For this assignment, listen to the full shows of the This American Life episodes #487 & #488 called Harper High School Parts 1 & 2. If you have a smartphone or tablet, the easiest way to listen to this, and all the other radio shows for the class, is to download the This American Life app. Once you have the app you can quickly find shows (by title or episode number) and listen right then and there. You can also go to the website www.thisamericanlife.org and search on episode number. I've found it for you here: http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/487/harper-high-school-part-one and http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/488/harper-high-school-part-two click on launch player and listen to the show.How did these episodes make you feel? According to what you know about scientific aspects of social psychology as presented in your textbook, which social psychological principles are operating at this school and in this community?
Provide the psychology terms you used in your response at the bottom of your comment.
This episode of This American Life was way heavier than I expected it to be. I don’t know what I expected, but it certainly wasn’t a two full hours of children engaged in gang wars, shooting each other. So as far as how I feel about it, I can think of one word that describes it accurately: bleak. The radio show was extremely bleak. Not only were the interviews heart wrenching and hard to listen to, but there was very little hope involved in the whole ordeal. The interviewers themselves were told that there was no way to avoid being in a gang, and it became clear that there was an enormous amount of difficulty associated with getting out of the cycle of violence. And so, with very little hope of escape encompassed by a society of violence, the stories made it hard to feel anything but hopelessness. The stories in which the kids got help from the school counselor were even worse, because for a moment you find yourself hoping that perhaps it could be different, perhaps this kid can get out. And then you’re hit with the bombshell that the kid that accidentally killed his brother, and hates himself for it, was arrested, ran from court, and is now on the run from the law. Even this person, who seemed to have a hope for a future, has any future crushed. Worse than the depressive quality of the stories, is the quality of normal that is associated with all of the violence. Teachers have a set list of rules to follow in the case of a shooting, which is unheard of in many other school districts. No, worse than the hopelessness is the fact that no one is surprised when there is a shooting. Sad? Sure, but never surprised.
I think a huge aspect of this whole situation is an extreme form of peer pressure, mixed in with a lot of group think. The prevalence of violence in combination with a large group of peers creates an environment that makes it difficult to avoid decisions that aren’t centered around retaliation. Because they are in a group and they all have a sort of history with violence in these neighborhoods, if one person’s mind drifts to the idea of violence, and they decide to suggest this as a viable option for solving problems, then there is a likelihood that everyone else is more inclined to agree with the one person in the group, due to the history of violence, the influence of other’s perceived opinions, and the addition of peer pressure all leads to a disastrous decision. And after one person does it, it becomes acceptable and even necessary to prove superiority through retaliation. Then the issue becomes not one of a small group, but one of a larger community, and it becomes a sort of “well, he did it too!” issue instead of one of simple unnecessary violence.
society
peer pressure
group think
decisions
influence
opinions
As I listened to these episodes about Harper High School and all of the gangs and shootings that effect so many of Harper’s students my heart hurt for the faculty and students. I cannot imagine not having a choice to being in a gang. Ira explained in the first episode that many students are affiliated to gangs not by choice but mostly due to the block they live on. As I listened to the many stories in these two episodes I was continuously in shock at the conversations that were so normal for these students to talk about. For instance, in the second episode one of the reporters talked to a few students about where they get guns from. The students stated that a lot of the time they got their guns from other gang members or family relatives. They proceeded to talk about the best guns and where the best hiding places were. This broke my heart to here. Some of these students are only about 15 years old and have been in the gangs for some time by then. Overall, these episodes were really informative on what it really is like to go to school in one of these neighborhoods.
