Man is a social animal?

Do you agree with this statement, said thousands of years ago by a person who didn't have any professional experience or education according to modern standards.

We do need to evaluate any advice on those bases right? That it fits the modern standards.

If you believe in the statement or not, one thing is for certain, society has a deep impact on our actions, decision making, and existence in general. Social influences form the core of our beliefs and how we lead our lives.?

In Asia, arranged marriages are fairly common as compared to the West. Someone in Asia is more likely to marry a person with desirable traits regardless of being in love with that person. In the west, love is a big factor in marriage.?

Interestingly, a study conducted by Zick Rubin , suggested that people who marry someone they love start with the highest affection levels towards the person, which gradually decreases over a period of time. Whereas in the case of arranged marriages people start with low affection levels towards their partners, the levels may increase over a period of time.?

The potency of the study can be seen in the divorce rates in both regions, in China, the divorce rate is almost 4%, whereas in the USA it is almost 50%.

So does our cultural background influence our definition of love? And does it affect how we form relationships?

How big an influence does society have on our lives?

While the answer to these questions will no doubt vary from person to person and even the society they live in or the context. There were a few interesting studies that demonstrate how an individual is influenced by their peers.

Milgram Experiment 1963

Intrigued with the justifications provided by the accused, to be just following orders, in ? World war II, Nuremberg War Criminal trials, Stanley Milgram a psychologist at Yale University,? was interested to know how far would a person compromise their moral conscience, to follow orders? The defense was based on, the accused just obeying the authority, doing what they were told to do, so were they accomplices or mere puppets?

These questions plagued Milgramand so he devised an experiment to understand the impact of obedience on a person.

He invited male participants via newspaper advertisements to take part in a study about learning at Yale University. The participants were then divided into groups of two, based on a draw one was assigned to be a teacher and the other a student.

Little did the participants know that the draw was rigged, the students were always Milgram’s associates and the teacher were the real participants.

Long story short, the student was placed in one room strapped with electrodes and the teacher in an adjoining room with the controls to the electrodes. They then proceeded to ask the students a series of questions. For each wrong answer, the voltage of the shocks increased 15volts, there were 30 switches, starting from 15volts for a mild shock to 450volts for a fatal shock. Since the students were associates of Milgram, they proceed to give mostly wrong answers deliberately, causing the severity of the shocks to increase, to a point where the teacher refused to administer the shock. Milgram had anticipated this behavior and had four statements ready if one was disobeyed the experimenter read the next.

Statement 1 Please continue :?

Statement 2:The experiment requires you to continue!

Statement 3: It is absolutely essential that you continue!

Statement 4:You have no other choice but to continue!!?

The results of the experiment showed that 65% of the participants proceed to 450volts shock and all the participants proceed to at least 300volts!!

The experiment shows how ordinary people can be influenced to the extent of killing an innocent person! People have a tendency to obey orders from people or institutions they assume as authority figures. Since we are taught to obey from birth, obedience to the norms and what is considered right can greatly affect our actions or decision-making.??

So how far can authority change or even subdue us??

Another experiment, Zimbardo Prison Experiment 1970, demonstrates just that.

Zimbardo Prison Experiment 1971

In the summer of 1971, a psychology professor at Stanford University, Philip Zimbardo led a team of researchers to run a simulation of a prison-like environment for two weeks. The participants were invited via newspaper advertisements and were divided into two groups, this time at random. One group was the prison guards who were given uniforms, along with instructions to do whatever it took to maintain law and order, however, no physical abuse was allowed, the other group was the prisoners, who were brought in by real Palo Alto police.

The guards would wake the prisoners up at 2 AM for a count, a way to demonstrate their authority. Furthermore, even though any physical abuse was prohibited, guards would often administer other forms of physical punishments, such as making the prisoners do pushups while one guard stepped on their back, other prisoners were often asked to sit on the back while doing pushups. The prisoners were taunted and insulted, they were given petty orders, pointless and boring tasks, they were dehumanized and humiliated at any opportunity.

One prisoner was reported to have suffered from emotional instability within 36hours of the experiment.

Within five days of the experiment, the psychological abuse of the prisoners by the guards was so severe that the experiment had to be stopped on just the sixth day.?

The experiment demonstrated how fast we adapt and accept the role society assigns us. In this case, the prison guards, a position of authority, ordinary people began to act in a way that they wouldn't in their daily life. The environment instigated a sense of authority in the guards, that they were almost compelled to enforce. It should be noted that out of the 75 people who applied to participate, only those with no previous criminal background, emotional or mental issues were selected.

Conclusion

Now that we know about these experiments, we should also learn about the full quote,?

“Man is by nature a social animal; an individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human. Society is something that precedes the individual. Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to and therefore does not partake of society is either a beast or a god. ”― Aristotle

The experiments are a testament to Aristotle’s philosophy. It demonstrates that our environment, situation, and people around us influence us in ways that we don’t know about. These factors combine can make us act in ways that we can never even imagine.?

So to live a good life it is very important to surround ourselves with people that bring out the best in us. It is important that we trust the right people and follow what we feel is right. It is okay to make mistakes, feel a sense of longing. But make sure that the joy of belongingness doesn’t come at the price of your morality.