The Tipping Point

The following post includes all work for weeks one through three.

Week One Assignment:

Resumé

Name:  Nicole Piner

Place of Employment:  Wiley School District

Occupation:  Secondary Teacher/Student Council Sponsor

Education:  Wiley High School

                    LamarCommunity College (A.A. Degree)

                    University of Southern Colorado (B.A. Degree)

                    LesleyUniversity (M.Ed.)

Work Experience:  Substitute Teacher (One Year)

                               Teacher (Sixteen Years)

                                    Subjects taught have included:

                                    -social sciences

                                    -language arts

                                    -foreign language

                                    -reading

                                 Student Council Sponsor (Five Years)

Questions for Discussion

A.  Introduction

            1.  The tipping point is the moment when a behavior or idea spreads at an epidemic proportion.  At one moment only a few people adhere to a certain idea or practice, then at the next moment the idea or practice is “caught” and passed on by a much larger group (like a spreading illness).

            2.  An idea tips when a large group of people suddenly believes in the idea.  For example, a small group of young people in Manhattan wore Hush Puppies shoes, a shoe brand which no longer enjoyed large-scale popularity.  This small group’s fondness for Hush Puppies “tipped” to include a desire for the shoes not only in the U.S. fashion industry but in young people all over the nation.

            3.  I believe that the majority of us do prefer gradual changes in things that matter most to our existence, such as our health, the economy, and our family life.  Gradual changes in these areas help us to adapt more easily.  However, some aspects of our culture do require tippers.  The entertainment, sports, and fashion industries rely on those individuals who can capture the attention of thousands or millions of Americans with a new idea or behavior.  For example, in just the past couple of years the entertainment industry has captured the attention of teens with Justin Bieber and the Twilight saga.  Students in my classes were sporting Justin Bieber hair styles and had their noses buried in any one of the four Twilight books.   

B.  Chapter One

            1.  The three rules of epidemics are as follows:

                        *The Law of the Few - When it comes to an epidemic, “….some people

                         matter more than others.”

                        *The Stickiness Factor - This rule involves making an idea memorable.

                        *The Power of Context- Circumstances surrounding the epidemic have an

                         effect on the extent of the epidemic.

            2.  According to the 80/20 Principle, eighty percent of the work is done by twenty percent of the people.  The author applied this principle to crime and explained that eighty percent of crime is committed by twenty percent of criminals.

            3.  R.J. Reynolds is the founder of the R.J. Reynolds Company that manufactures Winston-brand cigarettes.  The company’s Winston cigarettes tipped in 1954 with the help of a catchy but ungrammatically correct slogan.

Week Two Assignment:

Chapter Two

            1.  Connectors, mavens, and salesmen are the people who provide the driving force for epidemics to occur.

            2.  The small-world problem questions how humans are connected with each other.  Are we not connected at all with those around us or are we all interconnected?

            3.  Six degrees of separation is the theory that all people in the world are connected within six people of each other.  I think that this theory could be tested on a worldwide level but would have to involve more than just 140 people from Omaha, Nebraska.  Milgram’s experiment may help to show that six-degrees of separation is possible in the U.S., but could this same number of degrees apply to people internationally across borders and continents and oceans?  Only a large-scale experiment could answer this question.

            4.  Connectors know many, many people and have the ability to connect others to the people they know.

            5.  I scored 49 on the names quiz.  I was actually surprised that I was able to make that many connections; however, I fall right into the average according to the author.

            6.  Connectors are necessary because they help to keep those of us who are not connectors in contact with others around us.  Connectors bridge the gaps in relations between the rest of the population.

            7.  The “strength of weak ties” refers to the ability of our acquaintances (weak ties) to connect us to people and to situations that we usually do not make a part of our everyday world.  These acquaintances strengthen our chances of learning ideas and having opportunities that might not be possible in our typical surroundings.  

            8.  Revere’s ride succeeded because Revere was a connector who had acquaintances in the neighboring villages.  His knowledge of whom to contact made his alarm much more effective than Dawes’s.

            9.  I would say that my husband is somewhat of a maven and a connector.  He has knowledge on many different topics:  U.S. history, diesel mechanics, home renovation, hunting, and welding.  He enjoys sharing his knowledge of these various topics with others to help them solve problems.  Also, he has connections in all of these different areas.  People come to him all of the time to ask if he knows anyone who can help them solve a problem; usually, he knows just who to send them to. 