For most of these high schoolers that grew up in this area, their parents were involved in a gang and therefore, this behavior became socially acceptable. Along with this, for many children the idea of the cognitive dissonance theory really could be applicable. For children that grew up in this kind of an environment many of them could have experienced cognitive dissonance one of the first times they experienced gang violence. In order to reduce or eliminate this they changed their beliefs to rationalize that this behavior was normal and okay. Stereotypes and prejudice are also incredibly noticeable in the community. Students that have to travel through enemy territory to get to school, once old enough could be seen as a threat just be where they live not based on their beliefs or actual affiliation with the block gang they live on. Prejudice is also cultured through the gang community based on the social identity theory. The three processes that this theory explains lead to prejudice are social categorization, social identity, and social comparison which are all extremely prevalent in gangs. One thing that the school system tries to do is to create a safe environment where the social roles and norms are more situated towards a more rural school system. For example, when the principle was trying to make sure that the homecoming game and dance this was to give the students more of a normal high school experience in amidst the different social roles and norms that these students see in their everyday home lives. One last social psychological aspect that I saw a lot of in these episodes was the negativity of groupthink. The book only talked about this in the context of the disasters from higher up government or agencies that did not end well. This concept can also be placed against the idea of gangs as well. Often these gangs have a high level of similar backgrounds and ideologies; include high group cohesiveness; have high perceived threat; elevated stress; insulation from outside influence; and in the earlier gang days had a directive leader. All of these characteristics are part of the conditions that set the stage for groupthink. This is may be why so many shootings lead to revenge shootings and killings. Overall, these episodes contained so many different parts of social psychology. Some of the topics mentioned included; attitudes, cognitive dissonance theory, prejudice, stereotypes, social categorization, social identity, social comparison theory, and many more.
Vocabulary: attitude, cognitive dissonance theory, cognitive dissonance, stereotypes, prejudice, social categorization, social identity, social comparison, social roles, norms, groupthink, high group cohesiveness, high perceived threat, elevated stress, insulation from outside influence, directive leader
While listening to this episode of This American Life, I found myself extremely awestruck. I was just shocked and couldn't really believe what I was listening to. It was hard to imagine that these things could be happening in our own country. I think I was so shocked because I have never encountered an environment like that. Coming from Cedar Rapids, we do have what we call a "ghetto" and we have seen an increase in shootings within the city recently, however nothing in comparison to this situation going on in the Harper community. I can't even begin to imagine how difficult and scary it must be to live there. The students say that they have to be in a gang even if they don't want to be. They are associated with one simply by the part of the neighborhood they live in. Even the police agree that it can't be avoided. The police. Just let that sink in because it certainly sunk in for me.
Throughout the two hour episode I heard more than one social psychology principle at play. There was certainly a lot of stereotyping and prejudice taking place. Kids were judging others simply based upon their respective gang affiliations. This then caused back and forth retaliation shooting that lasted many years. Retaliation shooting is what caused numerous deaths within the Harper community and does so all over the world. It lead to the death of James as well as many others. The sad thing is, the community seems to think it is a completely normal thing to happen. It shouldn't be. People should not be dying just because "they did it first". When asked who has been shot at, most of the football team says that they have. When asked who has witnessed a shooting, almost everyone in the entire school has. Granted, it may not be that big of a school, but that's still far too many. Even though the death of James impacted the lives of many at Harper High School, it did not halt the homecoming activities. I found a small amount of solace in this. Principal Sanders wanted to try and give these students as much of a "normal" high school experience as she could. She worked so hard to keep the place running and orderly. They even had military training tactics in place.
There also seemed to be a lot of conformity, obedience, and groupthink going on within the individual gangs. Some students, even though they did not want to be associated with a gang, began to show conformity and obedience simply in order to protect themselves. Imagine being scared about your own well-being if you did not join a gang. The younger kids fell in line right behind their peers and sometimes even their own family members. Negative thoughts of retaliation within the gang resulted in groupthink and poor choices. An endless cycle of this continuously occurs and has yet to be changed. There are small glimpses of hope such as in the case of Devonte, but then we find out that he goes on the run from a gun possession charge...
Vocabulary Terms: environment, social psychology, stereotyping, prejudice, conformity, obedience, groupthink
These episodes of This American Life were extremely hard for me to listen to not only because of the extremely violent and distressing content, but because it was difficult for me to imagine the situation these kids are living in. The constant worry and violence is unimaginable and this especially hit me in the section about all of the shootings that Thomas has seen. Coming from an extremely small town and even smaller school, it is nearly impossible for me to imagine the precautions that the administration has to take at this high school. At my school if we had left all of the doors unlocked during the day and even if all of the teachers decided they were going to take a nap, the worst that would happen would be some mild vandalism and kids going back home. At Harper High School, however, if this occurred all hell would break loose. I cannot even fathom the work that the teachers, faculty, and administration does to try and keep these kids safe. Faculty tries to figure out which gangs the kids are involved in, which gangs are “clicked up” with, which gangs are fighting, drives kids to school in the morning, and even sends kids home if they perceive them to be in danger. I was especially impressed with Chrystal, the social worker, and the compassion that she has towards the students and the skills with which she handles these situations. Although these episodes were extremely depressing, I felt that her compassion and determination to help these kids to live better lives was very inspiring and I hope that these kids all gain something from knowing and getting to work with her. It is because of this that the budget cuts hit me so hard. The fact that the school will be losing the people that are really making a difference like Chrystal and Anita makes me so angry because they are what is making the situation better on a daily basis.
