Why these humiliating rituals happen

Why on earth would someone put a plastic bag over their head, then allow a man dressed in Nazi uniform to encourage them to drink and vomit? Why does this happen?

Radio 5 Live discussed university initiation club ceremonies this morning and the common explanation seems to be a desire to bully and an inability to resist bullying.

I don't think that quite does it.

Certainly there is in many humans a lamentable desire to exert power over others. And some people are better at resisting than others. But this isn't all that was involved.

First there is a great human desire to conform. However ridiculous and unpleasant behaviour may be, an individual will engage in it if they think others like them are doing it. A university freshers club is ideal for this. The individuals are isolated from those who are unlike them and placed with a group of others of the same age and even hobby that they have.

So they conform.

The best known case of this was the decision of hundreds of followers of the Reverend Jim Jones to kill themselves and their children in order to fit in. In his account of this incident, Robert Cialdini discusses the circumstances in which this tragedy occurred - university initiation ceremonies have some of the same features.

It is not just the victims who conform, of course. Those carrying out the hazing conform too. The behaviour of the "guard" at the Unversity of Gloucestershire is very similar to that recounted by Philip Zimabardo in his book The Lucifer Effect. His Stanford Prison Experiment ended with guards subjecting other students to humiliating rituals.

Finally, but probably most importantly, there is coginitive dissonance.

The reason for initiation ceremonies is to bind in those tempted to join a group.

In their excellent book Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me), Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson talk of how much trouble we go to, to persuade ourselves that our values and behaviour are consistent. Aronson, in particular, became interested in frat house hazing.

In a series of experiments and observation exercises he demonstrated that frat members place more value on their membership the worse the ordeal they have to go through to secure it.

The initiates wouldn't want to think that they had undergone an embarrassing and uncomfortable ceremony for nothing. So they are more likely to persuade themselves that the group they have joined was worth joining.

And, for the same reason, those conducting the ritual hazing have persuaded themselves that it was acceptable and worthwhile. And therefore that it was fine to impose it on others.

If it wasn't they wouldn't have gone through it themselves. And, er, it never did them any harm did it?

Comments

[Darryl H]

Students have been doing this since time immemorial.

I survived my initiation (two, actually) and continued the traditions set down by the preceding class years when I was on the committee.

This is such a non-story.

It will always be a factor in student life. Forcing students to take it off campus only increases risk.

[Andy]

Darryl - DF's article is not, in case you didn't notice, a simple "what a silly lot of naughty boys and girls" story; it is an attempt to explain why apparently intelligent people will do things that are clearly not fun at all.

Your defence of, and obvious pride in, these activities comes as an excellent example of exactly what he is talking about.

[Josh]

This isnt bullying! its voluntary! I played rugby at uni and refused to do the initiations, saying i was there to play rugby. later as a senior player i watched with much laughter as people did initiations, not one said no or i dont want to do this...

What would we have done? forced them? stop them joining the team?

dont be silly.

why would you join a team where you had to do anything you didnt want to....

this is students having fun and bonding, no bullying invoved whatsoever. strictly voluntary, and the freshers look forward to initiations and speak of what they had to do with pride.

ridiculous article from a journalist who probably had to neck a litre of print ink to join the paper....

"The initiates wouldn't want to think that they had undergone an embarrassing and uncomfortable ceremony for nothing. So they are more likely to persuade themselves that the group they have joined was worth joining."

or they actually want to join the group and enjoy the initiation.

[Angela]

Josh,
So the stereotypical image of rugby players are obtuse and simple creatures is...............oh, never mind.

[Faisal]

Hmmmmmmm,
So, Darryl and Josh, are you saying that in some cases the victim is "asking for it"?

[John Scott]

So, in essence, these people are weak-minded and incapable of standing up for themselves. Pathetic. That is all there is too it. They are adults, and if they don't know when to resist something as degrading then we should let them flounder. A desire to conform is one thinking, doing things because one imagines others are doing them is a character defect.

[Darryl H]

Andy - Congratulations, you've missed my point. Forcing initiations underground will be more dangerous. Additionally, how exactly are any of these students being forced to take part?

More people die in swimming pools than in university "hazing".

BAN SWIMMING POOLS!