Some very interesting comments and articles, especially the reference by Chris regarding the impact of social exclusion on the homeless. A more unfortunate concern/question I have about the USA is why we fairly consistently stand apart from other westernized nations in our perspectives on taking care of the needy, whether it's in regard to caring for the homeless, those in need of health care, etc. Is it simply a result of the powerful corporate lobbies or is more reflective of our strong cultural support of individualism and that we each 'make our own bed to sleep in,' so to speak. This attitude seems to lead to a basic lack of compassion and understanding for the reasons why people are unemployed, living in poverty, etc.
Joan [email protected] > Hi > > Here's a brief piece on a minimum income "experiment" in Manitoba. > > http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincome > > Effects were generally positive, especially when looked at closely. > > And Canada has some projects on the go with providing homes for the > homeless. > > Jim > > Sent from my iPhone > > On Jan 10, 2015, at 7:52 AM, "Michael Britt" > <[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > 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 (Youre 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 ones bootstraps - why wasnt > it happening? If students were, lets 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 werent 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]<mailto:[email protected]> > http://www.ThePsychFiles.com > Twitter: @mbritt > > > > --- > > You are currently subscribed to tips as: > [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. > > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a891720c9&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-41472-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu<mailto:leave-41472-13251.645f86b5cec4da0a56ffea7a89172...@fsulist.frostburg.edu> > > > > > > > > --- > You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. > To unsubscribe click here: > http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=49240.d374d0c18780e492c3d2e63f91752d0d&n=T&l=tips&o=41487 > or send a blank email to > leave-41487-49240.d374d0c18780e492c3d2e63f91752...@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=41506 or send a blank email to leave-41506-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
