An individual’s actions are a direct result and product of his or her environment and context. An individual's reaction to their situation is a product of their environment and context. This radical concept is brought up and examined in Malcolm Gladwell's book The Power of Context: The Rise and Fall of New York City Crime. It is is shown in real life examples in both Leslie Bell’s book Hard to Get: Twenty Something Women and the Paradox of Sexual Freedom and Jean Twenge An Army of One: Me. The concept that one’s actions are affected by his or her environment and context is a radical idea due to it going against the more traditional and widely accepted ideology that an individual is the product of their upbringing and past experiences and …show more content…
their environment has little effect on their actions. The Broken Windows Theory as stated in Gladwell's work gives an explanation as to why an individual’s actions can be a product of their environment instead of a product of their past experiences. An individual is a product of their environment or context, instead of their past experiences, and can be easily influenced by the environment and context they are in. Education is thought to be a major factor that shapes and individual and that makes them who they are. This is not the case, an individual is a product of their environment, their physical surroundings, and context, what the situation is, not their education and experiences. Jean Twenge talks about how Generation Me, anyone born 1970 or after, are self absorbed and selfish. Twenge blames this on the environment that has been created that focus highly on self-esteem. She describes the environment that is present today when she says “Magazines, television talk shows, and books all emphasize the importance of high self-esteem for children, usually promoting feelings that are actually a lot closer to narcissism (a more negative trait usually defined as excessive self-importance).” (Twenge 494). Twenge is describing the environment that Generation Me lives in and has lived in their whole life where there is always a constant reminder that you are capable and you are the most important person. The idea of you being important does not have to be taught because everywhere one looks they can see a reminder of it, in a magazine, in a commercial, in a book, etc. The idea of individuals being a product of their environment in the case of self-esteem can be shown in the following quote from Twenge “By the mid-1990s, the average GenMe college man had higher self-esteem than 86% of college men in 1968.” (Twenge 493). This statistic demonstrates how an individual is a product of their environment since the Generation Me college men had a much higher self-esteem than the men in 1968 due to the Generation Me men being in an environment that has such a large focus on self-esteem and always being surrounded as mentioned earlier. College age men in the 1990s were products of the constant reminder to focus on oneself and this was shown in the results of the study by the inflated percent of participants in the 1990s with high self-esteem The individual being a product of environment and context is further demonstrated in this quote from Twenge “During the 1970s-when the nation’s children shifted from the late Baby Boom to the early years of GenX-kids’ self-esteem declined, probably because of societal instability. Rampant divorce, a wobble economy, soaring crime rates, and swinging singles culture made the 1970s a difficult time to be a kid.” (Twenge 493). The children of the 70s were a product of the context of the time, which was unstable and un-nurturing for children, causing caused their self-esteems to be lower than previous and future generations. Generation Me has a very high self esteem and can be borderline, narcissistic according to Twenge due to the constant reminder of the self being most important. This idea of being in an environment where there is a constant reminder of something causing that thing to affect the individual is shown in Malcolm Gladwell's work, instead of being self esteem it is a new name. Gladwell brings up an experiment conducted at Stanford University in 1971 in which a fake prison was set up to observe the “prisoners” and their behaviour. Gladwell includes a quote from one of these “prisoners” that says “I began to feel that I was losing my identity, that the person I called __, the person who volunteered to get me into this prison (because it was a prison to me, it still is a prison to me, I don’t regard it as an experiment or a simulation…) was distant from me, was remote, until finally I wasn’t that person. I was 416.” (Gladwell 158). The “prisoner” thought he was actually 416 not who he truly was as a result of his environment and the context. He was continuously told he was not who he truly was, but instead that he was just a number, that he was just 416. Just as in the case of Generation Me having high self esteem due to constant reminders the prisoner turned into 416 due to the constant reminders in his environment. The context of the situation also played a role in making him turn into 416 since he was in a situation that he was being physically and mentally abused and being reminded that he was a prisoner and that his identity was just the number on his back. Having constant reminders in an environment and having those reminder held with great stature causes an individual to change and causes them to be a product of their environment. An environment and context can be more than constant reminders that shapes someone it can be physical aspects changing context.
