Chapter 4. The Power of Context (Part One): Bernie Goetz & the Rise & Fall of New York City Crime
1.Who is Bernhard Goetz? Bernhardt Goetz was a commuter who seemed like an avenging angel when he shot four intimidating criminals on the IRT subway. He was treated as a hero, a man who had fulfilled the secret fantasy of every New Yorker who had ever been mugged or intimidated or assaulted on the subway.
2.Describe New York City in the 1980s—specifically crime and public transportation. According to Gladwell, what tipped the NYC crime epidemic? -During the 1980s New York City averaged well over 2,000 murders and 600,000 serious felonies a year. The subway tracks were damaged and made it unsafe for trains to go more than 15 miles per hour. Farebeating was so commonplace that it was costing the Transit Authority as much as $150 million in lost revenue annually. There were about 15,000 felonies on the system a year. Harassment of riders by panhandlers and petty criminals was so pervasive that ridership of the trains had sunk to its lowest level in the history of the subway system. Gladwell states that the most intriguing candidate for "tipping" the NYC crime epidemic is called the "Broken Window" theory.
3.Explain the Broken Windows theory. The Broken Windows theory argues that crime is the inevitable result of disorder.
4.Do you agree that “behavior is a function of social context” and that “what really matters is little things” (on page 150)? I do agree that "behavior is a function of social context" and that "what really matters is the little things." Nearly everything we do and much of what we think is based on social contexts, expectations and understandings. This results in people acting in a manner that is acceptable to the social situation.
5.How did David Gunn, the new subway director, put the Broken Window theory into effect in New York City? David Gunn put the Broken Window theory into effect by cleaning up the graffiti first in order to begin solving the larger problems of crime and subway reliability.
6.How did the new head of the transit police, William Bratton, aid Gunn with the Broken Window theory? William Bratton aided Gunn with the Broken Window theory by also starting with the small crimes and showing people what was expected.
7.Describe the prison experiment. What do you make of the results? The prison experiment was to try to find out why prisons are such nasty places. It consisted of normal volunteers who portrayed the roles of guards and inmates in a prison cell atmosphere made in a basement. The experiment was cut short because of the dramatic personality/psychological changes that resulted to all parties of the elaborate role-play. Zimbardo's conclusion was that there are specific situations so powerful that they can overwhelm our inherent predispositions.
8.What effect does birth order have on personality? One of the most fundamental factors in explaining personality is birth order: older siblings are domineering and conservative, younger siblings more creative and rebellious. This only occurs around our families.
9.What is the Good Samaritan research and what do you think of it? The Good Samaritan research was a group of seminarians who were to prepare a short talk on a given biblical theme, then walk over to a nearby building to present it. Along the way they encountered a man in trouble - did they stop and help? Darley and Batson introduced three variables into the experiment. The only one that really mattered was whether or not the student was in a rush. Only 10% of the students in a rush stopped to help and 63% of those not in a rush stopped to help. The convictions of your heart and the actual contents of your thoughts are less important, in the end, in guiding your actions than the immediate context of your behavior.
10.Gladwell states that “…our inner states are the result of our outer circumstances” (on page 152).Do you believe that environment truly makes an impact on our actions? I do believe that environment truly makes an impact on our actions. I see this in my classroom everyday. I expect kindness from my children and if I show it to them I receive it back.
11.How do you define character?Look at how Gladwell defines it on page 163.Compare and contrast your thoughts to his. Character is like a bundle of habits and tendencies and interests, loosely bound together and dependent, at certain times, on circumstance and context. I believe that our character is tied to our upbringing. We can instill in and show our children morals and values but they still need the good external environment.
12.Do you follow your convictions and thoughts or the immediate context of your behavior?Give an example or two. I try to follow my convictions and thoughts in my job and life in general. It is harder when the circumstances are negative. For example --- When dealing with people who are "mean" it would be easier to be "mean" back but would that help anyone? No! As my grandma used to say, "Sugar catches more flies than vinegar."
