Training Our Protectors
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  • Site Contents
    • Index of all subtopics
  • Introduction
  • Stress Effects on Police
    • Papers: Stress Effects on Police
  • Understanding Violence
    • A Complex Matrix
    • Nature-Nurture Interactions>
      • Papers
    • Child abuse and neglect>
      • Papers
      • Papers: Corporal punishment effects
    • Effects of Trauma and Stress>
      • Papers
    • Powder-keg formula>
      • Papers: Early Signs
    • The Violent Brain>
      • Brain Injury and Damage>
        • Papers
      • Genes and temperament>
        • Papers
      • Neurohormonal imbalances>
        • Papers
    • Intimate violence and abuse>
      • Papers
    • Substance Abuse>
      • Papers
      • Papers
    • Psychopaths and APD>
      • Papers
    • Parallels of collective violence and war zones>
      • Papers
  • Abuse of Power
    • Authoritarians>
      • Papers
    • Going backward: A trend toward authoritarianism>
      • Papers
    • "Stand Your Ground">
      • Papers
    • Prosecutor's Certainty>
      • Papers
    • Innocents swept up in frenzy >
      • Papers
    • He’s just "faking it” >
      • Papers
    • Punitive approach>
      • Papers
    • Police Brutality>
      • Papers
      • Articles: Tasers and Pepper Spray
      • SWAT Overkill-Warrior Cops
      • Militarization
      • Stop and Frisk
      • Blog and News Posts: Police Abuse
    • Racial Profiling
    • A Global Crisis>
      • Global Reports
    • Locked up and restrained>
      • Papers
      • News and blog posts
    • Torture>
      • Papers
      • News and blog posts
      • Links
    • Human Rights Abuses>
      • Reports
      • Links
      • New Page
    • Governments Mistreating Citizens>
      • Papers
    • Civil liberties>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • "War on Terror" Errors and Effects>
      • Torture Debates
      • Bush Cheney Policies
      • Overreaction to 9/11
      • New Page
      • New Page
    • Systemic Corruption>
      • Papers
  • Juvenile "Injustice"
    • What are we doing to our children?
    • News around the world
    • News from U.S.
    • Links
  • Prison Nation
    • Links
    • Articles: Overview Issues
    • Mass Incarceration>
      • Papers
    • Solitary confinement
    • Supermax>
      • Articles
    • Sentencing Discrepancies>
      • Papers
    • Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
    • Three Strikes
    • The New Chain Gangs
    • Private For-Profit Prisons: Corporate welfare>
      • Links
      • Papers
      • Articles
    • Mentally ill in prison>
      • Papers and articles
    • Inside Rape>
      • Papers
    • Effects on Families and Children>
      • Papers
  • Neuroscience of law and justice
    • Fairness and Reciprocity>
      • Papers and Articles
      • Links
    • Diversity of Human Nature>
      • Papers
    • Memory>
      • How memory is reconstructed
      • Eyewitness fallibility
      • The Line-up
      • Academic Papers on Memory
    • False Confession
    • Misperception and misjudgment>
      • Papers
    • Micro-expressions>
      • Papers
    • Volition>
      • Assumptions about personal agency and self-control>
        • Papers
      • Temporary impulsive behavior
    • Prejudice and Discrimination>
      • Papers
    • Unrecognized extenuating circumstances
  • Social psychology of justice
    • Values and Attitudes>
      • Papers
    • Groupthink>
      • Papers
    • System Justification>
      • Papers
    • Obedience, Compliance, Conformity>
      • Papers
    • Denial and Projection>
      • Papers and Articles
    • Whistleblowers as Traitors>
      • Papers
    • Revisiting Zimbardo
    • Seminal Studies
    • Loyalty and Collusion>
      • Papers
    • Search for belonging: gangs and mercenaries>
      • Papers
    • Situational social roles>
      • Papers
  • Debating Approaches
    • Punishment vs. prevention>
      • Papers
      • Links
    • Gun control and Common Sense>
      • Papers
      • Links
    • Drug treatment or harsh incarceration>
      • Papers
      • Links
  • Ineffective and Outdated Methods
    • Coercive Interrogation and leading questions>
      • Papers
    • Myths About Psychological Profiling>
      • Papers
    • Polygraph>
      • Papers
    • Tough Love and Zero Tolerance>
      • Papers
    • Bounties and Informants>
      • Papers
    • Boot camps>
      • Papers
    • The "Bad Seed" view>
      • Papers
  • Economic and Political Issues
    • Privatization: mercenary and contract security>
      • Papers
    • Inadequate training and monitoring >
      • Papers
    • Mislabeling
    • Corruption: A Quiet Violence
    • War on Poor: Draconian Policies
    • Dickens and Les Miz
  • A Broad Cultural Background
  • Solutions
    • Prevention>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Social Investment>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Restorative Justice>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Helping Kids-at-Risk>
      • Links
    • Juvenile Justice alternatives>
      • Papers
      • Links
    • Empathy and Ethics>
      • Papers
    • Conflict resolution>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Community-based programs>
      • Links
    • Never Assume>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Offset Damage>
      • Links
    • Healing the Hurt>
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Global Approaches
    • Helping Law Enforcement Professionals>
      • Coping with danger and high-stress situations
      • Triage and Crowd Control
      • Links
      • Papers
    • Major Policy Reforms>
      • Papers
  • Resources
    • Discussion of Methods
    • Exercises and Surveys
    • Authoritarian Questionnaire
    • Values Questionnaire
    • Civil Liberties Questionnaire
  • A Look at History
    • A History of Punishment
    • Inhumane incarceration, detention>
      • Papers
    • Chain gangs, debtor’s prison, the poorhouse>
      • Papers
    • Gulags, Political prisoners>
      • Papers
    • Internment>
      • Papers
  • Social Advances slideshow
  • Statistics
    • General Indicators
    • Stats: Prison Population
    • Stats: Gun Violence
    • Stats: Child abuse
    • Stats: Substance-abuse related violence
  • Recommendations
    • Organizations and Advocates
    • Books
    • Video Lectures
    • TV Shows
    • Feature Films
    • Documentaries
    • Other Media
    • Exhibits
  • Index of all Links
  • Index of all paper topics

The need for belonging, acceptance, and approval are ubiquitous, but the line between normal conformity and mob zealotry can, at times, be thin.

Alienated youth may search for substitute families and belonging by joining gangs, cults, or extremist groups and may subsequently undergo indoctrination which spurs them to commit acts of hate and terror.

Honor among Thieves (Cultural Contexts)

Most people search for social bonds, even to the point of risking their lives. Nationalist movements, sports teams, and political parties can become pseudo-family for people. Loyalty is required for membership. Even the most antisocial people can act out a social contract with other members of their group. Violent or antisocial men, including gang members and mercenaries, often have strong feelings of loyalty toward other members of their own groups, and view them as family. Both the Mafia and the police enforce strict codes of honor for their members. Gangsters view betrayal by a “made man” as the worst of moral “sins.” Cops protect each other against police department Internal Affairs Division investigations.

Friend or Foe? A Paleolithic Legacy

Our evolutionary heritage predisposes us to label others as either members of our group or outsiders. Tribal categories can expand when small groups join forces against a bigger enemy or cooperate to survive. Under threat, a group can become strongly polarized, dividing the world into “Us and Them.” The human is also capable of overcoming this narrow identification with one’s own “tribe.” A person can have an expanded identification with others to include a much larger group (i.e., all of humanity, all living creatures, etc.)