            10.  My reliance on word-of-mouth information depends on the source.  If I respect and trust someone, I am more likely to take their suggestions into consideration.

            11.  Mavens possibly influenced the sales of Hush Puppies by giving their opinions to a connector; the connector took it from there.

            12.  Positive aspects of being a maven would include having an admirable knowledge base and having the satisfaction of helping others solve their problems.  Negative aspects would include frustration when others do not follow your advice and the chance of being perceived by others as a know-it-all type of person.

            13.  The ability to persuade others to follow your suggestions makes someone a salesperson.

            14.  Salesmen are effective because they know that little things can make a big difference (they are masters at subtlety); they know that nonverbal cues are important, and they have the ability to influence our decisions whether we are aware of this or not.

            15.  Micromovements refer to the jumps and shifts in the body and face, which can include everything from a shrug of the shoulders to an almost undetectable lift of an eyebrow.

            16.  A person is good at charades when he can convey a clear idea with body movements and facial expressions. 

            17.  I do not really see myself as having a lot in common with a connector on a large-scale level like the examples the author used in the book.  However, on a small scale I suppose I am a connector at school in working with staff, students, and parents to reach common goals.  I am somewhat of a maven in that I love to learn and pass what I know on to others if I think my knowledge can help them in some way (guess that is why I became a teacher).  As far a salesman qualities go, I would say I am most like a salesman when I am with my family.  I do use facial expressions and forms of persuasion with my husband and children to get them to cooperate with what I would like.  For example, I use my voice and facial expressions when I am trying to convince my five-year-old that broccoli is great and that he should try some.

            18.  I wish I had the connector’s ability to maintain many acquaintance-type relationships.  I can see how those types of relationships would be helpful to others and to me.  However, I have enough of a challenge to just maintain my closer relationships and still keep up with my responsibilities at home and work.

            19.  I believe that most of these traits are developed through the influence of a person’s environment.  For example, Mr. Gau was probably rewarded as a little boy whenever he used his micromovements; he learned (whether consciously or subconsciously) that using micromovements got him what he wanted.  He continues to use this trait to his advantage.

            20.  Although I think the connector, the maven, and the salesman all have some advantageous aspects, I do see some possible disadvantages associated with each.  For the connector, I would assume that although the person has many acquaintances, the need to keep some type of contact with all of them would take away from time that could be used to nurture closer, more personal relationships with family and friends.  For the maven, I could see how acquisition of knowledge could become an obsession also leading the person away from a focus on family and friends.  Finally, if I were a salesman, I would have to wonder if I am receiving true feedback from people or if they are only telling me what I have persuaded them to think or feel.

Chapter Three

            1.  The stickiness factor is the ability of an idea or behavior to remain in a person’s or group’s memory.

            2.  What makes something sticky is that it is personal, practical, and memorable.         

            3.  Direct marketing is the business of getting consumers to respond directly to an advertisement.  A successful campaign is one that is based on an idea that is memorable and causes people to take action.

            4.  The gold box was an interactive device to cause consumers to match what they saw on television ads to what they read in a magazine ad.  The gold box was memorable and led people to act to purchase the product.

            5.  In order for Sesame Street to work, the following changes had to be made:  using segments that were only three to four minutes in length, simplifying dialogue, having only one or two characters speaking at a time, mixing fantasy with reality, and weaving all segments around a central story line.

            6.  Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues were similar in that they were both programs aimed at educating children of all different backgrounds and economic situations.  They both mixed fantasy with reality and saw success in the execution of their shows.  However, Blue’s Clues emphasized that young children do have a longer attention span than previously thought by the Sesame Street group; consequently, Blue’s Clues does not chop the show up into segments but has a continuous story running throughout the whole episode.  Another major difference between the two shows is that Blue’s Clues uses literal language at a level that young children can understand whereas Sesame Street tries to appeal to all age groups by using puns and more sophisticated types of jokes.

            7.  The Distracter was a slide show that was played at the same time as the episode that was being tested in order to see how often children’s attention was drawn away from the episode.

            8.  The James Earl Jones Effect is simply learning through repetition.

Week Three Assignment:

Chapter Four

            1.  Bernhard Goetz was a New Yorker who stood trial and was acquitted for shooting four teens on a subway in 1984.  He believed the teens were trying to mug him.

            2.  During the 1980’s in New York City, crime was rampant and public transportation was abysmal.  According to the author, small crimes were the tipping point for more violent crimes to occur.

