Have you ever read about historical dictators such as Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, or Joseph Stalin and wondered how people went along with them? Have you ever thought that reasonable people would never agree with such things? In the United States as well, people have followed in cult-like fashion leaders from such groups as Heaven’s Gate, Jim Jones’ Peoples Temple, and David Koresh’s Branch Davidians. It is unsettling to know that researchers have found that almost anyone will obey orders if placed in the right situation. In this week’s Assignment, you examine how culture plays a role in conformity and social influence through the analysis of a dictatorship and your own culture.
To prepare for this Assignment:
• Review the chapter, “Social Interaction,” in your course text, Cross-Cultural Psychology: Critical Thinking and Contemporary Applications (5th ed.), paying particular attention to conformity, obedience, leadership, and social power.
• Research in the Walden Library and other resources for an example dictatorship to analyze to complete this Assignment. Use at least two scholarly resources outside of the Learning Resources in your Assignment.
• Think about how dictators, leaders, and followers may exemplify the concepts of conformity, obedience, and social power.
• Consider the characteristics of cultures that are likely to conform.
To complete this Assignment, submit by Day 7 a 5-page research paper and include the following:
• Identify a dictatorship (modern or historical from a country other than your own) keeping in mind the discussion of conformity, obedience, power, and leadership in the Learning Resources and your additional scholarly research in the Walden Library and other resources. Include at least two additional scholarly resources.
• Analyze the aspects of the culture that supported the rise of the dictatorship.
• Explain the relationship between culture and social influence within the dictatorship example.
• How do you see this relationship in your own culture?
Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation.