Page 246 - The Social Animal

228 The Social Animal

It is tempting simply to write such people off as crazy—but we
should not make such judgments lightly. Although it’s certainly true
that few people are as extreme as the high-school teacher, it is also
true that just about everyone can be influenced in this direction. To
illustrate this point, let’s look at some history. In his memoirs, Nikita
Khrushchev, who was premier of the Soviet Union in the 1960s, de-
scribed himself as a tough and skeptical person, boasting that he was-
n’t in the habit of believing everything he was told. In particular, he
cited several examples of his reluctance to believe scandalous stories
about powerful people. But let’s look at Khrushchev’s credulity when
it suited his own needs. Soon after Stalin’s death, there was a struggle
for power. The head of the secret police, Lavrenty Beria, was on the
verge of assuming leadership of the Communist Party. Fearing Beria,
Khrushchev convinced the other members of the presidium that, be-
cause of the knowledge he had gained as head of the secret police,
Beria posed a real danger to them. As a result of Khrushchev’s ma-
neuvering, Beria was arrested, imprisoned, and eventually executed.
Dissonance theory would lead to the prediction that, because of his
central role in Beria’s downfall and demise, Khrushchev might put his
general skepticism aside and become more willing to believe deroga-
tory rumors about Beria—no matter how absurd they might be—as
a way of bolstering his own attitudes and behavior. Let’s check it out
by allowing Khrushchev to tell us about it in his own words.

After it was all over [Beria’s arrest], Malenkov took me aside
and said, “Listen to what my chief bodyguard has to say.” The
man came over to me and said, “I have only just heard that
Beria has been arrested. I want to inform you that he raped my
stepdaughter, a seventh grader. A year or so ago her grand-
mother died and my wife had to go the hospital, leaving the girl
at home alone. One evening she went out to buy some bread
near the building where Beria lives. There she came across an
old man who watched her intently. She was frightened. Some-
one came and took her to Beria’s home. Beria had her sit down
with him for supper. She drank something, fell asleep, and he
raped her....” Later we were given a list of more than a hun-
dred girls and women who had been raped by Beria. He had
used the same routine on all of them. He gave them some din-
ner and offered them wine with a sleeping potion in it. 55