Episode 03: Hitler Youth & Approval

Approval

Jun 10

Human beings will do literally anything for approval. In today’s episode, we explore the science of why, and we answer the biggest question about approval; would we join an evil organization to get it?

Show Notes:

We’re born seeking approval from our parents. We go through elementary school trying to get approval from our peers. And as teens we play stupid, dangerous games to win our friend’s approval.

Why do we need it? Where does the drive for approval come from? Are we hard-wired by evolution to impress our friends when we’re teenagers? On today’s episode we’ll answer these questions by exploring the behavioral science of approval, and we’ll talk about how far some people will go to get that all-important ‘upvote’ or ‘like’.

We’ll also look at the indoctrination system of a youth organization that weaponized peer approval; The Hitler Youth. And we’ll ask ourselves; how could anyone join an obviously evil organization?

History Links:

https://books.google.com/books?id=9bFYBQAAQBAJ&lpg=PA76&dq=hitler%2520youth%2520denouncing%2520parents&pg=PA76#v=onepage&q=hitler%2520youth%2520denouncing%2520parents&f=false

https://www.history.com/news/how-the-hitler-youth-turned-a-generation-of-kids-into-nazis

https://www.facinghistory.org/holocaust-and-human-behavior/chapter-6/joining-hitler-youth

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfons_Heck

Science Links:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5383211/

http://healthland.time.com/2010/06/17/the-brain-science-behind-why-we-care-what-others-think/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asch_conformity_experiments

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4276317/

https://developingchild.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/The-Science-of-Neglect-The-Persistent-Absence-of-Responsive-Care-Disrupts-the-Developing-Brain.pdf

https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/1998/04/children-need-touching-and-attention-harvard-researchers-say/