Human Nature

Human Nature

A woman is screaming and the smell of a raging fire is in the air. There’s a group of people about fifteen yards away who are witnessing the event. They all stand there in awe of the destruction but not one of them has called the authorities. Jack, a businessman walking by himself, sees the fire and the woman trapped inside the building. Without hesitation he uses his cell phone to call the fire department. Once getting off the phone, this brave man runs into the smoldering building to try and save the woman. Coming out of the building without being harmed, he and the woman are safe. If one man could do this, why did the group of people watching not do anything? The explanation for the reactions of the people is due to what may be said as human nature. It seems that when in groups, people are less reactive when they are in the presence of danger or hazard.

Carol Tavris, who received a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Michigan, is a widely published author. In her works, “ In Groups We Shrink From Loner’s Heroics,” she talks about the human nature of people and how in groups, humans seem to “…think and act differently than they would on their own” (Tavris 17). When facing danger or disaster, groups of people do not run to the aid of others because of the nature of groups versus the nature of individuals (Tavris 18). Tavris is trying to reach everyone and have them be aware of what is human instinct versus what is moral. She is hoping that her readers will take something away with them from the article and hopefully react morally when seeing people in danger or in desperate need of help.

Throughout her piece, Tavris uses two main structures: compare and contrast structure and the problem/solution structure. She uses these so that her readers can see the comparison or the solution right away. She very vividly shows the difference in the reactions of people when she uses the compare and contrast structure.