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Social norms in social space
Social norms theory
Social norms in social space
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In the article, “Passing the Buck: Blaming Others is Contagious”, author, Jeanna Bryner does a beautiful job in exposing what seems to be a norm in today’s society, the finger-pointing game. Through a series of experiments conducted by Nathanael Fast and Larissa Tiedens of Stanford University, scientists now believe that the blame game is socially contagious; that bad behavior can spread just as well as good behavior. Mr. Fast believes that influential people could counteract finger-pointing by developing trustworthy behavior, leading to an enhanced work performance and more creative thinking.
The irresponsibility of blaming others for your own actions can be done subtly with a great deal of tact, or directly with implications that are meant to wound. Either way, I believe it shows a weak indecisive character. Although it remains socially unacceptable, motives for participating in the blame game can stem from a variety of character flaws, such as, the effort to protect self-image, justification by eluding ones actions, a low self-esteem, or the lack of self-control. According to Marc and Dianna MacYoung of No Nonsense Self Defense, blame is very much like anger; it teaches us to override our self-control and ultimately dulls the sense of empathy. Pointing the finger to blame someone else can be harmful to everyone involved; age or gender plays no role. Whatever the circumstance, the individual doing the blaming suffers right along with the individual being blamed.
There are those of us who pride ourselves in the ability to get along with others, we’re socially adjusted and anger doesn’t seem to play a very large role in our lives. We don’t think of ourselves as someone who points the finger, but at some point, we’re all guilty. I know I am. I get annoyed with people who are inconsiderate, but I’m often inconsiderate myself. “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves…these projections both insulate and cripple individuals by forming a thick fog of illusion between the ego and the real world…these feelings can be valuable clues that can lead to a greater understanding of ourselves.” – Carl Jung. A person cannot learn from their mistakes if their mental patterns are geared towards not accepting responsibility.
The choice is ours, we can be hypocritical perhaps undermining at times, or take the high road and learn to be upright and conscious in all that we say and do.
Conover inferred many times that when something bad happens there will always be another person pointing the finger at another o...
Why is it that we as human beings feel the need to blame someone for every negative situation, which occurs? If we really look at the situation with any great depth, we may discover that an almost endless amount of things may be 'blamed' for the tragedy blaming an individual is pointless - only fate can really be blamed.
I think this practice is best exemplified when people are stuck in agitated/unsettled states. For example, when there’s a long line at the bank and a specific person is taking a long time with one of the tellers. Someone in line who is late for work might begin to project the negative aspects of his/her situation towards the person holding up the line, who is unintentionally making him or her even more late. The person working with the teller likely has no intention on making the person in line late, however it is easier to blame others for our situation rather than to accept personal responsibility. I see it more as way to push our own problems on
• Daniel Webster defines a Hypocrite as “a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion”
The motivation and tendency of people to forgive others remains an important topic of discussion. In today’s society most people at some period have experienced feeling of un forgiveness towards friend, or relatives. “Forgiveness was defined as the ability to relinquish of resentment towards others” (Baskin & Enright, 2004, p. 80).
Choices, mistakes and consequences all sum up to your future. Ever since I can remember, my grandmother always had a tough time with my uncle and till this day she still does. I saw my grandmother suffer and it affected not only her, but the entire family. My grandmother is a woman of morals and values and taught those morals and values not only to my uncle, but to my mother and my aunt. No matter how much you teach a person, no matter how much you discipline a person the person can only change if they want to change. I consider myself part of the intended audience of “There Is No Blame; There Is Only Love” because my personal experiences lead me to agree with Ann Karasinski; that you can only help a person so much but it is up to them if they want to change their way of being.
Social Loafing is an important concept that can be identifiable in our day to day lives such as through school work, household chores, employment and even sporting activities. The current research investigated the effect of social loafing on collective and coactive conditions through an experiment which asked participants to complete a brainstorming task asking them to list as many ways to use a pencil as they could. The results indicated that social loafing was non-significant in both collective and coactive conditions. However, group work improved the amount of answers the participants had. The results have important effects for reducing or eliminating social loafing to ensure that the participants are accountable for their own activities regardless if in an individual setting or group. Karau & Williams (1993) formed the conceptual idea that participants performing a group task would identify aspects of social loafing and thus having group cohesiveness would eliminate participant loafing. Shepperd, Stephen, Wright and Rex (1989) also established the social loafing concept to be related to impression management. Impression management being a goal directed conscious or unconscious process in which participants attempt to influence the perception of others (Stephen, Wright and Rex, 1989). In another theoretical concept of social loafing, Kerr (1983) demonstrated the free rider effect by addressing the role of the “sucker” in experiment groups. In stating this, it is evident that the many concepts surrounding social loafing derive from the same fundamentals. Though there are conflicting views within social loafing, results from this experiment do not show a significant difference of social loafing between collective groups and coact...
"Hypocrisy | Define Hypocrisy at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Free Online Dictionary for English Definitions. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. .
Scapegoating is when a person irrationally blames their failures on others, therefore not taking responsibility themselves. The “scapegoating theory says that prejudiced people believe they are society’s victims” (Schaefer 38). It is always someone else’s fault that things do not go their way and the person “… transfers the responsibility for failure to some vulnerable group” (Schaefer 38).
The Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE) is a concept within social psychology that assumes when someone is aggressive, it is due to a flaw in their personality as opposed to a reaction to their personal circumstances (Aronson, Wilson & Akert, 2015). However, there is typically a situational reason for the other person’s behavior that is not taken into account through the FAE (Aronson, Wilson & Akert, 2015). I have been guilty of making the FAE myself; for example, I can think of two situations where my frustration led me to believe that there were flaws in my antagonists’ characters. Recently, my mother wanted me to assist my brother in scheduling classes for the semester. Since I was annoyed that my mother was insisting that I assist him when
Taking the blame for someone else happens more often than not. Sometimes people take the blame for others for a purpose, and others take it without want or warning. Imagine what life would be like without blaming things on others. Throughout time, there have been famous examples of scapegoats, and instances that go unnoticed day after day. History, psychology, and religion all have ties with the word scapegoat.
Thompson, L.Y., Snyder, C.R., Hoffman, L., Michael, S.T., Rasmussen, H.N., Billings, L.S., Heinze, L., Neufeld, J.E., Shorey, H.S., Roberts, J.C., & Roberts, D.E. (2005). Dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations. Journal of Personality, 73(2), 313-359. doi: 10.0000/j.1467-6494.2005.00311.x
One negative effect of not showing forgiveness can lead to a decrease in one’s health by causing elevated stress levels, high blood pressure, depression, and psychological issues. It can also lead to mental congestion by blurring one’s thinking and focus because one’s mind can be preoccupied by the past events. Having a mind focused on the past can cause grudges, anger, and resentments, which greatly increases more problems in everyday life with others. Being unwilling to forgive can negatively affect people’s emotions in a drastic way. Negative emotions can tear families apart, friendships, and even lifelong relationships. Holding bitterness within can block positive emotions from others that are trying to help; it can overcome one’s entire life. It is no secret that an unforgiving spirit can poison one’s heart with bitterness. Without forgiveness and reconciliation there is no doubt that a fruitless relationship will persist until death. Not forgiving will cause nothing but pain and misery. It is evident that the negative effects of not having forgiveness will only lead to a life of bitterness and
A writer from Southernct stated a fact that “ men, women, and children of all ages, races, religions, and economic classes have been victims of sexual assault. Sexual assault occurs in rural areas, small towns, and larger cities” ( “Southernct” 1). We have all seen on the news a case where a female has been raped and somehow the world makes us believe that it was her own fault that it happened. This is due to victim blaming. Victim blaming occurs when the victim of some sort of crime or wrongdoing is held partially or fully responsible for what happened to them. It is not always easy to identify though. Some people would be considered to be victim blaming over every day situations in life. For example, someone making the