Probably because of my own experience, I somewhat believe that adolescent life transforms people to behave more ‘mature’ by unconsciously gaining the consciousness of groupthink, the kind of lying which is unpremissible but always unavoidable with the proviso “under certain circumstances”. 1 year ago, I went to a school in Beijing as an exchange student. I was invited to vote for the way of class committee members’ selection in a freshman class, the teacher told me it was the first time they did so. I had two choices, “chairman selected by the teacher” or “chairman selected by classmates”. Affected by my three years of Political and Liberal studies in Hong Kong, I unwittingly took it as a question on asking me to choose between a powerful government and a republic system. Certainly I understood a “republic system” would bring positive effects to its people, which, in this circumstance, the students; And it was not only practical on the selection of the class’ chairman, but also meant a more significant change, or changes. I was the last one to vote, previous students all voted for “chairman selected by the teacher”. Eventually, the voting process, end with the self-censorship of my own ideas and ignoring facts, which caused by my loyalty, or perhaps respect to the class, I myself, voted for “selected by teacher” and lied. Somewhat I resonate with Stephanie Erricson’s because of this episode, and it is the reason why I’m holding my pen and going to write the following.
I’m a groupthink liar, who share the same characteristics with Erricsson’s groupthinker. The most obvious characteristic is self-censorship of the liar’s own ideas, which is a result of the groupthinking process, defined by Erricson as “dissent...
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...o be loyal to it as a way of respecting the culture and behaviors of those students, as a result, I voted for “selected by teacher” to show that I agree with their thought, I preferred to lie.
I’m a groupthink liar since I censored my own ideas and ignoring facts to be loyal and respect to the class, as Erricson said “the rest is history”, I can’t vote again in that class, this incident with its result have become a part of my personal history and memories, just like history won’t apologize to the victims and punish the disingenuous demagogue, for me, lying became an uncontroversial fact. I believed that groupthink is unacceptable but really does it unavoidable in this particular circumstance. After all, the rest is history, I farewell to the past and walk forward, let this episode be one of the life lessons, teaches me to understand human nature more deeply.
Are you a self-reliant individual, or do you generate more ideas while working in a group? Groupthink has always been the dysfunctional idea that results from within a group that seeks harmony and conformity. Groupthink has been seen in Salem, MA, specifically in The Crucible, where townsfolk would go around accusing women, often innocent, of witchcraft. It has also been seen during the Red Scare, where Senator McCarthy would create a list of celebrities and other well-known people that he would accuse of being communists in the United States. At the time, Americans were against the idea of the communists and communism due to the fact that the Soviet Union, which had a communist government, was threatening to bomb the US. Thus, anyone who was
In several cases, folks will set aside their personal beliefs or adopt the opinion of the rest of the group. Group-think influences police officer’s rationalizations for some behaviors by preventing members of the group from reconsidering their beliefs while causing them to ignore warning signs. Group-think tends to occur more in situations where group members are very similar to one another and is more likely to take place when a powerful and charismatic leader commands the group. Situations in which the group is placed under extreme stress or where moral dilemmas exist also increase the occurrence of groupthink (Haberfeld et al.2014,
...adults compared to older adults were less likely to respond that voting was extremely important for good citizenship (133). He concludes that it is too late for the generation of young adults that do not feel voting is an important civic responsibility, however, that it is not too late to convince them that politics matter by showing them that they are giving their opportunity to make important decisions that may impact their lives to others who have different ideas. One may agree with Wattenberg’s idea that habits follow people throughout their lives instead of changing as they cycle in life. His personal accounts are an impactful way to illustrate the importance of building a sense of duty at a young age and carrying that responsibility throughout one’s life.
In The Liars ' Club, Mary Karr recounts her dysfunctional childhood and the various struggles she and her family endured. Although both of Mary’s parents were suffered from severe alcoholism, Mary’s mother was also incredibly abusive as a result of mental illness. Growing up, Mary frequently witnessed violent episodes, fits and delusions that eventually landed her mother in a mental institution. Inevitably intensified by the alcoholism, her parents fought all the time, resulting in physical violence and constant threats of divorce. In just a few of her mother’s episodes, she tried to drive their car off of a bridge, starts fires and almost stabs her children with
Millions of citizens around the United States, at some point in their lifetime, obtain a political ideology. Typically, their political values are influenced by their parents. Political scientists have identified that around age eleven, children begin to develop political opinion. According to Wilson’s, American Government: Institutions and Policies, 91% of a high school senior class indentified with the same party as their parents (American Government 158). I can attest to this since I in fact have the same party association as my parents. Ever since I was young, I categorized myself as a Democrat due to the fact that my elders were. However, as I have matured I am able to recognize the beliefs and ideologies that followers of certain parties possess. Since I have been more exposed to the political arena I am able analyze the issues more critically and hence I continuously question whether I should classify myself as a Democrat or Republican.
