Stereotypes and Social Conditioning
For my Writing and Rhetoric class, I had to do some research on the effects of stereotypes on the interest and success of girls in physical sciences, computer sciences, and engineering. What I found was pretty interesting... apparently, there were studies that showed that girls performed worse on tests and the like when the stereotype was reinforced, and actually performed better than boys when they were assured that the stereotype wasn't true. Also, a cross-national study showed that countries that held implicitly higher opinions that science was a male profession led to worse performance in girls...
Of course, psychological research still seems a little subjective to me sometimes and some of their methods are questionable, but these findings were still surprising to me. Luckily, I took an introductory course in psychology and have some background in their research methods (I'm glad I took that course!).
But still, it got me thinking... there are times when I feel that I don't belong in physics and that it is a field that I cannot succeed in. But maybe this is because, stereotypically, physics has been a heterosexual male-dominated field, and I'm gay. But maybe these feelings--that I don't belong and that I can't succeed--are conditioned in me. In the future, I'm going to do my best to ignore these stereotypes, because I really do love physics.
And then... I've realized that a lot of the things we think are true are really just social constructs.
Like... the "fact" that we have to wear clothes. Why is there something wrong with being naked in public? In my opinion, we only feel that way because the law says it's wrong, so it subsequently gets conditioned in us. I read on the internet about Andrew Martinez, a student from UC Berkely who attended his classes naked. Now, when you read this, you're probably thinking "What the heck? That's outrageous!" But who's to say that this isn't just something that's just conditioned in us? I read an interview that a magazine had with Andrew, and he said he was doing it because he was pushing for non-conformism and social change: "I am acting how I think it is reasonable to act, not how middle-class values tell me I should act. I am refusing to hide my dissent in normalcy even though it is very easy to do so."
He also handed out bumper stickers to people who passed by him (while he was nude), saying "It's just a dick". And I think he's right. It IS just a dick. Why do people think there is something wrong and shameful about our natural state? I think he's a very brave person; unfortunately, he was arrested after showing up at the city hall naked, suffered a long streak of unemployment, and then grew increasingly mentally ill and eventually committed suicide... what a tragedy, because the world can really use people that push for change and don't just conform to social norms.
I'm not nearly as brave as him, but I've also stopped caring so much about the way I dress and the way I look. Looking good, in my opinion, is just another thing we are socially conditioned to do...
I've always been of the opinion that sexuality is repressed in our current sexuality. If sexuality weren't repressed, people would not have problems experimenting with new sexual practices and partners. There are a lot of things that we believe are truths that are in reality conditioned... marriage, monogamy, the definition of "normal" sex. People often believe that polygamy is wrong. But why is it wrong?
...of course, you can go further. (Disclaimer: the following questions do not in any way represent my opinion on any of these issues) Why is stealing wrong? Why is murder wrong? Is there REALLY such a thing as love? But I'm stepping into philosophical territory here, and I haven't taken an introductory course in that, though this might change in the future.
I just wonder. How much of myself is actually myself, and how much of myself is just socially conditioned? In the future I'm going to try to be more wary of this.
Of course, psychological research still seems a little subjective to me sometimes and some of their methods are questionable, but these findings were still surprising to me. Luckily, I took an introductory course in psychology and have some background in their research methods (I'm glad I took that course!).
But still, it got me thinking... there are times when I feel that I don't belong in physics and that it is a field that I cannot succeed in. But maybe this is because, stereotypically, physics has been a heterosexual male-dominated field, and I'm gay. But maybe these feelings--that I don't belong and that I can't succeed--are conditioned in me. In the future, I'm going to do my best to ignore these stereotypes, because I really do love physics.
And then... I've realized that a lot of the things we think are true are really just social constructs.
Like... the "fact" that we have to wear clothes. Why is there something wrong with being naked in public? In my opinion, we only feel that way because the law says it's wrong, so it subsequently gets conditioned in us. I read on the internet about Andrew Martinez, a student from UC Berkely who attended his classes naked. Now, when you read this, you're probably thinking "What the heck? That's outrageous!" But who's to say that this isn't just something that's just conditioned in us? I read an interview that a magazine had with Andrew, and he said he was doing it because he was pushing for non-conformism and social change: "I am acting how I think it is reasonable to act, not how middle-class values tell me I should act. I am refusing to hide my dissent in normalcy even though it is very easy to do so."
He also handed out bumper stickers to people who passed by him (while he was nude), saying "It's just a dick". And I think he's right. It IS just a dick. Why do people think there is something wrong and shameful about our natural state? I think he's a very brave person; unfortunately, he was arrested after showing up at the city hall naked, suffered a long streak of unemployment, and then grew increasingly mentally ill and eventually committed suicide... what a tragedy, because the world can really use people that push for change and don't just conform to social norms.
I'm not nearly as brave as him, but I've also stopped caring so much about the way I dress and the way I look. Looking good, in my opinion, is just another thing we are socially conditioned to do...
I've always been of the opinion that sexuality is repressed in our current sexuality. If sexuality weren't repressed, people would not have problems experimenting with new sexual practices and partners. There are a lot of things that we believe are truths that are in reality conditioned... marriage, monogamy, the definition of "normal" sex. People often believe that polygamy is wrong. But why is it wrong?
...of course, you can go further. (Disclaimer: the following questions do not in any way represent my opinion on any of these issues) Why is stealing wrong? Why is murder wrong? Is there REALLY such a thing as love? But I'm stepping into philosophical territory here, and I haven't taken an introductory course in that, though this might change in the future.
I just wonder. How much of myself is actually myself, and how much of myself is just socially conditioned? In the future I'm going to try to be more wary of this.