The Power of Context

1. The Power of Context Olivia Clark, Amy Alfson, Jack Snedaker, Rachel Foulds, Juan Arenas, Kayla Shaak, Tori Rodriguez and Michael Cabangbang

2. What is The Power of Context? • Power of context is an environmental type of argument. The conditions of your environment shape the way that people behave or react. “Behavior is a function of social context” (page 150)

3. Bernie Goetz • Bernie Goetz pulled a gun and shot four young black men in 1984 who were described as “acting rowdy” • Due to high level of crime in NYC at the time Bernie was viewed as a hero while the boys were viewed as criminals • Goetz had experienced a life full of neglect and lived in a very unstable neighborhood making him feel obligated to “fix” the crime problem • When Goetz was retried in 1996, crime rate was much lower and the public viewed him as less of a hero, struggling to remember why someone would feel the need to pull a weapon on the subway • Because of high crime, people valued someone who stood up against the unlawfulness even if it seriously injured four young men

4. NYC Crime • City transit reached a point where no car was not covered with graffiti or littered with trash • During this time, subway system was overwhelmed with crime and people not paying fees • Fair beating cost transit over $150 million • William Bratton became head of police and used broken window theory to improve the subways • Broken window­- if a window is left broken the people around will conclude that no one cares and there is no authority. This leads to more destruction and anarchy. Fix quality of environment and people will be more respectful and responsible

5. NYC Crime (cont.) • Bratton cracked down on fair beating and graffiti on the subway systems • New York City crime rates dropped in train cars that were clean and had no graffiti • Police picked up hundreds of criminals that they had reason to arrest due to fair beating • We can conclude that in a more respectable environment citizens will be more lawful

6. Stanford Jail Experiment • Zimbardo, a man from Stanford University made a jail in the basement of the psychology building. • He chose 10 guards and 10 inmates. (All random strangers) • Many of these people were pacifists and had no mental issues. • When in the jail situation, the guards became very violent and angry and the inmates showed symptoms of mental insanity. • The experiment was cut to 6 days instead of the planned 2 weeks because it changed people’s behavior drastically and much more than expected.

7. Size and Type of Groups • Groups of less than 150 members usually display a level of intimacy, interdependency, and efficiency that begins to dissipate markedly as soon as the group’s size increases over 150. • This concept has been exploited by a number of corporations that use it as the foundation of their organizational structures and marketing campaigns. • People who have a lot in common tend to join together to cause a tipping point.