Question

How was Frey and Rez' control theory (loss of control, cognitive patterns and ways to regain control) used as an explanation for the conditions necessary lead to the Holo-caust? Explain and provide examples.

Answer 1

The killing of people during WWI by the Germans, in Germany was not a sudden reaction. It was a Genocide that was intentionally committed to destroying a particular community, disabled persons, sick and old people.

The Germans were propagated systematically about racial superiority. According to the propaganda the Germans are the Pure Aryans race and that is described in the Holy Scripture, they are genetically superior to all, and all others are sub-human and they can live on the mercy of Germans.

They have used a social-psychological model of cognitive control that established the intra-individual and inter-individual theories of how an individual thinks and how society as a whole or nation as a whole thinks.

The historical events are not repeated in an identical, manner but it gives an insight into looking at similar events like rioting, lynching, killing, and murdering. It explains how an individual’s act turns into a collective act of society. When the individual becomes a collection of people like in-group people their perception of external stimuli becomes the same and they act and react in the same manner. They have the same feeling of losing control and react to the loss of control in a similar manner.

According to Frey and Rez, the control is avoiding or reducing negative outcomes, to achieve this one has to focus on predictability, explainability, and influenceability and apply an adaptive function that is necessary as per the demand. An individual would not accept his death, but to save himself he can adapt a function that can save him which means the events influence his function and control the outcome as the cause and effect theory explains.

The cognitive ability gives rise to avoiding negative outcomes by predicting and explaining. It depends on perception and the outcome is the result of it. If the perception is losing control then the mindset will be a negative action and motivate to regain control by means of an action that can predict their superiority. An action of one can change into the action of the whole society or nation when there is an authority that demands that action as seen in the research Stanford prison experiment or Milgram experiments.

The second reason was the hatred Hilter had developed towards the Jews. According to his belief during WWI the Jews were the main cause of their defeat and economic downfall. Behind the curtain of finishing the disabled, sick, and old people from lower genes around 600,000 Jews were killed in gas chambers and by other firing squads.