Blog #4 Moral Muteness

Far too often, I keep my thoughts to myself. Whether it be in a group setting or one-on-conversations, I refrain from making comments that might not be received well by the other party. I often struggle with moral muteness because I do not want to stir up trouble or be the odd person out. 

I serve as the Internal Vice Chair of the Politics, Society and Law Scholars. One of my tasks involves maintaining the attendance and determining if members have met the membership requirements to maintain scholars status. One of the members of the advisory board texted me saying that she would be missing a required meeting and wanted me to sign her in anyways. She explained that she had another meeting and was super busy. I struggled for a while about how to handle the situation. I wouldn't consider her a friend, but I still felt awkward saying no. She clearly was not acting according to any moral standards and was asking me to do the same. I simply chose not to respond and pretend like I never saw the message.

Obviously, I engaged in moral muteness. I could have easily explained that signing her in would violate the trust that our program coordinator and the other members put in me. It would be disrespectful to the other members who were putting in the effort to maintain their scholars standing. Furthermore, it is unethical to lie for one's self gain. I took the easy way out by pretending I didn't see the message. I was afraid that it would be awkward the next time I saw her if I said no or brought up how unethically she was behaving. I believe in integrity and honesty, and should have been more true to those values. While I didn't explicitly lie and sign her in, I also did not act fully on those values. I should be outright in maintaining integrity and speaking up when something is unethical. In the future, I want to express my belief in those values when someone asks me to abandon them.

Blog #3

Coming from a diverse background, I pride myself on being open-minded and accepting of all types of people. I have also taken multiple psychology classes that touched on prejudices and the implementation of the IAT. When I was taking the quizzes, I was aware of how the test was analyzing my answers. I think this prior knowledge may have impacted my results to a certain extent because I know how I want to perceive myself and be perceived by others. 

I started with the quiz on religion because I thought this was the most neutral theme for myself. I am not a very religious person, so I did not think that I would have many implicit associations when it came to others' personal beliefs. For the most part, my view were fairly neutral without any of the religions being extremely positive or negative. Judaism was separated from the others a bit as being a bit more negative. I honestly do not know many specific details about each religion, so I do not think I have a negative implicit association with Judaism. It is a bit embarrassing but I was not sure which terms were associated with the opposing religions and that resulted in some incorrect answers in some instances. 

Next, I took the sexuality quiz. I support individuals' choice to be with whomever they please and hoped that it would be reflected in my results. My answers resulted in a strong automatic preference for straight people compared to gay people. I received this result because I responded faster when straight people and good words were classified with the same key. I think the results have some merit in that, while I respect everyone's right to live life how they please some aspects of homosexuality make me feel uncomfortable in certain situations. 

Finally, I completed the weight quiz. Similarly to the other themes, I thought that I was very accepting of other people. While some body types are a result of predispositions and genetics, and others may be due to lifestyle choices I don't think that people should be judged based on their weight. My result was a slight automatic preference for thin people compared to fat people. I received my results because I responded slightly faster when thin people and good words were paired together. I don't think that I necessarily attribute better qualities to thin people, but somehow it may be easier to within the realm of the quizzes. I think there a lot of negative stigmas in our society surrounding fat people and that may influence how readily I can attribute bad words to them.

I think that this exercise is important in demonstrating that while you may not hold prejudices, it is possible to make implicit associations unknowingly. No one is perfect, but it is important to be aware of how those associations may affect how you treat others and the decisions you make. 

Blog Post #2

The Disney movie, Mulan, is a great example of the relational leadership model. At the start of the scene, the men and Mulan are unorganized, unskilled, and unsuccessful in completing the challenges. Shang is determined to whip them into shape and increases his involvement in their training. The lyrics to the song are harsh in depicting how ill-equipped they are for the challenges that await them, however it is a part of his process. Shang needs the men to work harder than they ever have before and starts by breaking down their inflated egos. The training is rigorous and requires them to practice over and over.

Shang singles Mulan out and chastises her more than any of the other troops. While brutal at times, Shang is actually empowering Mulan to become a leader in her own right. She needed the extra push from Shang, so that she could rise to the occasion. The lyrics of the song also have an empowering message about what is is "to be a man". They will have "the force of a great typhoon" and "the strength of a raging fire" if they follow Shang's orders and keep pushing on.

Two thirds of the way into the video, there is a shift in the group dynamic. Mulan has risen to the occasion and overcome some of her own challenges. By climbing to the top of the pole and retrieving the arrow, she becomes a leader within the group. She was originally an outcast in the group, but she is now included and revered by her peers. The team is now united under Shang with Mulan as a leader amongst them. They are working as a cohesive unit and completing the challenges with ease. The troops are finally united in the cause to defeat the Huns.

Shang had to refocus and reshape the troops into men capable of taking down the Huns. His process consisted of rigorous training and beratement, which may not seem effective in theory. However, the underlying process was empowering his troops to be the best they could be. His tactics were ethical because he treated each of the men fairly and held them to the same standards. While Shang was not intentionally inclusive, the team developed a culture of inclusiveness in the face of Shang's challenges.