THE PSYCHOLOGY OFTHE LORD

OF THE FLIES

•Ralph, Piggy, and Jack can be seen as incomplete characters.

•They are, of course, young, immature, and still developing.

•But the three can also be seen together as a representation of “everyman” AKA Id, Ego, Superego

•The Id represents unidentified needs which are insistent and demand to be taken care of.

•Compare it to a newborn baby who is crying up a storm because he needs something. The baby doesn’t know what he needs (food, to be changed, to be burped…), and even if he did, he wouldn’t be able to tell anyone.

The Id

•The Ego recognizes that there is an unmet need and searches for some thing or some way out there in the world to take care of the need.

•Example! It is extremely hot and Justin feels very uncomfortable, so he removes his shirt in order to cool off. Unfortunately, Justin is in a crowded store at the time, and is escorted out of the store by security. (No shirt, no shoes, no service.)

The Ego

•The Superego maintains the records of the effectiveness of a person’s actions.

•Example! (Back to Justin) The Superego puts the shirt removal in a crowded store on the “no” list and reminds Justin that that action caused him embarrassment and made people shake their heads and say, “tsk, tsk” as he was lead past them.

The Superego

• Id- The demand to take care of needs immediately.

•Ego- Searches for objects and methods to satisfy needs ; connects the person to the outside world through logic and reason.

•Superego- Maintains a record of strategies and things to avoid or follow; associates results with feelings of punishment, reward, pride, shame, guilt, etc.

Recap!

INTEGRATEDPERSONALITY

•Physical

•Intellectual

•Emotional

•Social

•Spiritual

5 Parts

You!

Physical Intellectual Emotional Social Spiritual

The components all affect each other, sometimes working together,

sometimes working at cross purposes, and they are all “switched on” all the time.

We have a test scheduled for today. You studied, you know the material, you are confident. You got a good night’s sleep and you ate a good breakfast. You know that you will ace the test. In the hallway, during the five minutes between the end of the last period and the beginning of this one, you have a tremendous argument with your best friend. You come into class and I hand you the test. Your head aches; your muscles are tense; your stomach is in a knot; you are angry, upset, puzzled, shocked; you can’t think of anything but the argument; you can’t focus, can’t concentrate; you feel as if everyone is looking at you; you just want to be alone; you feel a sense of loneliness, betrayal, abandonment; etc., etc., etc. That test material that was in your head five minutes ago is still there, but it’s not coming out.

Example!

THE BYSTANDER EFFECT

• “A social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means of help to the victim in an emergency situation when other people are present.”

• Two major factors that influence bystanders' inaction:

• social influence: people look to others for cues to act

• diffusion of responsibility: someone else will act/help 

The Bystander Effect

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIvGIwLcIuw

•https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMSb5fS5rQM

GROUPTHINK

• “a type of thought within a deeply cohesive in-group whose members try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas.”

• individual creativity and independent

• thinking are often lost or discouraged

• unique viewpoints and individual doubts are ignored or cast aside

• poor or hasty decisions may be made

Groupthink

1. Illusions of invulnerability creating excessive optimism and encouraging risk taking.

2. Rationalizing warnings that might challenge the group’s assumptions.

3. Unquestioned belief in the morality of the group, causing members to ignore the consequences of their actions.

4. Stereotyping those who are opposed to the group as weak, evil, biased, spiteful, impotent, or stupid.

8 Symptoms of Groupthink

5. Direct pressure to conform placed on any member who questions the group couched in terms of “disloyalty.”

6. Self-censorship of ideas that deviate from the apparent group consensus.

7. Illusions of unanimity among group members (i.e. silence is viewed as agreement.)

8. Mind guards: self appointed members who shield the group from dissenting information.

8 Symptoms of Groupthink

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLfo2lRWkFo

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnAyr0kWRGE

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GSzCBv1-qA