One element of social psychology that I see in these episodes is prejudice. This element was mentioned in the very beginning of the first episode. Here they mentioned that 29 students total were shot in one year and eight of these were killed because of their wounds. Ira points out that if this had happened at a wealthy, white school it would have made national news. However, at Harper High School this never made big news and although the students, faculty, and all of those affected by the shootings were definitely sad, but this came off as an everyday thing. This definitely points out how socioeconomic status and race makes a difference in peoples’ reactions.
The second major social psychology is attribution. There are several examples of attribution in these episodes. One such example is when the reporter talks about how you aren’t supposed to walk in a group because people might assume that the group is a gang. This is an example of a dispositional attribute. Because people are walking in a group, they are perceived to be a gang and the person observing makes a fundamental attribution error and attributes this to disposition and not situational factors like there is safety in numbers. Another thing that got me thinking about attribution was the possibility of the kids involved in these gangs being victims of the fundamental attribution error. Most people make dispositional attributes about gang members and believe that they are just no good, violent, and evil. However, this doesn’t take into account the situational attributes. Like it was mentioned, these kids are automatically assigned to a gang when they arrive in the area. They have no choice as to whether they are in a gang or not.
Vocabulary: social psychology, prejudice, attribution, dispositional attribute, fundamental attribution error
These episodes made me feel really sad. It makes me so sad that this gang violence happens so often, and it’s almost become routine to them. There really isn’t a way to fix it, either, and it seems to be growing more and more. One of the students interviewed said that it was possible in the past to be neutral, but now you can’t avoid it. If you live in a certain neighborhood, you are assigned to a gang. It just seems so hopeless to me. These kids have the daily struggle of deciding whether to walk in groups so they don’t get jumped, but they may get shot. I would like to know if there is anything that can be done for this situation, like if the government can get involved or something. There has to be a way to fix this.
A lot of the topics from our chapter apply to these episodes. The first one that comes to mind is that of attitudes of stereotypes and prejudices. The kids definitely had prejudices against other gangs, and these attitudes incited them to violent behaviors.
The teachers and faculty at the school try to use persuasion techniques to change the attitudes of the students, toward each other and themselves. They try to get kids to open up about their experiences with violence, and remind them daily that they are special, unique, important and loved. This would fall into the central route of persuasion.
The members of this society also had attributions towards each other. DeVonne told us about how everyone treated him differently after the accident with his brother. This is a case of fundamental attribution error, because he in no way meant to kill his brother, though his actions could be interpreted as such.
Social forces were definitely at play in influencing the behavior of the students at Harper. It was a social norm for boys especially to be involved in gang activities, and they were pressured a lot more than girls. The gangs also brought a large pressure to conform, and either participate in the violence or stay out of the way.
The gangs also formed huge group dynamics, such as groupthink. The gang members displayed high levels of aggression. Aggression is a wide range of behaviors which try to do harm to another. Aggression can be biological, and some psychologists suggest that it is a product of frustration. This chapter again asserts the importance of a good home life. A lot of these students come from unstable, violent homes, so they see this behavior as normal. They grow up to carry on the violent cycle. Parents also shape their children’s attitudes. If the parents have a nonchalant attitude towards violence, or even perpetuate it themselves, then their children will develop this attitude as well.
Though groups in these episodes seem to get a bad reputation, they also highlight the importance of social interaction. One student stays in his home and tries to avoid the social structure altogether, but this is a very lonely life. He says that his lonely life is just as dangerous as being involved with gangs, because he develops depression quite often.
