Psychology professor offers insight on protesters, officers during nightly demonstrations
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PORTLAND, OR (KPTV) — Like it or not, we all act differently in a group than by ourselves. Nightly demonstrations are no exception.
“Certainly, with the size of the group in this situation you see people do things that they wouldn’t do on their own,” Dr. Deana Julka, Chair of Psychological Sciences at the University of Portland, said.
Dr. Julka said groups create interesting dynamics; they can defuse each person’s sense of responsibility, increase physiological arousal, and lead to impulsive self-gratification.
She said even watching members of a group do something destructive can normalize it.
“The more people you see, or if it becomes normalized, to be breaking windows or throwing fire, if that is something that’s happening every day it’s quite likely we’ll see an escalation,” she said.
And what about the officers?
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell tweeted Wednesday about videos of officer use of force that he says can look disturbing and raise legitimate concerns.
He said some officers have been removed from crowd control, others who’ve been assaulted or injured are asked to go back out and endure more, saying “We are not perfect. We make mistakes and hold ourselves accountable.”
FOX 12 asked Dr. Julka if there might be built up frustration. “I can’t see how there wouldn’t be built up frustration, it’s an incredibly difficult job at its best.”
And with officers and demonstrators at odds nightly, Dr. Julka said it’s natural for each to start identifying as a group and tend to not see the other side as distinct individuals or even fully human.
“Particularly if you have a perceived threat, we identify even more strongly with our groups,” she said.
With all those factors in mind, we asked Dr. Julka how we can overcome divide.
She said we have to see people as individuals and approach situations with kindness.
She said it’s good for all of us to start by talking to loved ones with different points of view and then apply that to a wider circle.
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