Leslie Bell’s book is all about her patient’s experiences and how the different environments with a certain context shaped what has happened to them. One of Bell’s patients Jayanthi was a product of the context of her environment, which was a traditional Indian family. Bell includes a quote from Jayanthi that says “I’d try not to associate with that group of people, and then I’d be having a really, really sheltered life again and I’d be like, “Fuck this, I don't want to do this,” and I’d go and freak out again.” (Bell 33). Jayanthi is saying how she would be in a sheltered environment and she would respond to the environment by going back to how she was and be a “Bad-Girl” as Bell describes it. The context was the sheltered setting of her traditional Indian family and their practices, and that would cause Jayanthi to change how she was acting. Jayanthi was a direct result of her environment and the context of that environment. Jaynathi would flip back and forth between her behaviours in response to her environment and context in that time period. When she would feel like she was in her family's traditional Indian environment she would flip to he “bad girl” environment which would change how she acted, She would go from being a perfect daughter and listening to her parents request to a rebellious daughter who refused to listen and follow her parents traditions. Context alone plays a major role in shaping a person, but the physical environment and the context of the situation do too. The context of the environment is a major factor in the actions of an individual according to Gladwell and the Broken Window Theory. In Gladwell's work the Broken Window Theory is defined as “If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the
sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes.” (Gladwell 152). The idea is that with the disorder of the broken window it then causes someone else to be more likely to add to the disorder since they are the product of their environment. The broken window creates an environment where it seems no one is charge and that disorder is acceptable which leads to more disorder which the becomes another “broken window” and so on. Disorderly environment leads to disorderly people. One of the most famous cases of the broken window theory is the Bernie Goetz cases and the New York City Subways. Gladwell describes the case and how Goetz shot four unarmed black males in a New York City Subway car. It is suggested that Goetz was a product of his environment and that's what caused him to shoot the four men. Gladwell says “Pictures of the crime scene, taken by police, show that the car Goetz sat in was filthy, its floors littered with trash, and the walls and ceiling thick with graffiti” (Gladwell 150). The graffiti and filth in the subway car where the “broken windows” in the situation and the disorder of the car allowed for the disorder of the shooting to happen. One might think they have control of themselves and their situation, but that's not always true due to the strong effects that environment and context play on an individual. Going back to the Stanford experience Gladwell includes another quote from a different “prisoner” which says “that no matter how together I thought I was inside my head, my prisoner behaviour was often less under my control then I realized.” (Gladwell 158). This quote shows how even when one believes they are under control, their environment is really the deciding factor and they are simply the product of that environment. The “prisoners” were not even a criminals, they were simply a test subjects that under a certain environment and context turned into a prisoners. The harsh conditions in the “jail” caused the prisoner behaviour that the prisoner mentions. Since the environment put so much stress on the prisoners it caused them to act as prisoners even though they were all innocent devils who had never been to jail before the experiment. Their environment had such a strong influence on them that they turned into something they were not. Both an individual's environment and the context of their environment causes them to act a certain way. The context could be how they are acting and who they are surrounding themselves with such as in the case with Jayanthi or it could be their physical surroundings such as in the Goetz case or it could be both as seen with the Stanford experiment prisoners. Environment and context have a profound effect on an individual's actions. It could be the context alone of the situation that affects them or it could be just the environment or it could be a combination of both. No matter how hard one tries not to let themselves be affected by their environment, the environment still changes how they act. An individual's actions are simply a product of their environment and situation and can be influenced greatly by what the context and environment that surrounds them is.