            3.  The Broken Window Theory is the idea that if a window is left broken (a problem is not dealt with), then people assume no one cares about doing anything to fix the problem and no one is in charge of taking care of the problem.  As a result an “anything goes” mentality is created and chaos reigns.

            4.  I do believe that little things can add up to create major behavior problems.  For example, I can become very frustrated and short-tempered with others simply because I am having “one of those days” in which the little things add up to make me a less than nice person to be around.

            5.  David Gunn cleaned up the graffiti to send a message that vandalism and any other type of misbehavior would not be tolerated on the subway.

            6.  William Bratton took on “the broken window” of fare-beating.  Like Gunn, Bratton believed that showing no tolerance for lesser crimes would result in fewer crimes overall.

            7.  In the prison experiment volunteers were asked to take on the roles of prisoners and guards.  Surprisingly, the circumstances and surroundings made the prisoners feel frustrated and helpless; the guards became cruel and hardened.  It appears that the surroundings and circumstances affected the behavior and thoughts of the participants.  The participants were surprised how their typical behaviors changed so quickly.

            8.  Birth order affects how you perceive yourself and how you are perceived in your own family but not how you and others perceive you outside of your family.

            9.  For the Good Samaritan research, seminary students were tested on whether their behavior was affected by immediate circumstances or long-held values.  Sadly, I believe that immediacy and other possible circumstances can override your values and beliefs.  For example, although I believe in driving safely and being a defensive driver, there have been times when I have been late for work and I have found myself driving faster than what was legal or safe.

            10.  I do believe that environment has an impact on our actions.  For example, a classroom full of students behaves one way when a teacher is present; but when the teacher leaves the room, students’ behavior can change when they do not think they are being monitored.

            11.  To me, character is the overall impression you create about yourself; it is fairly constant.  Gladwell also says character is the impression we want to create about our self; however, it can change from situation to situation.

            12.  I would say I follow both my convictions and the immediate context.  For example, when voting during election time, I choose candidates who mirror my personal beliefs.  However, in day-to-day dealings with others, my behavior and thoughts are based on those around me and my circumstances.  For example, I might be in a grumpy mood when I leave my house in the morning, but my first class is a room full of seventh graders who are excited about the day.  Just being around them perks me up and gets me motivated for the day ahead.

Chapter Five

            1.  The Ya-Ya Sisterhood tipped because of word-of-mouth, sticky content, an author who was also a salesman, and group influence.

            2.  The channel capacity is the amount of space in our brain for certain kinds of information.

            3.  Dunbar believes that brains evolve in order to handle the complexities of being part of larger social groups.

            4.  The Rule of 150 states that 150 is the maximum number of individuals with whom w can have a genuinely social relationship.  Gladwell uses the examples hunter-gatherer villages, military units, and the Huttites to show that groups work most effectively when meaningful relationships can be cultivated among members.

            5.  Gore became successful by following the Rule of 150:  keeping factory size down and encouraging meaningful interaction among all employees.  Employee relations and peer pressure encouraged everyone to strive for success so that everyone could benefit.

            6.  I think productivity and satisfaction would increase if all business attempted to operate according to Gore’s example.  However, I still wonder about hierarchy within the company; someone ultimately has to make the hard decisions that a boss must make whether those decisions are supported by the whole group or not.

            7.  Transactive memory is a joint memory system based on an understanding of who is best suited to remember certain types of information.  I do believe in family memory sharing.  In our household, my husband remembers things like when the vehicles are scheduled for maintenance and I remember when the kids’ dentist appointments are.  Our sons know things like how to program the television to record a show (something I do not bother remembering because I know I can ask one of them to do it).

            8.  My list came to 10; Gladwell said the average is 12.  Yes, I do spend a lot of my time thinking about and being concerned for these people.  Any more people on that list would make taking care of them and thinking of them exhausting for me.

            9.  Many of the groups I belong to fit into the Rule of 150.  At work I have a close group of colleagues (less than 50); we work together well and know who to go to when we need help solving a particular problem.  Although my church has many more than 150 members, we still find ways of working within smaller groups to make more meaningful connections.  For example, in the summer a smaller group works to put on the vacation Bible school for a week.  Everyone knows their roles for the week, and volunteer satisfaction is quite high by the end of the week.  We take time to encourage each other to make the experience the best for the kids and for us.