This document discusses instances of violence and killings that have occurred in India and other parts of the world. It then examines several psychological theories that may help explain why ordinary, non-violent people sometimes engage in violent acts. These theories include social influence, cognitive dissonance reduction, diffusion of responsibility, deindividuation, dehumanization, scapegoating, and habituation. The document argues that social influence from leaders or groups often plays a key role in motivating violence. It also provides examples of how some of these theories may help explain communal violence that has occurred in India.

1. Jose Pulickal
AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?
Individual's in violence: A Psychological Perspective

2. - Horror of partition of India
1000000/500000 killed
- Godhra and after – 2000 killed
-Ethnic cleansing in Kashmir – 250
killed
- 278 Christians killed in Orissa
- 48000 killed Rwandan genocide.
210,000 perpetrators
- Naxal violence of 1970-s – 1150
murdered
- Maoist violence killed – 360 murdered
-Terrorist violence – 1990-2010 - 950
killed in India
- aftermath of 1992 Babri demolition –
2000 killed
-Caste system – indescribable cruelty
for 5000 years; in the last 10 years – 465
killed(sources: film: edited by Jose; Statistics: Amnesty international, Wikipedia, Tehelka etc.)

3.  The people who took to violence are
mostly ordinary people
They are “non-specialist” killers
They are formerly non-violent people
Perhaps like you and Me?
However,
Leaders play a key role
Perpetrators are ideologically motivated

5. Some Psychological Explanations
an overview
 Social influence
 Innate evil
 Cognitive dissonance reduction
 Diffusion of responsibility
 Deindividuation
 dehumanization
 Scapegoat-ing
 Habituation

6. Social Influence Theory
Description: “Pressure from a person or group of persons that
induces a change in the target person’s behaviour and also
in his/her attitude!” (Meghan Lynch)
Assumption: most people will not commit violence unless
induced to do so!
Mechanisms: compliance, identification, internalization
e.g. - mild mannered Vietnam trained soldier turned abusive and violent
- Zimbarodo’s experiment
Appraisal: difficult to study; Taking on to violence without
external agent! Milgram’s obedience experiment
“It was not my will. …authorities asked me to do it… I will kill
you if authorities ask me to do it” (Rwandan perpetrator)

7. Humans are naturally inclined
to do evil
 “To Produce violence, it is not
necessary to promote it moreote
actively. All that is necessary is
not to restrain preventing it”
(Hobbes, 1656)
 Violence is a preferred response
in an unconstrained state
 “34-37 percent commit rape if
assured they would not be
caught” (Briere & Malamuth, 1993)
 Gerald Geraldine, we are
born with anger. We express
it at every opportunity
(Geraldine, 1994).

8. Cognitive Dissonance
Reduction
- After committing an
initial act of violence
perpetrators likely
shift their attitudes in
favor of violence in
order to reduce
cognitive dissonance
(Rationalization) (Festinger &
Carlsmith, 2006)
Diffusion of
Responsibility
- “I was just a cog in the
Nazi machine. The
responsibility did not lie
with me since the
genocide would have
nonetheless occurred
without me… I wouldn’t
have made a difference
any way! ”(Eichmann)

9. De-Individuation
 A person is less likely to
help others when he
thought that he was one
of many to over hear an
emergency (Darley and Latane,
1968)
 Transfers feelings of
responsibility away from
individual
 Less likely to act when
Anonimous
Dehumanization
- The perpetrator degrades
the victim in order to
psychologically justify his
actions
- “facilitate mass
participation in genocide
or increase of brutality
along killing”(Smith 1987)
- Foot-in-the-door symptom
- (e.g. “Christians and dogs are not
welcome” – in Orissa temple)

10. Scapegoating
Blaming the victim
group for the ills of the
perpetrator group or
of society in general
as a way to justify
mistreatment of the
victim group (Hilberg 1985)
Habituation
- Desensitization to
violent behavior
through repetition
- “Habit releases the
perpetrator from
purpose and
decision,” (Sofsky, 2003)
- (“As the days passed people
became increasingly habituated”)

11. Conclusions
Indians and Communal Violence
 Social Influence and Communal violence
- compliance,= reconversion? One community handing over
members of other communities to be killed?
- internalization= The parties that promoted violence was elected to power?
Current JK protests and violence by “non-terrorists”?
- Identification = Machinery protecting the perpetrators of Godhra violence
 Innate Evil: the anger towards the minority – a Historical anger?
 Cognitive Dissonance = After all the Muslims have destroyed and desecrated
temples, isn’t it?
Diffusion = We are just carrying out orders of the high command?
 Deindividuation = “I only sold petrol to them” Godhra petrol pump owner
Dehumanizing = “they are pork eaters”
 Scapegoating = All the ills of India are because of the Muslim multiplication !

12.  Briere, John, and Neil Malamuth. 1983.
“Self-Reported Likelihood of Sexually
Aggressive Behavior: Attitudinal Versus
Sexual Explanations.” Journal of
Research in Personality(17):315-23.
 Festinger, Leon. 1957. A Theory of
Cognitive Dissonance. Evanston: Row,
Peterson.
 Hilberg, Raul. 1985. The Destruction of
the European Jews. New York: Holmes
& Meier.
 Kakkar, 2007. Colour of Violence,
Delhi: Oxford
 Latané, Bibb, and John Darley. 1968.
“Group Inhibition of Bystander
Intervention in Emergencies.” Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology
10 (3):215-21.
 Smith, Roger W. 1987. “Human
Destructiveness and Politics: The
Twentieth Century as an Age of
Genocide.” Genocide and the Modern
Age. Eds. Isidor Wallimann and
Michael N. Dobkowski. 21-39.
 Sofsky, Wolfgang. 2003 [2002].
Violence: Terrorism, Genocide, War.
London: Granta.
 Zimbardo, Philip. 2007. The Lucifer
Effect: Understanding How Good
People Turn Evil. NewYork: Random
House.
 (All the photos and paintings are from
public domain. No copyrights are
claimed by the websites)

13. The blood of the Innocents shed,
The tears of the widowed, and orphaned,
The maimed and made insane
Turn the horizon red,
The waters of the five oceans crimson;
Heaven in despair!
Are you one of them who kill?
Or are you the one who stood at violent shores
and dreamt:
Life is a butterfly in the hands of the wanton boys?