Exploring Social Psychological Themes in “The Hiding Place”

ANSWER

Title: Focusing on Social Psychological as basically as “The Hiding Place”

Abstract:

This paper, examining appications of social psychological concepts as explained in chapter ten of ” Forty Studies that Changed Psychology” by Hock, concentrates on them in the memoir “The Hidding Place” by Corrie ten Boom. Social psychology is applied by the author taking up a couple of themes, including familiarity, authority, prejudice and altruism and continuing with what is illustrated in the book. Linking psychological theories with practical situations is the principal mission of this paper that adduces information on the psychological concepts of human behavior and social interaction in the context of disasters, in particular.

Introduction:

Corrie ten Boom’s “The Hiding Place” is an incredibly powerful book that recounts the really terrifying experiences of a Dutch family during the Nazis’ occupation of the Netherlands in World War II. Social psychological mechanisms are abundant in the situation when the family takes a Jew and resists the dreadful regime. This work aims to investigate these issues using social psychology as a lens, highlighting how psychological theories may be seen as applicable to true life experiences recounted in the memoir.

Conformity in the Face of Adversity:Conformity in the Face of Adversity:

Something that was featured in “The Hiding Place” is the stress to comply with the society and face up to expectations by all means which one could encounter even in the most difficult situations. Adopting such a stance as that of Asch in his basic conformity test, we can inspect through characters, for instance, Corrie and her family, how they interact between the two ends of staying true to their beliefs and giving into the extreme requests of the Nazi government. During the moral crises which their decision about the Jews creates, the social norms then become very powerful and influential on the individuals’ behaviors.

Obedience to Authority:

Milgram’s obedience experiments provide an insight into the features of man that enable him to obey even when his self-perception is compromised because of disobeying an authoritative figure. “The Hiding Place” shows changement and the related dilemma of the people who work for the underground resistance, as you can see that these characters have to face the ethical problem of their readiness to either obey or disobey the orders from German authorities. Through observation of these mechanisms we discover the hidden internal processes which lead to both obedience and resistance in the face of harsh authoritarianism.

Prejudice and Discrimination:

The widespread penetration of racism and exclusion is the fact that brings the image of Jewish people being persecuted and tortured by the Nazi government in “The Hiding Place” very close to us. Taking under consideration the research experts have carried out in the field of prejudice and stereotypes, we can review how people’s opinions and attitudes towards the marginalized people influence their own behavior. Apart from that, the personality of Corrie whose journey of awareness includes her own biases against the immigrants and the social barriers, highlight the complex feeling of intergroup relationships and also a possibility for empathy to develop between people with diverse backgrounds.

Altruism and Heroism:

Despite adversity and hardship, exceptional instances of selflessness and heroism testify not only as acts of solidarity but also for the human spirit’s endurance during distress. Informed by research on altruism, we can explore the factors that trigger people’s obedience to rescue others, as done by the heroic Booms and their partners. Examining instances of these heroic deeds under a social psychology lens help us comprehend the conditions and circumstances that contribute to kindness and compassion in stressful times if we wish to dig deeper into the subject.

Conclusion:

Due to “The Hiding Place” focusing on social psychological aspects, we can take invaluable lessons about human behavior and the social intricacies manifesting during extremely challenging times. We can elaborate this through the relationalism between the theories of psychology and the events that have occurred in real life which are depicted in the memoir and therefore increase our comprehension of the operations that shape human reaction to social pressure and moral crisis. Firstly and finally, “The Hiding Place,” the authentic account of the harrowing and inspiring life of Betsie and Corrie ten Boom, lives on as a beautiful reminder of how human beings, despite their frailties, are capable of finding an indestructible strength if just once they decide to stick together rather than fighting each other, the last one standing against oppression and injustice.

References:

Hock, R. R. (2016). Forty Studies that Changed Psychology: The Explorations into the History of Psychological Research – 7th edition.Pearson.

QUESTION

Submit an APAaa style paperrrr that relates the findings of social psychology (chapter 10 in Hock) to The Hiding Place. The paperrrrr should be eight pages long. The first page is the title page. The second page is the abstract. Pages three through seven are the body of the paperrrr Page eight is the reference page.