Misdiagnosed scapegoat ideologies arise from incomprehension plus psychological need.
Evidence
The same process, however, can also yield explanations that are plausible to a critical mass of disaffected people but incorrect in their diagnosis and counterproductive in dealing with the underlying problems. Such plausible but misguided explanations may stem at least in part from an inability to fathom the true causes of complex events, as well as an attraction to explanations that serve a variety of social-psychological needs (Staub, 1989). The first step toward understanding which group is likely to be scapegoated, however, is to know when and why a particular group will be perceived as a plausible cause of shared difficulties. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 794
Categorization
- XREF: Echoes Staub on ideology and need-serving explanations; connects to the reader’s powerful-minority scapegoating mechanism. — connects to: Scapegoat ideologies win acceptance by serving psychological needs, not merely by explaining events — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide: The Social…, 820; Scapegoating thrives where complex causes resist clear attribution — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1592; Scapegoating thrives because complex explanations fail to fulfill needs for control — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1592
Broader Connections
- Scapegoat ideologies win acceptance by serving psychological needs, not merely by explaining events
#corroborates(0.95) — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 820 - Scapegoating thrives where complex causes resist clear attribution
#corroborates(0.90) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1592 - Scapegoating thrives because complex explanations fail to fulfill needs for control
#corroborates(0.85) — , Rudman, Laurie A - On the Nature of…, 1592