Social Influence

Having taken two courses on social psychology, I tend to merely peruse the text (Exploring Social Psychology, 5th ed. by David G. Myers) for the class in which I am currently enrolled. By doing so, I am usually reminded of the basics of various concepts like the low-ball and foot-in-the-door techniques, methods of persuasion, and social conformity. This week, however, I came across one quote in the chapter titled, "How Nice People get Corrupted." The book quotes one of television's more memorable personalities:

"Good people sometimes do bad things."

--Mr. Rogers.

Being Mr. Rogers, of course we know he was right. We are all sometimes led astray. It might be something simple like hastily rushing through a yellow light when we know we should stop. It could take the more serious form of cheating for a test or plagiarizing for a paper. Of course, the bad act could be much worse than even that.

Regardless of the bad acts we're aware of committing, there are many that never register with us at all. When we walk by a homeless person and, despite a belly full of food and a pocketful of change, offer nothing -- we're doing a bad thing. When someone drops something on the bus and we choose not to say anything -- we're doing a bad thing. If we wait to act because we assume someone else will, we're ignoring our social responsibilities. Because as we're sitting around assuming someone else will take care of it, everyone else is sitting around and thinking the same thing.

How much in one drop?

'If you drink much from a bottle marked 'poison', it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later."

--Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland.

How much must one drink from such a bottle for it to disagree? And to what degree would it disagree? How can we be sure that the poison is actually poison? Just because it says one thing, does not mean it is that one thing. It could easily be doing its inanimate best to trick you into believing something unlikely or even impossible.

I am reminded of the scene from The Princess Bride in which Westley and Vizzini sit down to match wits. Vizzini goes through numerous theories while Westley sits patiently, knowing the outcome regardless of Vizzini's decision. All the while, the (first-time) audience sits tensely grabbing the edges of their seat waiting for the inevitable and painful experience to follow taking a sip out of one of the determinedly poisoned cups. Of course, us PB veterans know that the dashing blonde-haired, blue-eyed Westley will live to save the day and the girl. Maybe that's Alice's saving grace - blonde hair and blue eyes. Ah, the Aryan regime still remains - how truly unfortunate.

So what is really in that bottle, Alice? Poison? Not-Poison? Something even more horrific (like some grossly colored protein smoothie that your mother is trying to trick you into drinking because you didn't eat your peas last night at dinner? [ew, peas.]) Do you dare to take a drink? Do you dare to have that poison disagree?