The guards in the Stanford Prison Experiment used several bases of social power to get compliances from their 'prisoners'. First the used both threats and promises. They threatened the prisoners with solitary confinement, push ups and other physical punishments, and denying certain human rights like their use of the toilet being replaced with a bucket in their cells they sometimes weren't able to clean for a while. They used promises when they decided to break solidarity among prisoners, allowing certain prisoners to sleep in 'privileged' cells where they could brush their teeth and eat better higher quality food at meal times. Secondly the guards used legitimate power to gain prisoners' compliance. Even though they weren't real guards, the inmates thought that they were, or were to obey them like they were actually prison guards. 

Police officers and guards are people we generally consider to be in authority over average citizens. We know that they hold the power to issue us tickets or arrest us if we do things that are illegal. For the most part, people accept this because over all it keeps our society as a whole under control, safe, and happy, however power can be abused. As we saw in the Stanford Prison Experiment, the guards started out reasonably giving orders and keeping control, but as the days went on, the began to exercise less and less humane actions towards the prisoners, and maybe even enjoyed doling out these punishments to them because at the end the guards said they mostly didn't want the experiment to be over, whereas the prisoners did. This experiment proved that the prison system is flawed in that it de-humanizes rather than just corrects behavior. And it's not just the prisoners that experience this de-humanizing, but the guards experience it too. 

If I was a prisoner in this experiment I would like to say that I wouldn't have obeyed the unfair things the guards tried to do to the prisoners, and that I would have stood up for myself and others there with me, but I'm sure the situation is much different once your there under the influence of all the different aspects and the environment of the mock prison life. I'm almost sure, then, that I would have reacted much in the same way as these average volunteers reacted because there's a lot going on that is influencing your mind and way of thinking in that situation, things you can't control or avoid, like solitary confinement if they decide you need it, or refusing to feed you well or at all, or making you defecate in a bucket in your own living space and leave it there, all of these things would change you pyschologically. I think the same goes for the role of the guards. Having been given the powers that they were, and being told to exercise those powers over people that they were told to think of as criminals probably put them in a weird position and I won't say I wouldn't become one of the guards practicing unfair treatment to the prisoners because I think it's one of those things you can't judge until you experience it personally, and I think there's a lot more going on in the psyche than meets the eye in this experiment, but I would like to think I'm to nice of a person to treat people that harshly. I think I'm more of a passive person so it would be easier for me to submit in a bilateral situation rather than cause an useless conflict spiral.

Before entering this class I knew something about what Yoga was like, although my knowledge was, as I am finding out, very limited. I knew Yoga would be excellent for my physical health and well being, and I knew there was a concern for the health of the inner self as well but I had no idea how vast and all encompassing Yoga practice could be. Yoga helps us to integrate our energy, complementing our outer life and physical body to our inner selves and spiritual and intellectual development. It helps us view ourselves and others with compassion and awareness. Through inner growth and outer restraint that we learn by practicing the disciplines of Ashtanga Yoga we are trained over all to lead a more conscious and blissful life. In Ashtanga Yoga, or the Eight Limbs of Yoga, written by Patanjali, there are two limbs that deal with ethical actions and behavior. These two, the yamas and the niyamas, are the two I will elaborate on in the following paragraphs using my own personal experiences and examples. Yamas are the ethical treatment of other people and they include: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-covetousness). The niyamas are the ethical treatment of ourseleves and include: sauca (cleanliness), santosa (contentment), tapas (fervor for the subject), svadhyaya (self study), and isvarapranidhana (surrender to god or a certain subject). 

