Brooks Investigate aspect David Brooks NY Times article "Let's All Feel Superior"

Normalcy Bias

Investigation of Aspects of David Brooks NY Times Article "Let's All Feel Superior,"

The recent sexual scandal and alleged atrocities among well-known and respected members of the sporting community at Penn State has led to a great deal of social dismay and outrage. This refers to the accusation that Penn State's ex-football assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, is guilty of numerous cases of child molestation (Shamed Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky hit by two new allegations of sexual abuse).

There is a wide-ranging view that those who knew or suspected that young boys were being molested should have reported the incident to the authorities much earlier on than was the case. However, many did not do so and this leads to obvious questions as to why certain people of standing who had suspected or even seen these crimes did not report them.

In his opinion piece on these events entitled Let's All Feel Superior (2011), David Brooks states that many commentators have expressed extreme outrage at this atrocity and have expressed the view that "… if they had been in Joe Paterno's shoes, or assistant coach Mike McQueary's shoes, they would have behaved better. They would have taken action and stopped any sexual assaults" ( Brooks, 2011). However, Brooks also points out that this righteousness indignation on the part of many commentators should also take into account a number of contentious but relevant factors that may serve to ameliorate this intense indignation at those who did not respond to the events in a sufficiently timely manner.

Brooks refers to the view that recognized psychological factors should be taken into account before blanket condemnations of certain individuals are made. He refers to 'normalcy bias' in particular as a mitigating factor. He goes on to assert that normalcy...

The following discussion will focus on this psychological phenomenon and the way that it relates to the events in question.
Normalcy Bias

With regard to the Normalcy Bias, Brooks states that, "Some people suffer from what the psychologists call Normalcy Bias. When they find themselves in some unsettling circumstance, they shut down and pretend everything is normal" ( Brooks, 2011). One definition of normalcy bias is the inability to react to incidents or situations which are outside the normal range of the life experience of the individual or outside the range of normal behavior that the individual is used to or to which he or she has been exposed. In the psychological literature this is referred to as a mental state that often occurs in the face of some traumatic event or a disaster, where the individuals "…underestimate both the possibility of a disaster occurring and its possible effects"(What are the threats to my family? Emergency Preparedness for Families in San Diego, CA.).

The above can be related to the Penn State incident. As Brooks states in relation to this incident, "Some people simply don't process a horrible event because of Normalcy Bias -- in which people simply shut down and pretend everything is normal" (Brooks, 2011). This concurs with other views, such as the view that, "People with a normalcy bias have difficulties reacting to something they have not experienced before" (Normalcy Bias). This view relates to possible aspects of the sex scandal that Brooks refers to; as he states, "Many people do not intervene. Very often they see but they don't see" ( Brooks, 2011).

The literature refers to normalcy bias as possibly being caused by the way that the brain processes new data. Research suggests that "…even when the brain is calm, it takes 8 -- 10 seconds to…