When people make these grand ideological statements about what helping the poor “really” does, have they never heard about the optimal level curve (à la Yerkes & Dodson)? Driving people into destitution doesn’t “incentivize” them. It breaks them. It pushes them into despair and inaction. If you don’t have a home, some clothes, a phone, access to cultural information (e.g., the news), how is it, exactly, that you’re supposed to “get a job” and “work your way up”? Who, exactly, would hire so desperate a person?
Although the term isn’t used in English very much, the French (and other Europeans) talk not so much about mere “unemployment” but about “social exclusion”: people who have, essentially, fallen out (or been driven out) of the culture by poverty. By bringing them back into the culture at a minimal level, you give them an opportunity (a real opportunity, not a merely theoretical one) to begin to effectively navigate the culture again — get training, an education, get a job, better clothes, a better home, etc. Are there some people who will “take advantage” and “mooch” off the kindness of others? Sure, a few, but most people are not satisfied to live at a mere subsistence level when real opportunities are available for them to improve their situation. And the result is living in society with far less abject poverty and need (and all the socially undesirable behavior that comes with that). "Crazy socialist propaganda" off. Chris ….. Christopher D Green Department of Psychology York University Toronto, ON M3J 1P3 Canada [email protected] http://www.yorku.ca/christo ………………………………... On Jan 10, 2015, at 10:00 AM, Tollefsrud, Linda <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > What about considering the concept of reciprocity? I’m homeless – the city > gives me a nice apartment. I’m grateful and appreciate your faith in me; I > want to give back (reward you?) and do so by finding a job. Of course, I > also might want to work to furnish the apartment and buy a panini maker. > > Linda Tollefsrud > Univ of Wisconsin Colleges > [email protected] > > From: Michael Britt [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Saturday, January 10, 2015 7:52 AM > To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) > Subject: [tips] What Would Skinner Do? > > > > > > > > > > > The Daily Show did an interesting piece on a program in Salt Lake City Utah > in which they are giving homes to the homeless in order to reduce the > homelessness problem. As you can imagine, the idea of giving homes to the > homeless raises the ire of many people (“You’re not incentivizing the > homeless to make their lives better”, to “hit bottom” and then “raise > themselves up by their own bootstraps”, etc.). The short video be good > fodder for class discussion when it comes to talking about either > learning/behaviorism/motivation. I was, in effect, left wondering what > Skinner would do. > > http://youtu.be/jlZKeKQ8yX0 > > > I assume he would ask what contingencies were in place to either reinforce > homelessness (probably not many)? Or what contingencies were not yet in place > to reward this “raising of oneself by one’s bootstraps” - why wasn’t it > happening? If students were, let’s say, the mayor of Salt Lake City, what > plans would they put in place to reward this behavior? > > Along these same lines…it appeared to me that once the homeless were placed > in these free homes there weren’t any programs in place to reward them for > creating their own lives (getting a job, etc.). The video implies that once > you put homeless people in these homes it will have a positive effect on them > which might encourage them to build their lives back. Will simply changing > your environment in this way cause internal changes (more respect for > themselves, more pride) that will result in the homeless person doing things > to change their lives for the better? Is it best to have a “wait and see” > attitude? I think Skinner would say no. What might Skinner suggest we do > once people are in these new homes to encourage them to rebuild their lives? > > Michael > > Michael A. Britt, Ph.D. > [email protected] > http://www.ThePsychFiles.com > Twitter: @mbritt > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13355.5bffd68fb7c84ef12f478133e5791e9e&n=T&l=tips&o=41472 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-41472-13355.5bffd68fb7c84ef12f478133e5791...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > > > > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=430248.781165b5ef80a3cd2b14721caf62bd92&n=T&l=tips&o=41473 > > (It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is broken) > > or send a blank email to > leave-41473-430248.781165b5ef80a3cd2b14721caf62b...@fsulist.frostburg.edu > > > > > --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=41475 or send a blank email to leave-41475-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
