Chapter 7. Case Study: Suicide, Smoking, and the Search for the Unsticky Cigarette
1.According to Gladwell, why were teens in Micronesia committing suicide at a high rate? According to Gladwell, teens in Micronesia were committing suicide at a high rate because these rituals have become enbedded in the local culture. As the number of suicides have grown, the idea has fed upon itself, infecting younger and younger boys, and transforming the act itself so that the unthinkable has somehow been rendered thinkable.
2.What is permission-giving? Permission-giving is a way that gives other people permission to engage in a deviant act as well.
3.How does Gladwell make the connection between Micronesian’s teen suicides and teen smoking in America? Gladwell makes the connection between Micronesian's teen suicides and teen smoking in America because of the extraordinary influence of a select few who are responsible for driving the epidemic forward.
4.What steps has our society taken to curb teenage smoking? The steps our society has taken to curb teen smoking are raising cigarette prices, curtailing cigarette advertising, running public health messages on radio and television, limiting access of cigarettes to minors, and drilling anti-tobacco messages into schoolchildren.
5.What does Gladwell think is wrong about the current strategies being used to stop American teens from smoking cigarettes? What strategies would he substitute as more effective? Gladwell thinks that what we should be doing instead of fighting experimentation is making sure that experimentation doesn't have serious consequences.
6.What is the difference between “chippers” and addicted chronic smokers? Chippers are people who manage to smoke regularly and not be hooked - people for whom smoking is contagious but not sticky. Addicted chronic smokers have to smoke to replenish nicotine in their system.
7.What were the results of the Colorado Adoption Project? The Colorado Adoption Program results strongly suggest that our environment plays as big a role as heredity in shaping personality and intelligence. Environmental influence is the influence of peers.
8.What is the correlation between smoking and depression? The correlation between smoking and depression is that the same kinds of things that would make someone susceptible to the contagious effects of smoking - low self-esteem, or an unhealthy and unhappy home life - are also the kinds of things that contribute to depression. The two problems might have the same genetic root.
9.What have been the effects of Zyban on smokers? Zyban's effect on smokers is that it lifts mood in precisely the same way that nicotine does.
10.What are “addiction thresholds”? "Addiction thresholds" for smokers is that if you smoke below a certain number (5 cigarettes or between four and six milligrams of nicotine) of cigarettes you aren't addicted at all, but once you go above that magic number you suddenly are.
11.What are the character traits of the smoking personality, according to Gladwell? The character traits of the smking personality are defiance, sexual precocity, honesty, impulsiveness, indifference to the opinion of others, and sensation seeking.
12.Why are teenagers drawn to these traits? Teenagers are drawn to the traits of the smoking personality because they are drawn to the ultimate expression of adolescent rebellion, risk-taking, impulsivity, indifference to others, and precocity: the cigarette.
13.What are your thoughts about peer influence versus heredity and parental influence? I believe peers influence children in becoming who they are. I also believe morals and values are created in the home by family and can define who a person is. With a strong set of values it is not as easy to be swayed by negative peers. Children will be more likely to gravitate toward the positive peer pressure.
14.Whom are you most influenced by? I am mostly influenced by my family. Family is very important to me.
15.Do you believe teens smoke because of peer pressure? Yes, I do believe that teens smoke because of peer pressure. If it is acceptable for others to smoke then it is ok for everyone to smoke.
16.At what age do kids stop listening to their parents?At what age, if ever, do you think teens start listening again? I don't think kids ever stop listening to their parents. Both of my parents are deceased, but I still "listen" to all that they have taught me. I believe that all kids go through a period of thinking they know more than their parents and ends when reality sets in and they realize that parents might really know what they are talking about!
17.Can a safer cigarette be created? I do not believe a safe cigarette can be created. A safer citgarette - yes, but not a safe cigarette.
