Chen Hanyu

A0110820B
1. In the Milgram experiments described in the reading, how much weight would you place
on the character of the persons involved and how much on the situation?
I would place more weight on the character of the persons involved than the situation. The character
of a person is built throughout his life while a situation may or may not have happen before,
therefore a person is unable to make decisions based on past experiences. Therefore if a person is
not familiar with the situation, he will rely on his own deductions instead, it is then things like his
own biasness, stereotyping and upbringings come into play to make a decision for himself.
2. Could you describe a situation where you felt that you were behaving in a manner that
was at odds with your true character? What was it in that situation that influenced your
behavior?
I perceive myself as someone who can take some criticism and not afraid to ask for help from others,
not a person who was obsessed with face. However once a female friend of mine was explaining
to me something that I did not understand and I did not feel that I needed her help and doubted her
words despite her answers being correct. It was a very strange feeling that I never felt when my
male friends explained theories to me
I believe it was because the other party was an attractive female acquaintance of mine and the
stereotype that pretty girls were lacking in the brains department was affecting me. Likewise, my
ego as a man to appear dominant in front of my female counterparts was did not allowing me to
accept the fact that I was being educated by her and therefore in a sense submissive towards her.
Even though we had known each other for a long time, it was surprising that this feeling was
plaguing me and hindered my learning experience.
3. In contrast, could you describe a situation where the strength of your character allowed
others to rise above the strong influence of the situation?
In every group without an appoint leader, there will always be a more dominant person that takes a
pseudo-leader role. Normally when this person makes a suggestion or decision and ask for the
opinion of other, the group tends to group-think and accept that decision despite the fact that it
might not be the best idea.
For me I always believe that a good team idea should incorporate the best components of
everyones idea, therefore I tend to encourage other group members to speak up and present their
ideas confidently to everyone in the group. This has help my groups to break from the traditional no
objections to more proactive in making comments and suggestions to improve the final idea.