The yama ahimsa (non-violence) seems like a pretty simple ethical discipline. In fact many of the disciplines of the Yamas and Niyamas seem simple at first. The easy answer to the question, "How can I practice non-violence in my life" is obviously, not to physically harm other people. Which is good! Certainly ahimsa means not directly inflicting pain another person, but it can, as many of these disciplines do, include so much more than that alone. One way that I practice ahimsa in my daily life on a little bit of a deeper level is by practicing vegetarianism. By being vegetarian, I take a step towards preventing myself from hurting or killing other creatures. A way that I am not always good at ahimsa would be in my work place. It's not that I hurt anyone physically at my job, waitressing at a casual dining restaurant, or even verbally harm anyone, but sometimes I get so frustrated at receiving lower end tips that I sometimes have unkind thoughts towards some of the customers. I could improve this by thinking of all the possibilities before I let myself get angry about it, like maybe they didn't have enough money to tip better, or maybe my service was less than ideal. This would be a form of satya, being truthful and real with myself and the customer instead of getting hot headed and not thinking things through. I can learn to not blame other people for a bad tip and maybe then, even if my service wasn't bad at all and they tipped me bad for no reason I can accept the possibility that I was fault anyway and grow and improve even more as a server.       

My practice of the niyama, Sauca, probably needs the most work of all. Not because I'm always dirty or don't brush my teeth or something, but because I have a smoking problem. Sauca doesn't just mean keeping your outer body clean but also your inner body and even your mind. Smoking makes your lungs dirty and actually it doesn't help your outward body stay clean either, or the air around you that you share with others. So needless to say my sauca needs some work. An aspect of sacua that I'm better at, with the exception of when I get a bad tip at work, is keeping my mind and thoughts clean. I know that everyone on occasion thinks badly of others, and I do too, but I honestly have learned to love all different kinds and varieties of people and think positive thoughts about people almost always, even when they act unfavorably towards me. This skill may come from the fact that I grew up in lutheran schools all my life till my senior year of high school, or maybe because my parents have always been very loving and forgiving people, whatever the case, when thinking of myself or other people I have learned to see flaws and failures as opportunities for growth, and I've been told I give good advice in this area. This also touches on santosa (contentment). Jealousy can be a dirty emotion. Being content with what you have helps create cleanliness in your mind and in your spirit. 

Isvaripranidhana is probably the hardest practice of all for anyone to achieve. I'm not sure if anyone can say they are truly and completely dedicated to one certain subject in their life one hundred and ten percent, with no distractions including not being distracted by their ego, and those who can are probably few and far between. However, I think it is possible for many people to come close. I think one good example of isvaripranidhana in my life, though it is definitely not perfect, is my dedication to my studies. I try very hard to get all of my assignments, projects, and papers in on time and done to the best of my ability. I can't say I do this without complaining, and that's where I think I come short, my ego tends to lead my astray, and not just in my studies but in many areas of my life. I think to be able to practice isvaripranidhana, you have to be able to practice all the other yamas and niyamas. I don't think you can be egoless and completely dedicated to a subject without being pure in your mind, or content, or non-violent. That makes isvaripranidhana the ultimate achievement. The other yamas and niyamas can act as mini goals on your way to the ultimate goal, the ultimate surrender of your ego. 

Since the start of my yoga practice three short months ago, I can already see that yoga not only sounds fabulous, but it is fabulous. It's the only practice I know of that simultaneously stimulates you mentally, physically, and spiritually, all at the same time. Even each of the yamas and niyams I've discussed in my paper can be used to enhance your total person in physical ways and non-physical ways alike. In your asanas (yoga postures) you can practice santose by being content with how far you can get down into a pose and not push yourself too far. You can practice tapas by not being afraid to push yourself when your ready to take a pose to the next level (without injuring yourself in the process). You can practice isvaripranidhana by being complete focused on your postures while you practice them, and not letting your mind wander. By practicing these aspects of yoga in your daily life you can achieve both and inner and outer transformation of self, that will only and can only, improve your life to the upmost.  