Malcolm Gladwell, in order to make his argument seem credible, utilizes specific writing techniques. Gladwell frequently uses anecdotes about successful individuals as examples to further strengthen his argument. Gladwell write that, “One warm, spring day in May of 2007, the Medicine Hat Tigers and the Vancouver Giants met for the Memorial Cup hockey championships in Vancouver, British Columbia” (Gladwell 15). Frequently, Gladwell starts each chapter with a story about an individual group. These stories showcase the events and lives of successful people and are followed by Gladwell’s analysis of their success. By using specific, descriptive anecdotes, Gladwell is proving the credibility of his argument. Instead of just reciting his analysis,
Is success is achieved through hard work and dedication? Most people seem to think in this way, only one person who does not think in that way: author Malcolm Gladwell. In his article “10,000 Hours,” he talks about a rule you must follow to be successful; that rule is the 10,000-hour rule. Gladwell uses a study from Anders Ericsson in his article to support his thought; therefore, this article is rhetorically effective because he has credibility and he uses logical evidence to convey his argument.
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Troublemakers” is an article in which he explores the way societies make generalizations. Malcolm explains how Ontario has banned pit bulls due to a boy being attacked and people viewing that one example to be enough to distinguish all pit bulls as vicious and bloodthirsty. He goes on to employ that all dogs even resembling pit bulls or that have some pit bull mixed into them have been banned as well, because anything that looks like a pit bull has now been deemed dangerous for the people in that society. Not only does Malcolm point out other ways societies generalize people, like racial profiling a terrorist, but he distinguishes how steps could have been taken to eliminate the threat of the pit bull but it seemed to just
Once in a while, it really hits people that they don’t have to experience the world in the way they have been told to. Gladwell believes that cultural legacies are powerful forces. Cultural legacies are the customs of a family or a group of people, that is inherited through the generations. According to Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, Cultural legacies is something that’s been passed down for generations to generations. It depends on what type of legacies was passed that will affect a person. If a good legacy was passed down, someone can keep that legacy going by trying hard at keeping the legacies going. If a bad legacy was passed down; I believe that cultural legacies can be altered or changed, by good working habits, determination, and a positive mindset to succeed. Culture can affect either positively or negatively, but we have the power to turn our cultural
In 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger was implementing its tenth mission. However, the spaceship exploded after 73 seconds because the O-ring seal failed. In this technological era, countless disasters are bound to occur frequently. Malcolm Gladwell’s essay “Blowup: Who Can Be Blamed for A Disaster Like the Challenger Explosion? No One, and We’d Better Get Used to It,” suggests that people should not be surprised by catastrophes, and at the same time, they should be prepared for them to happen at any time. People often make decisions with acknowledged risks; the occurrence of a disaster is too complex; and finally, people always place too much trust in technology.
A man is running late to work one day when he passes by a homeless person asking for help. This man and many others usually consider this particular man to be generous, but since he is late, he ignores the homeless person and continues on his way. One can assume that if he had the time, he would have helped. Does that matter, though, seeing as in that situation, he did not in fact help? Scenarios like this supports Lee Ross and Richard Nisbett’s idea that it is the situation that influences a person’s behavior, not he or she’s individual conscience. Although a person’s individual conscience could play a part in how one behaves in a given scenario, ultimately, the “situational variable” has more impact on the actions of the person than he or she’s morals.
Success has a different meaning for every person on Earth. The majority of people define success as an individual’s “attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence” (Success). In accordance with the rest of society, Malcolm Gladwell defines success as an individual’s accumulation of “a predictable and powerful set of circumstances and opportunities” given by the environment to help a person succeed in the business world (Gladwell 155). Advantages come in the forms of birth dates, learning styles, work ethics, demographic luck, and job needs. Similarly, opportunities given by the environment circulate around a person’s ability to complete “ten thousand hours… of greatness” (41). Before reading Gladwell’s book “Outliers: The Story of Success”, I would have complied with society’s and Gladwell’s
Malcom Gladwell, is an author of numerous New York Times Best Sellers, who uses several techniques in his writing to clarify and support his argument. Gladwell’s techniques are using stories to appeal to the reader’s emotions. Using scientific facts and research to logically strengthen his argument. Also, writing about controversial issues to establish credibility with the readers. These techniques are found in “Offensive Play”, “Small Change”, and “Harlan, Kentucky”, works by Gladwell.
