sund0481: November 2011 Archives

When someone says the word "leader" we think of a very confident, outspoken, and outgoing person. In other words, the person who stands up in front of the class with little to no anxiety, or the person who does not hesitate to speak their mind in a discussion. When someone says the word leader we think: extrovert. However, psychology professor at the Amherst University Dr. Susan Krauss Whitbourne warns us in her article "Why Introverts Make Great Leaders - Sometimes," not to let their (extroverts) vibrating personality fool us. In regards to picking a leader, Dr. Whitbourne states,
It turns out that your best choice of a leader is more likely to be the quiet and
reticent person who takes a back seat in public discussions. Researchers are
finding that introverts make better leaders than extroverts for one simple reason:
they're more likely to listen and pay attention to what other people are saying.
In other words, perhaps some extroverts have the tendency to be overly concerned with hearing their own voice that they forget to listen to others, when in reality, the concept of listening is essential in group dynamics. Based on multiple observations and research of both him and others regarding personality qualities of effective leaders, University of Pennsylvania psychologist Adam Grant suggests that "leadership by extroverts may come at significant costs." The essence of Grant's argument is simply that extroverted group leaders tend to fail to adhere to the suggestions and concerns of their group members. Such a shortcoming, Dr. Whitbourne writes, "may fail to maximize your group's actual productivity."

In conclusion, Dr. Whitbourne offers suggestions on how one could apply this to one's life:

1. If you're an extrovert, calm down. You may be more sociable and outgoing, but it is important to recognize the more you take control you increase the probability of running down the morale of your group.
2. If you're an extrovert, learn to listen. Listening is key to overall group function and production. You may have valuable things to say, but don't be afraid to open up to the value of the multiple resources surrounding you.

Overall, when choosing a quality leader, it is important to keep in mind the balance between all members of the group.

Works Cited

"Why Introverts Make Great Leaders--Sometimes." Psychology Today. Web. 20 Nov. 2011.

Remember the days when monkey bars seemed as high as skyscrapers? When a Barbie was an actual person? Or when your own backyard became an exotic jungle? Imagination is at its peek when you're a kid. Those were the days.
But as a kid, we might not have realized just how much our own environment has influenced our behavior. Whether that be a television program like "Blues Clues" or "Barney" that left us feeling happy or relatively calm, or programs like "Power Rangers" and "Ninja Turtles" that left us feeling more active and aggressive. Looking back on it now, both sides of the spectrum seemed to have the capability to influence a child's behavior for better or for worse.
Today, it seems as if each day another violent video game or television program has its debut, and there is a growing debate in our culture regarding the various effects violence in the media have on the behavior and development of children. The situation is that while the video game industry generates billions in revenue, kids are finding more and more ways to expose themselves to different types of violent messages. Themes like murder, drugs, alcohol, racism, foul language, disrespect of the law, and other violent and suggestive themes can be found in plaguing our nation's youth. In the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry's article titled: "Children and Video Games: Playing With Violence," exposure to these types of video games can suggest a consequence of poor social skills, isolation, lower grades, obesity, and most controversial, aggressive behavior. In Miranda Hitti's article "Media Violence Spurs Fear, Aggression in Kids" she writes, "Ideally, producers would be sensitive to the power they wield, and parents would know what their kids are viewing...But in the real world, it can be hard for parents to monitor their children's media habits. With TV, movies, videos, and computer games, many parents don't know what their kids see every day."

http://www.aacap.org/galleries/FactsForFamilies/91_children_and_video_games_playing_with_violence.pdf

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,147986,00.html

Although there is much speculation about the various negative effects violence in the media have on children, I believe that it is important to take into account one lurking variable: the amount of influence children have on other children. Perhaps it isn't the violence in a certain television program that causes a kid to be violent, rather, as shown in the Kare 11 study, other children simply wanting to "fit in" by mimicking their fellow classmates. To me, this is important to take into consideration before making the assertion that violent television programs cause aggressive behavior. In the video recording taken of the day care classroom following the Power Rangers program, yes the kids tended to be more active and aggressive, but as depicted, it seemed as if more kids would simply look at what their classmates were doing and want to simply join in the fun. Furthermore, there needs to be a distinct line between "play" fighting (which we all did as kids, especially us boys), and "real" fighting.