Narcissism, Deflection, Deindividuation and Groupthink Dysfunctionality

By David William Jedell September 6, 2022 When a person feels slighted because of their uncivilized or disagreeable behavior, and they refuse to take responsibility for their personal actions, but rather, blame the person who slighted them as being biased against the group of people that they are a member of, then they are a narcissist with a defect in reason and accountability. When a group that represents a like minded number of Americans is blamed for the criminal action of one person not having anything to do with such group except for some tangentially related shared non criminal belief, then the person who blames is so enamored with themselves and their erroneous belief against the tangential relation, refusing to even consider that there is a flaw in their logic, then they are a narcissist with a defect in reason. When a person intends to look for opportunities to steal, they may appear to be part of a recognized collective, using their advocacy of the groupthink, they have no shame in saying they don't know, then after they cheat you they think they can play dumb. Psychiatric patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder suffer a great deal. Dr. Heinz Kohut describes the depression and anxiety that a narcissistic patient may feel as “the deepest anxiety a man can experience.” NPD has also been described to be as overwhelming as the fear of death. The torment narcissistic patients suffer should never be discounted. Furthermore, these patients can and do present a risk. They feel less than human when they encounter even minor failures and, in order to regain a sense of unity within themselves, they act in ways that seem narcissistic to others.[1] In the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust, Freudian analysis focused on individual guilt and tended not to reflect the new zeitgeist (the emotional interests and needs of people struggling with issues of identity, meaning, ideals, and self-expression). According to Kohut, a three-part self can only develop when the needs of one's “self states”, including one's sense of worth and well-being, are met in relationships with others. In contrast to traditional psychoanalysis, which focuses on drives (instinctual motivations of sex and aggression), internal conflicts, and fantasies, self psychology thus placed a great deal of emphasis on the vicissitudes of relationships. If a person is narcissistic, it will allow him to suppress feelings of low self-esteem. By talking highly of himself, the person can eliminate his sense of worthlessness. Kohut believed that the need for such selfobject relationships does not end at childhood but continues throughout all stages of a person's life.[2] Groupthink is a term first used in 1972 by social psychologist Irving L. Janis that refers to a psychological phenomenon in which people strive for consensus within a group. In many cases, people will set aside their own personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group. People who are opposed to the decisions or overriding opinion of the group as a whole frequently remain quiet, preferring to keep the peace rather than disrupt the uniformity of the crowd. In many cases, people end up engaging in groupthink when they fear that their objections might disrupt the harmony of the group or suspect that their ideas might cause other members to reject them.[3] Groupthink occurs when a group with a particular agenda makes irrational or problematic decisions because its members value harmony and coherence over accurate analysis and critical evaluation. Individual members of the group are strongly discouraged from any disagreement with the consensus and set aside their own thoughts and feelings to unquestioningly follow the word of the leader and other group members. In a groupthink situation, group members refrain from expressing doubts, judgments or disagreement with the consensus and ignore any ethical or moral consequences of any group decision that furthers their cause. Risk-taking is common, and the lack of creativity and independent thinking have negative personal and political implications for both group members and outsiders. Groupthink decisions rarely have successful outcomes.[4] Groupthink, a term coined by social psychologist Irving Janis (1972), occurs when a group makes faulty decisions because group pressures lead to a deterioration of “mental efficiency, reality testing, and moral judgment.” Groups affected by groupthink ignore alternatives and tend to take irrational actions that dehumanize other groups. A group is especially vulnerable to groupthink when its members are similar in background, when the group is insulated from outside opinions, and when there are no clear rules for decision making.[5] In contemporary social psychology, deindividuation refers to a diminishing of one's sense of individuality that occurs with behavior disjointed from personal or social standards of conduct. For example, someone who is an anonymous member of a mob will be more likely to act violently toward a police officer than a known individual. In one sense, a deindividuated state may be considered appealing if someone is affected such that he or she feels free to behave impulsively without mind to potential consequences. However, deindividuation has also been linked to "violent and anti-social behavior."[6] Teens are exposed to mind control confusion https://rumble.com/v1l5f19-tiktok-brainwashes-disgusting-into-you.html Pennsylvania school district accused of banning Girls Who Code book series https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/sep/26/pennsylvania-book-ban-girls-who-code?CMP=oth_b-aplnews_d-1 References [1] McLean M.D., Jamie, Psychotherapy with a Narcissistic Patient Using Kohut's Self Psychology Model, (2007), Psychiatry https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2860525/ [2] Heinz Kohut, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heinz_Kohut [3] Kendra, Kerry, Understanding Groupthink; How to Recognize and Avoid It, Very Well Mind (March 12, 2018) https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-groupthink-2795213 [4] Groupthink, Psychology Today https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/groupthink [5] What is Groupthink? http://www.psysr.org/about/pubs_resources/groupthink%20overview.htm [6] Deindividuation, Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deindividuation 1984 (1956 film) - Edmond O'Brien, Michael Redgrave, Jan Sterling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpGThhWTW2E Orwell's Animal Farm Movie https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1z3zqt The Obsolete Man S2 Twilight Zone full epsiode https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6ywhne Orwell's final warning - Picture of the future https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k_ptxWsadI George Orwell and 1984: How Freedom Dies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37N0aFmO19o Nineteen Eighty-Four Explained (1984) | George Orwell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1-2y2XELxU Copyright © 2022 by David William Jedell Email: d.w.jedell@gmail.com