The Majority of people today believe that the society in Fahrenheit 451 is far-fetched and could never actually happen, little do they know that it is a reflection of the society we currently live in. In Ray Bradbury's novel Fahrenheit 451 books are burnt due to people's lack of interest in them and the fire is started by firemen. Social interactions is at an all time low and most time is spent in front of the television being brainwashed by advertisements. In an attempt to make us all aware of our faults, Bradbury imagines a society that is a parallel to the world we live in today by emphasizing the decline in literature, loss of ethics in advertisement, and negative effects of materialism.
Throughout life people are always seeking something, whether it is finding out ideals, desires, lovers, and perhaps themselves. However, recognizing, fulfilling, and rising above one’s true self are the hardest things in the world because one always seems certain of him or herself and is strongly influenced by his or her surroundings. Hence, taking the time to practice experiences is a way for an individual to precisely know him or herself and actively participate in society. In the essay, “The Power of Context,” Malcolm Gladwell states that the features of one’s current social and physical environment will strongly influence his or her behaviors. Those actions that an individual conduct in response to the situation
Bell while talking about a Jayanthi, a bad girl who wanted to break all the barrier of her family 's culture, writes that “Particularly for women with fragile sense of self, the bad-girl strategy seemed to provide a strong identity. At the same time, it ostensibly protected women from losing track of their identities in a relationship by never investing in one emotionally. But rather than feeling strong and protected, some bad girls were left feeling alone and vulnerable.”(31) . Jayanthi choose to be a bad girl because she felt free and independent while breaking the rules. She didn’t broke the rules because she wanted to but she did it to show that she can do all the bad things; Bell writes that jayantee was tired of all the expectation, jayantee said regarding the expectation “ I’m just gonna break them. So i just broke them. So i ended up really going crazy...I was just like,” I don’t want to be the poster child, so the other extreme is this.”’(33). This kind of actions lead to anxiety and
Malcolm Gladwell in the first chapter of Outliers, "The Matthew Effect", explains that, in this world, each and every single indivdiuals work more efficently than most because they do not spend their time dwelling on such losses, and despite such existing disadvantages, they, instead, face the world as it is. Gladwell supports his claims by explaining what Robert Winthrop spoken, whom was he looking up at Benjamin Franklin's statue, of, "and look at the image of a man who rose from nothing, who owed nothing to parentage or patronage, (...) (19)" , stating certain kinds of lineage you or another person came from, there will always be an advantage to such benefit towards a path that lay out certain choices. In most cases, however, people had
The nature of isolation starts when an individual starts to separate him/herself from others, socially and emotionally, and is also used as a defense from dangerous people. One example is where Crooks tells that “The white kids come to play…… My ol’ man didn’t like that” (70). He’s been taught from his childhood to be by himself so that he would not get in trouble. Candy demonstrates this concept too when he talks about his fate after having to witness the shooting of his only companion, his old dog. “When they can me here I wisht somebody’d shoot me. But they won’t do nothing like that. I won't have no place to go, an’ I can’t get no more jobs”. This quote argues that men with disabilities and color in this book are treated as bad as dogs or even worse. Humans are evil by nature and by birth. It is how the world was made. To love and to hate, although, the latter wins. People in the higher caste tend to blame everything small thing that they get in trouble for on people under them. Therefore, when individuals intend to protect themselves, they isolate themselves from the world, emotionally and
These factors were situations and how people 's responses might change to fit different situations. In stress, people might turn to anger or grief while during peace and serenity they might turn to happiness or joy. Every person is capable of good and evil. Parker talks about another author’s example of a German policeman during the Holocaust that once disobeyed a superior order that was deemed morally objectionable (605). Not only did Parker bring up examples in other author 's works, but a question with concern to Milgram, which explores the possibility that people tend to do things because of where they are, not just because of who they are, and we are slow to see it, often times ignoring
According to the social-cultural perspective, the individual cut me off in traffic because of his/her understanding of circumstances in traffic and the implication of the behavior of cutting someone off. In this case, the consequences placed on such an individual can act as a motive or demotivate. In this case, the individual recognizes an opportunity to act based on reinforced thought patterns in social situations. The cognitive and psychological influences of behavior exist around an individual in society and continue to influence perceptions that in turn affect behavior choice in a given situation.