Malcolm Gladwell in his book, Blink, explains to us the inner workings of our rapid cognitions and snap judgements that often happen in the 'blink' of an eye. He maintains that we 'blink' when we think without thinking. We do this by 'thin slicing' or using limited or selective information to draw our conclusions. In our world today with it's bounty of information, Gladwell claims that experts make better and more accurate decisions using thin slicing than with using volumes of information and careful analysis.  In his book, Gladwell addresses questions about thin slicing and gives examples about 'blinking' from all different kinds of people and situations from gambling to divorce, to speed dating, tennis, art museums, hospitals, war games, popular music, car salesmen, and much more. Amongst these telling stories and examples are accounts of scientific studies that attempt to explain the largely unconscious phenomenon that we all experience in our daily lives whenever we are faced with a decision no matter how big or how small. Too much information can interfere with the accuracy of our judgements. The challenge is to be able to rapidly draw to the surface the most important and significant information only. Simplicity and Frugality of information can produce significantly improved judgements.

 Ultimately the book shows that how we blink is a result of our knowledge, training, education, and experiences. Gladwell uses the example of racial prejudice to show how our blinks can be effected negatively. Because prejudice is such a huge part of our society, it's hard for people to accurately judge certain situations where race is a factor, especially if it's high stakes or and emergency situation. This explains why leaders and people in high up positions are usually tall. Subconsciously and incorrectly, people must somehow associate tallness with success in leadership roles. Yet another example the book uses is the killing of Amadou Diallo, an innocent african american man, unarmed, who was shot 41 times by police because they mistakenly thought he was drawing a weapon. So while Gladwell gives a compelling argument for thin slicing and using our rapid cognition, he also shows why it can sometimes fail and may not always be as effective as it could potentially be. In the following paragraphs I will try to elaborate with some personal examples as well as some examples from Blink. 

One of Galdwell's case studies is discusses what he calls, "The Warren Harding Error." (Gladwell p. 72) In this study Gladwell examines how Warren Harding, former US president, worked his way up to becoming the commander in chief simply by looking like he would make a good president. Despite his appearance and the expectations of those who saw him and thought he would make a great leader, in the years since his presidency, many have remembered him as one of the worst presidents in the history of our nation. This would be an example of a time where its possible for our rapid cognitions to lead us astray. Gladwell says this about what he calls the dark side of rapid cognition, "Part of what it means to take thin slicing and first impressions seriously is accepting the fact that sometimes we can know more about something or someone in the blink of an eye than we can after months of study. But we also have to acknowledge and understand those circumstances when rapid cognition can lead us astray." Recently, I saw for myself what 'The Warren Harding Error' looked like in action. I was in a Culvers parking lot in West Allis pulling into the drive through. While stopped in the drive through, a car backed into my left bumper. I looked to see the car and the people that had hit me, and it was seemingly a very nice elderly couple. They stared back and waited a few seconds, but when I got out to talk to them they were pulling away out of the parking lot as if they'd never run into my bumper at all. This was something I maybe would have expected from someone my own age, to pull away and try to not take responsibility for their actions. My rapid cognition thought. "Oh, it's some nice elderly people who probably have had experience in this kind of thing. I'll just get their information and everything will be fine," but this was not the case. My rapid cognitions were wrong. And as Gladwell is not afraid to admit, sometimes they will be wrong.   

More often then not however they will be more correct than if you over think a situation. One aspect of this that Gladwell talks about in his book has to do with just your facial expressions. He studies the work of two scientists, Silvan Tomkins and Paul Ekman. What these scientists did was document, record, and examine in depth all the different muscle movements of our faces and the expressions they can combine to make and what the connotations are for each of them. Gladwell quotes Ekman on seeing Bill Clinton for the first time, "I was watching his facial expressions and I said to my wife, 'This is Peck's Bad Boy. This is a guy who wants to be caught with his hand in the cookie jar and have us love him for it anyway." Ekman already knew just from watching facial expressions, what kind of person Bill Clinton was, and ultimately what kind of president he would be as well. I experience success daily with this kind of rapid cognition everyday. I may not be able to reach the level of accuracy of Paul Ekman, but I know that when I talk to my boyfriend, parents, and friends on a regular basis, I am able to pick up on subtle clues in their faces that let me know what it is they are feeling or even thinking, and how they might act. This goes right along with Gladwell's ideas on how rapid cognitions can work, and how more or excess information can lead you farther away from the truth. Since reading blink I have picked up on the fact that your facial expressions can be much more telling than more information. Say me and my boyfriend have a discrepancy. He, being the nice person he is, never just comes out and tells me what's wrong right away, especially if it's something I do that bothers him, but I can see it in his face. So I gently ask again, until he comes forward with what's actually bothering him. If I wasn't able to pick up on these hints in his expression, he would just stay upset and nothing would ever get solved. 

