Three schools of mass behavior have been suggested as
explanations: Freudian psychology, the interpersonal theories of
Henry Stack Sullivan, and role psychology. Freudian psychology
has put total emphases on early childhood experiences and is the
least suited for this purpose. It could be argued that the shock
procurement and the total detachment from previous life which it
achieved both in the concentration camps and in American slavery
emptied the super-ego or conscience of its contents. Then, the
creation of total dependence which followed could have resulted
in infantile regression. This would account for the childlike
behavior of both "Sambo" and the camp inmates. The slave master
the camp guard, each in his own way, became a father figure, and
the respective victims internalized the value system of this
symbolic father.
The interpersonal school of psychology states that the
determining factor in influencing personality development can be
found in the estimation and expectation of "significant others."
Those responsible for the physical and emotional security of an
individual are his "significant others.
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