American writer and speaker, Dorothy Allison, once said “things come apart so easily when they have been held together by lies” (Allison). One of the first lessons that kids are taught is to be honest and always tell the truth. Being honest is not always easy, but the result of lying is much worse then telling the truth. In Animal Farm, George Orwell demonstrates how lies and deceit will ruin society if everyone always believes what the leader says, people lie to themself, and if laws are changed to benefit the group in power.
A person once said “the truth does not cost a person anything, but a lie costs a person everything”. The aim of the study is to take an in depth look at how the kinds of lies and sex differences in lying demonstrated in the scientific article are related with Pamela Meyer's tedtalk.
Citizens of today’s society have to comprehend that by conforming to the pressures of others and imitating everyone else, they will get nowhere in life. First of all, a teenage boy attends his first big high school party at a friend’s house one weekend and he is pressured into drinking beer and smoking marijuana so he will seem cool in front of the popular jocks and cheerleaders. Since many teens are so terrified of ridicule and downright embarrassment in front of fellow students, they decide to give in to their peers even though their actions may go against their beliefs. Emerson believed that by being an individual “you shall have the suffrage of the world.” Furthermore, an innocent sixteen year old girl’s parents go out of town for the weekend and she invites her cute, popular, senior star quarterback boyfriend over, but he pressures her into having sex when she i...
“What I suggest is that children be allowed to grow into their own right to vote at whatever rate suits them individually,” argues Vita Wallace as her major claim in the essay “Give children the vote” (1998, p.147). This is a thoughtful argument by Wallace, but I disagree with it. In this essay, Wallace presents her opinion, but the major claim could also be presented as a fact, judgment, or policy (McFadden, 2003). Throughout the essay, I see the interesting approach Wallace takes to try convince the audience. In my opinion she is unsuccessful.
James Scurlock strongly emphasizes this problem throughout the whole documentary. Students, ranging in ages from 18-22 primarily, are young, and naive. They are out from under their parent’s rule and free to make decisions on their own. This means that many are going to take certain steps necessar...
Groupthink is the psychological phenomenon in which groups working on a task think along the same lines which could have drastic results. It is the result of group polarization where discussions are enhance or exaggerate the initial leanings of the group. Therefore, if a group leans towards risky situation at the beginning of the discussion on average they will move toward an even riskier position. (Marks, 2015). The idea when everyone think the same no one is really thinking. The drastic outcomes result from people trying to avoid conflict with one another, being highly cohesive, and results is questionable decision making (Oliver, 2013). Houghton Mifflin publication of Victims of Groupthink: A Psychological Study of Foreign-Policy Decisions
Many human beings have been involved in a power struggle of some sort since the beginning of time. Between power in the business world, classroom, and government it is often clear who is subordinate and who is dominant. Subordinates may at times feel powerless; however, they can gain satisfaction out of aesthetics and hidden transcripts because of the personal freedoms it represents to them.
Wiltshire, Kenneth. "Sweet 16 and Too Immature to Vote." Australian (Canberra). 15 Oct. 2009: 12. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 15 Jan. 2014.
The family influences children at a young age when parent's political viewpoints are unconditionally and naturally accepted. This information guides our first political preferences and opinions and statistically is the majority of the ideals we retain. Later on in life, as children mature and are able to make their own rational decisions, most retain the political values instilled in them at a young age and over time may relate them to peers. Varying agents of socialization, like education and media influence our political opinions as adults. While some of the tactics used by these modes are obvious, others are less direct. Supplementary information can be gained from methods appealing to long-
Since democracy is the context and the condition for everything else that is valued—work, family life, religion, politics, recreation, and leisure—preserving its vitality and integrity must be a central objective of adult education. (Boggs 1991b, p. 54).