Conformity : How do we rate ourselves??

Like lemmings we follow the leader....

Right from childhood onwards, we are primed to follow. Why, it make survival easier. Picture this : you are a stone age man trying to get your tribe out of the way of a sabre tooth tiger, would you have someone arguing with you at that time? This primal instinct to follow anyone who shouts with authority remains with us.

Recently we had a very interesting lecture where we were made aware that we all are not immune to blindly following authority. Do most people who go around subjugating the minority and running roughshod over others' rights pause to think what they are doing?

Our neighbouring country has gone through some interesting political turmoil, Sami Vellu has gone public stating that 'in hindsight mindlessly destroying Hindu temples was a bad idea and that cost the party seats.' Straits Times Tuesday 15th April.

How do we fight it, with humour. There are some youtube videos that you might enjoy.

Your comments appreciated: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQkMtd0wWOc

Click on the Youtube below and enjoy the funny song. Do you know why did the China man become the Ali-Baba man? Because of the rule of Bumiputra in Malaysia, some Chinese businessmen partner his Malay friends and appoint them as directors of the company in order to be qualified for business contracts. Damn good !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQkMtd0wWOc

Congnitive Dissonance at JCUS**High fees vs satisfaction explored

Cognitive Dissonance : Festinger's contribution to Social Psychology.

There are many of us who are in tertiary education for various reasons. JCUS has three different schools offering courses and ofcourse they do not come cheap. Many of us have hefty student loans and some of the mature students are on no-pay leave or have given up their jobs to persue their degrees. According to Festinger, if we pay a higher the price for something, and feel it is not worthwhile we will feel a strong dissonance. We will strongly support our decision and claim that our effort was worth it.

Now for the second part of the theory. Some of us have willingly undergone the pain and the effort to study, other lucky ones have had their fees paid for by their parents or employers. Not too many of us at psychology but others at the business school and IT have left their countries and families and spend a lot more interms of effort and money. If one were to run an advertising campaign for JCUS, which group of student is most likely to be a positive proponent of the school?

1. The group that is comprisied students whose fees have been paid for by their parents/ employers.
2. Local students who pay for their own fees and have had some form of tertiary education.
3. Overseas students who end up shelling the maximum amount which is living expenses in a foreign land and higher school fees.

I would take group number 1 as my advertising group. Why....going through an accelerated course is not easy. If you want to justify the pain, you are more likely to say that you finished the course because you liked it.

Or would it be group number three which is reflected in the JCU website....http://www.jcu.edu.sg/

Your comments would be appreciated.