Throughout history and cultures, different religions have performed ritual sacrifices to atone for their sins, evils, and community guilt feelings. On …
Social Psychology
Diffusion of responsibility: If not you, who?
In 1968 the psychologists John Darley and Bibb Latané made an experiment that revealed a very curious phenomenon: the diffusion of responsibility. …
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The fallacy of quietism: Thinking that silence gives consent
"There are few things as deafening as silence", wrote Mario Benedetti. The silences hide illusions, fears, concerns, confusion, resignation ... …
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Argument from authority, the resource of those who have no arguments
All of us, at some point, have succumbed to the argumentum ab veritate or argumentum ad verecundiam or argument from authority. It is not difficult, …
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Guilty Wanted: The Scapegoat Theory in Social Psychology
The scapegoat theory explains a phenomenon that is quite widespread at social and individual level: the tendency to look for culprits who carry our …
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The business of fear, according to Zygmunt Bauman
“The consumer economy depends on the production of consumers and the consumers who must be produced for the consumption of 'anti-fear' products have …
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Self-esteem and mass media exposure
We already know that the influence of the media is enormous, but ... do we really know how great their influence can be on people? A team made up …