Terms: prejudices, stereotypes, attitudes, attributions, fundamental attribution error, norms, groupthink, groupthink, aggression, persuasion, central route
In this episode of This American Life, the emotions were rampant as I listened to went on. Before the show had started I read through the summary of the different parts to try and get a better understanding of what I would be listening to and read that Harper High School had lost 29 students to gun was astonishing to me. Never have I been around such violence or aggression before, sure there have been deaths in the family, funerals to attend growing up, but all were from natural causes and did not affect many people in my school as this had to of. What I find so interesting is that the Principal of Harper High School downplays the shootings that had happened and said that only 3 had been shot and those were only the most recent shootings
Principal Sanders reminded me when I was in high school and how the first day would be. As a student it was always exciting as you moved up in grade, being in upperclassmen you were able to move forward, but it always harder to goof off during assemblies than. Knowing that there were 16 police officers for their schools is astonishing to me. I only one in my high school and until my last year in middle school I actually had no police officer in middle school. I had heard that some parts of Chicago were dangerous, but I had not really thought about the danger for kids who are just trying to get an education. I have not really heard anything on the news in a while and while I realize this show is dated back from February 2013 this makes me wonder what is going on now in Chicago with the gun violence and education in Chicago.
To know that teens are literally joining gangs so that they can be protected is scary and sad. The fact that they are so open about it with the faculty and do not need to keep it a secret is a little shocking, but with all the deaths that have happened it can be a godsend. The assistant principal literally makes agreements that if something happens on the block or in school then the kids need to let him know. To know that because of where you live you are a part of a gang whether you feel like it or not is not something I would appreciate.
Rule number five. If they shoot do not run. That sounds very contrary to what you would think. What in the world do you think you should do? Are you supposed to stand still until they shoot you? And why in the world is the reasoning for someone shooting another person sounds so dumb? Over a girl, a paintball incident, something at school. I’m sorry but fists sound better than guns over these arguments. I do not condone either of these actions though considering I am a pacifist.
Peer pressure seems to be a major factor in this case. Teens getting into gangs because they feel they need the protection. When in a large group of peers creates an environment that makes it difficult to avoid decisions that are not centered around retaliation.
Vocabulary: emotions, aggression, peer pressure, decisions
After listening to both Podcasts I left in a little bit of a haze. The amount of violence and hate that is so prevalent in the lives of these students is sickening to me. These events are not a new concept to me but they never get easier to hear about or less jarring to discuss. These podcasts dragged me down emotionally, I was sad, I was angered, and I was confused. These are merely children we are talking about no matter the things they’ve seen or done, they are children. Under 18, yet to graduate high school and seeing and participating in worse things than most of us will ever have to deal with in our lives. I am barely older than these kids and I feel like a child on a daily basis. I cannot imagine the fear that some of them must experience every day just walking to school. The hate and prejudice in this community has caused for acts of terror to become the norm and no amount of exposure will ever make those words or actions sting less than they do today. These podcasts were a glimpse into an awful reality and I am thankful that I never had to experience any of the things in my life.
Prejudice ran rampant in this community in all directions. Your gang define you and regardless of your personal identity, to the opposition, you are nothing more than your affiliation. Both sides were locked in hate because of a mutual lack of desire to see the others as people or valued life because they thought they were different. All members were stereotyped into the “characteristics” of their group and by mashing all individuals together they lost their individuality completely in the eyes of their counterparts.
Prejudice
Stereotyped
Characteristics
Individuality
I was so surprised by these podcasts. As a girl who grew up in a middle-class, suburban small town, this is something that I had no idea occurred on a regular basis. I mean, you hear about rough neighborhoods in big cities, but it’s so different and it becomes so real, hearing not just first-hand accounts, but simply recorded tidbits of the everyday occurrences for these students. It’s about as far away from my peaceful small-town upbringing as you can get, and it left me a little shaken. I couldn’t stand to go to school knowing that I could die at any moment. I would not be able to focus on my education, and I would be worried sick about my friends. This definitely was a reality check on the privilege I have experienced my whole life thus far. I lived in a safe neighborhood in a safe town, and I go to a safe college in a safe city. There’s not exactly a Harper-like area in Cedar Falls, especially not on campus. Hearing that one of the main rules was “don’t walk alone” shocked me. I feel comfortable walking across UNI’s campus alone at any time of the day or night. Again, this difference illustrates just how much of a difference there is between my upbringing and that of the students in the podcast. Everything that was so shocking to me was so casual to them. The counselors would talk about weed as if it were no big deal (whereas somebody in the dorms here at UNI could be arrested for it), and honestly with the things these kids face every day, it probably isn’t that big of a deal. I don’t understand how things like this can happen, how situations involving only a few gangs can escalate into one on every block, how drug territories can eventually morph into territories of groups that stick together for protection. Clearly their norm is so completely different from anything I would be used to. Even the reporters, who had preconceived notions of why the gangs existed and how they operated, were surprised to find out the true meaning behind why the students of Harper do what they do. Nearly everyone’s social role has to do with their gang affiliation – how they interact with others is determined by their status and their block of origin. If they step outside these roles, they could be seen as a threat and be at risk for an attack or a shooting. There’s a huge pressure to conform to the unspoken but universal rules of the neighborhood around Harper. If you don’t, it could cost you your life. The culture around Harper is clearly not an individualistic one – again, straying from your role and your gang could put your life in jeopardy.
