Social Psychology and Military
Social psychology is closely related to other fields of human activities and
the degree to what this or that field is researched from social psychological
point of view is very important for improvement of the general situation, especially
if military conflicts are the subject of the research. It is not a secret that
military is a very specific field and military conflicts practically always
violate traditional ways of life, norms of behavior and cultural and moral values.
One of the recent examples is the war in Iraq and probably the most notorious
and publicized incident that is the prisoner abuse scandal in Abu Ghraib.
Obviously the reasons of such behavior from the part of soldiers are quite complex
and it is hardly possible to give a definite answer. Nonetheless the basic reason
lies on the surface and this reason is the war. It is evident that the war changes
human behavior because an individual finds him/herself into abnormal circumstances.
As a result, traditional, human norms of behavior are changed significantly
and often soldiers as well as other participants of the military conflict behave
abnormally too that is accompanied by deviant behavior.
Partially the prisoner abuse in Abu Ghraib may be explained by Hedonistic theory
of action, which implies that human action occurs when the actors are compelled
to increase their pleasure by achieving a goal or else they are compelled to
relieve the burden of uneasiness by achieving a goal. In the context of Abu
Ghraib, the behavior of soldiers may be explained by the psychological pressure
they suffered from because the goal they aimed at was not fully achieved and
their actions may be viewed upon as an attempt to relieve from this pressure.
At the same time, it may be viewed as an attempt of soldiers to achieve higher,
noble goals to keep peace and prevent the US from terror attack, for instance.
But it this attempt obviously failed and in all probability such a deviant behavior
of soldiers was the result of their trying to achieve a goal but they lack the
appropriate resources or means to do it, as the anomie theory states.
Furthermore, it is possible to presuppose whether such incident could occur
or not and what the principle ways of its prevention were. At this respect,
it is necessary to realize that American soldiers are actually aliens in Iraq,
they practically do not have some general idea about the local culture, traditions,
etc. Naturally such a situation only deteriorates the consequences of military
intervention. On the other hand a more profound knowledge of local traditions
and culture and more communication could probably minimize the negative consequences
of the conflict and make relations between opposing parts less tense for, according
to intergroup contact hypothesis group conflict could be defused if both groups
had more contact with one another.
Thus, in conclusion, it is just necessary to say that the soldiers involved
in the prisoner abuse cases should be held legally responsible for their actions
but at the same time it is necessary to take into considerations the circumstances,
which led to such actions.
Bibliography:
1. Michener, A.H. Social Psychology. Toronto: Wadsworth, 2004.
2. Nielson, G. Social Psychology and Military Conflicts. New York: McGraw Hill,
2001.
3. Wilson, R. and D. Herrnstain. Crime and Human Nature. New York: Simon and
Schu
