Firstly: I would like to say quickly that I realise its only the end of the first week of uni and I might have jumped the gun a bit here as many people may not see this because they won’t check till later in the semester. If so I may bring these posts back later on to reopen discussion, but if we can get the discussion going now well all the better! :)
Secondly: I have started this as a new post because I think the topic is broad enough to warrant it. I also commented on the other post, which I would like to keep as more specifically about the Blue Eye Brown Eye Experiment.
So this is in response to Bec’s comment on damaging the children: :)
I agree Bec,
It’s a terrible thing to see people change their behaviour so readily and dramatically.
I had a similar thought in the learning class taught by Simon Hawkins. It occurred to me, when we were doing operant conditioning and classical conditioning experiments, that people are fundamentally very easy to manipulate and will in certain circumstances do thing that may seem vulgar to them at other times. It raises for me a whole bunch of questions about moral and ethical behaviour.
As you pointed out Jane acknowledges that it is easy to “damage” a child, meaning in this case “damage” a child’s behaviour and moral senses, through nothing more than social pressure. It demonstrates that mores or taboos are things that grow and build themselves and all it takes is one person in authority to start it off.
Interesting and relevant social psych stuff. Comments anyone?
I would also like to ask the question “what are the practical effects of this vulnerability that humans seems to have to social pressure”. I ask this in both the reactive and proactive way.
Should we simply study the phenomenon and be aware of it, to better equip society against misuse of this vulnerability? Surely knowing the problem will aid an individual in facing potential manipulation; OR
Should government through education be proactive in using this vulnerability to “manipulate” individuals into a more universally acceptable moral spectrum? Obviously if a child can be taught to discriminate, they can be taught not to using the same method. What moral issues does this raise in itself?
Metaphysical question I know, but with serious practical effects when placed in the context of the Murdoch dominate media or Government approved curriculum etc.
Let the discussion begin!
-*-WP-*-
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3 comments:
Could you add a link to Bec's comment/blog which you are responding to? (I'm not sure where it is)
O sure, its in the post below this one. At link:
http://socialpsychologysay.blogspot.com/2007/07/
jane-elliotts-blue-eye-brown-eye.html
Responding to Human vulnerability to social pressure, and the question posed by Willing Participant, I think that the only way we can better equip society against the misuse of this vulnerabilty is through education. Coming to psychology with a beginnning teacher's perspective and using this perspective in an attempt to answer this question, we need to educate our students and as we hear all the time 'the future of our country' in ways to resist social pressure and to make decisions and choices, based on fact and thorough investigation, and this is extends to issues faced in their social networks of school, work and family, and not just those facing the nation and the world community. Student's social pressures at the moment are coming from their peers and the social pressures that they perceive there to be, usually to conform. I don't know how this could be achieved through the curriculum but it needs to be. All people bring their own views and opinions with them, mostly developed as we listen to parents and family members as during early life we are dependant upon them and if through education we can help students to challenge attitudes then we may somehow be able to minimise the human vulnerability to social pressure. We also need to be able to challenge what is presented to us through the media and from individuals in positions of power in an attempt the minimise vulnerability ofsocial pressure but i think that this issue is probably best left for another disscusion. This has probably given us more to think about orprobably just repeated what others have already said but I definitely believe that this issue needs o be addressesd in our schools.
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