Blink has forever re-educated me about how and why people make snap judgements and use their subconscious minds to make decisions. After reading this book, I don't think I'll ever be able to think about thinking in the same way again. It will have changed the way I make decisions, because where I once thought that the most information always resulted in the best out comes to any situation, I am now left questioning, having been giving examples where the excess of information was exactly the reason for peoples' failures. On the other hand, snap judgements have their dark side, and they can and will be incorrect at times, but to me the results we see time and time again in in the situations Gladwell gives us in Blink, prove that their really is a significant probability that our snap judgements benefit us more than they hurt us. Gladwell closes Blink by saying, "Once we know how the mind works- and about the strengths and weaknesses of human judgement- it is our responsibility to act." And I believe it will be our responsibility to act on drawing out the simplest and most important information first to ensure the success of any judgements we need to make in the 'blink' of an eye.  

This week for my discussion section assignment, I chose to write about impressions as self-fulfilling prophecies. An impression is self-fulfilling when behaviors we have toward people reflect our impressions of that person , no matter how accurate or inaccurate, and that person either seems to be acting in ways similar to our impressions because we want our impressions to be right, or they actually genuinely react in ways that are congruent to our original impressions because of our behaviors towards them. Looking back on one situation in my life where I was meeting a friend of mine's boyfriend, who was from out of state, for the first time, I think this concept came into play, but I am only realizing this now, years later. My impression of him was ruined after he told me and another of my good friends that we should leave Dakota's house and we really shouldn't be there even though she was in a state of emotional distress and we obviously being friends of hers for years before Chris even came into the picture, thought we were more needed than he at the time. But looking back it is possible that he acted that way and said those things because maybe we didn't like him much to begin with, and his actions were only stemming from our behavior based on our first impression of him even if it was kind of an unconscious process.  The impressions we form of people both on the conscious and unconscious level of our minds influence our behavior towards them. Without a doubt I think my first impression of Chris was not a very good one, and this probably caused me to not engage in conversation with him and who knows I may even have thrown a few not so nice looks his way. Not only did the impression influence my behavior towards him but it influenced his behavior towards me which in turn only reinforced my negative impressions of him. And the sad part is all of it could probably have been avoided if we would have got to know each other for who we really are, not just who thought the other person was before we made our judgements.

Personally, I feel like I have several very important identities in my life that are probably competing for that 'most important' position. For the sake of this assignment, I'll choose one, my identity as a first year art student at UWM. For one thing the resources I have invested in this identity are, even though I'm only a first year student, pretty extensive. I'm already several thousand dollars deep in loans, and taking on this identity full time, fifteen credits a semester, can be very time consuming. I especially feel that in the arts there is extreme amounts of time needed in and outside of the classroom to do well and succeed. I also know many of my friends who can skip classes of theirs all the time and still do alright, this could never happen say in one of my drawing classes that requires hands on daily activities contributing to your grade everyday in class. The extrinsic rewards I experience also make this identity important to me. Getting that 'A' on a project, receiving positive feedback from teachers and peers on critique days, impressing parents and friends are all aspects I look forward to and enjoy. The intrinsic gratification I experience is also rewarding. Knowing my artistic ability is improving. Seeing my drawings become more lifelike and realistic, becoming competent at new drawing skills and techniques. I would also say my self esteem is greatly effected by my success and ability to grow and expand in my art. And so far it has been positive and continuing to be more positively attached to my art making. So based on the four factors we read about for this week, the resources invested, the extrinsic rewards, the intrinsic gratifications, and the amount of self esteem depending on it, I'd say my identity as a first year art student at UWM is pretty salient in my group of identities I carry out in my day to day life.