The whole thing was sad and scary, and I sincerely hope that the conditions in places like Harper can improve. I also applaud the administrators and counselors who face this stuff every day and do their best to make a difference in the lives of their students.
norms, social role, conformity
This was the first episode I actually wanted to continue listening to. This episode was dealing with some very heavy subject matter and I think that they handled it very well. This episode made me feel very concerned that things like this are a common occurrences to some people. Back in high school, we never had shootings, but we had lots of bomb threats (which were understood by the students to be a “joke” and a way to get out of tests) and lockdown drills were very common, and I could relate a little to some of the things that happened. I also felt comforted by the faculty they had working there. I felt like the faculty was genuinely trying to help the students improve their lives and deal with the mental issues they were dealing with. Most of the stories the students talked about, I couldn’t even image. The one student who had witnessed multiple shootings blew me away. And when he said that he knew he would end up in prison, I felt so sorry for him because that was all he thought he could get out of life.
The psychological principles present in this episode were cognitive dissonance, stereotypes, norms, social roles, conformity, and groups. A lot of the students had a cognitive dissonance because they didn’t want to be a part of a gang, but because they lived in a certain area of Chicago, they were. Stereotypes were also used to figure out if a person was old enough, or looked like they could be part of a gang. If the person was tall enough, or looked old enough to be in a gang, it was just assumed that they were and were treated like a gang member no matter if they were involved or not. The norms in Harper may not be the norms that we are used to here in rural Iowa, but they directed social life just as much. It was surprising to me that the rules that dictated how to live and act on the streets were so well known and contradictory they were. Social roles were very important in deciding how you acted and how you were treated. It was surprising to me that the faculty altered the way most teachers and administrators treat students, into a respectful, caring way that showed that the students that someone cared for them. It was also important that the students conform to the rules of the streets, and the rules of the school.
Cognitive dissonance
Stereotypes
Norms
Social roles
Conformity
Groups
This episode was disheartening for me but also enlightening for me to be able to listen to and consider the social background of these kids in Chicago. It real opened my eyes up to the gravity of these kids situations on the streets. I used to always think of gangs as something that these kids chose to be in, but now I kind of see truly why they must join these gangs not just for status, but to be able to survive. I also realized how hard these schools in the intercity work to try to make this a safe place for the kids that go there. They try their hardest to see to it that they get an education and are able to succeed even under the worst social circumstances. Sometimes everything goes according to plan such as the homecoming activities they scheduled and other times things go wrong much like the shooting that put the school on high alert in the first place. Hearing Devonte’s story of how his gang activity when he was still young, tore apart his family through the death of his younger brother also shed light to me on how gangs can destroy families, but these people still have to stay in them otherwise they couldn’t go outside without getting jumped. This podcast also made me realize the protective aspect of gangs and how they protect their members from the savagery of other gangs.
Not just a form of social conformity, but a way of life for these teens.
Cognitive dissonance theory may take hold early in the lives of these teens when they start to experience the gravity of their situations. They realize that gangs aren’t the right place for them to go, but because of the societal norms of the neighborhood, they have no choice, but to join them. To reduce these mixed feeling of whether to participate in the gangs, they reason with themselves by saying that they need to be in these gangs to survive and be able to thrive without being assaulted. Once these kids are in these gangs whether they want to be or not, stereotypes of these kids get tossed around as they walk through their own neighborhood. Many of the rival gangs see them and think these kids are of age and live in that area so must be part of this rival gang and this change may even happen to them overnight even if they haven’t been officially initiated yet. Their prejudice about other gangs as well, influences their behaviors toward them especially rival gang against a rival gang. These prejudices about the other gangs can lead to bad things happening against these rival gangs. This was very apparent in how the new gang created through the death of a young boy, handled situations against gangs that were responsible for his death. In this situation group thinking took over and controlled how they acted against a gang with much more firepower and control then they had. This eventually is what led to other gang members deaths because of the bad situation they were placed in.
Terms: social role, prejudice, stereotypes, cognitive dissonance theory, norms,