, the
deepest stratum of our life, the spirit that
maintains and carries all the others, is
formed by beliefs... Ortega y Gasset
Beliefs, reason and experience, are
based upon each other. Context is how
we understand it all as a group. This is
constantly changing.
Belief systems are the stories we tell
ourselves to define our personal sense of
Reality. An example is that we wouldnt
believe/use signs (Ill use a stop sign as
an example) if we didnt have the same
beliefs that our society has. This shows
that we arent only talking about beliefs
such as religious beliefs, we are also
talking about something like
philosophical beliefs.
Belief system characteristics:
Personal commitment
Existence: The people in the
group arent the only ones who
believe in it. There must also be
people who recognize their belief
system as a thing.
Cognitive congruence: This is
seen in individuals of the group.
Life span: It may continue even
when the founders are no longer
alive.
Variance
Boundaries
Existence or nonexistence of
certain conceptual entities: To
insist that some entity exists
implies an awareness of others
who believe it does not exist.
Representations of alternative

This is only an opinion, there is

no factual evidence that backs
this up- a belief about a belief.

Hope?

I wonder which one of these are

the most important to a group.
Does that vary in the group?

Author,
Galanter, M.,
& Author,
Wenegrat, B.
(1989).
Religious Cult
Membership:
A
Sociobiologic
Model. In
Cults and new
religious
movements:
A report of
the American
Psychiatric

worlds
Good and Bad concepts
Materials that back up the belief.
He gives examples of
propaganda for politics, folklore
for cultural belief systems, or
personal experience.
The content set must be open:
The materials we are given, we
must take into account what is
relevant- how far down we are
going to dig in the story.
Varying degrees of certitude
Elements of belief systems
Values
Substantive beliefs
Orientation
Language
Perspective
Ideological Technology is the
associated beliefs and material
tools providing means for the
immediate or far (Utopia) goals
of a belief system.
There will always be a battle between
beliefs systems.
Human characteristics that greatly
enhance the likelihood of mutualism:
Cognitive bias. In-group versus
out-group.
No one wants to be alone, so they
join groups of people who will
benefit them, even if thats just
keeping them company. Thats
why we have symbols for clubs.
You identify with your group
and, therefore, will conform to
other things.
Peoples ideas in the past:
John Locke: to be in a group, free

I think they are literally talking

about wars here. Which does
make a lot of sense.

I think groups are something

important to look at because
groups are formed because of
common beliefs because you
have to have a common interest.
For example, you like to
volunteer, so you join a
volunteer group. Generally
speaking, you do it because you
believe that you should give
back to your community. Most
likely, everyone in that group
believes the same thing you do.
So then which one comes first?
The group or the belief?

Association
(pp. 197).
Washington,
DC: American
Psychiatric
Association.

Shermer, M.
(2011). The
Believing
Brain: From
ghosts and
gods to
politics and
conspiracies-how we
construct
beliefs and
reinforce
them as
truths. New
York, NY:
Times Books.

people will accept social

constraints
Sigmund Freud: family
relationships made the structure
of the group
Sociobiological perspective: we
are predisposed to join groups
because they are, overall,
advantageous
Belief-dependent realism is when you
believe things because they make the
world make sense. Steven Hawking and
Leonard Mlodinow stated this in their
book The Grand Design. (pg. 6)
An evolutionary perspective: people
believe weird things because of our
evolved need to believe nonweird
things as a way to help us evolve even
further. (pg. 62)
Popular culture is going to get people to
believe more than science. The reason is
because superstition and belief in magic
are millions of years old whereas
science is only a few hundred years
old. Also, it is more attractive and,
therefore, people gravitate towards it.
(pg. 63)
Science is also able to control their
outcomes, so they are less reliable. (pg.
63)
Superstitious behavior is learned on a
variable interval schedule in which your
reinforcement is only going to come at
random times. Then you start to
associate other things with the outcome
because that made it come once. B.F.
Skinner made an experiment about this.
It is very powerful and reveals why we
play slot machines. (pg. 65)
Superstitions are just an accidental form
of learning. (pg. 66)

So do we no longer need groups?

I really like that point. Its a

strong point.

This relates to why we have

prejudices/racism because not
everyone in that group does x
but every once in a while it
happens, so you just put up the
defense.

Another example is when the

ladies were asked to smell shirts
that men wore to see what type
of man each person went for and
if smell is a big factor. One of
the outcomes is that when
women smelled their brothers

There is also a fixed kind of learning

where when one thing causes another, it
actually changes something in our brain
to make us believe a certain way. For
instance, we generally are disgusted by
incest because our siblings are too
closely related to us genetically and that
causes problems in the offspring. This
has to do with our brain, not something
someone once told us. (pg. 67)
This sort of fixed learning is part of the
SS-IRM-FAP system. (pg. 69)
Another example is infants predisposed
to think that two dots means it is a face.
In fact, we are predisposed to read all of
the things about a persons face. Thats
why we see faces in the clouds. (pgs. 6970)
The area where this facial recognition
happens in your brain is the temporal
lobes in the fusiform gyrus. It gets even
more complex than that. (pg. 70)
Kanazawa, S.
Evolutionary perspective: if our
(2008, March
ancestors were paranoid about hearing
28). Why do
something in the woods, then they would
we believe in
most likely take the steps needed to
God? II.
become safe. If they didnt always then,
Retrieved
yes, they would save themselves some
from
time, but they would also die.
https://www.p
These are called false positive (paranoid)
sychologytoda
or false negative (dead guy) errors.
y.com/blog/th
We overinfer personal, intentional, and
e-scientificfundamentalis animate forces behind otherwise
t/200803/why- perfectly natural phenomena.
do-weThis is where religion comes in is
believe-inbecause we want to have that
god-ii
connection. In our example it is noise
danger. So, if something happens to us,
we want to know why, so we attach a
God to it. We are predisposed to do this
because we are naturally paranoid.

shirts, they were disgusted by the

smell. This makes us less
attracted to them because, yes,
smell is a big factor in whether
or not we are attracted to
someone.

Explains the variable interval

type of learning.