Just-world Phenomenon

There are people in this world that believe in the just-world phenomenon. The just-world phenomenon is described by Myers (2013) to be “the tendency of people to believe that the world is just and that people therefore get what they deserve and deserve what they get” (p. 342).  People believe that people get whatever they deserve to get.  If people have misfortune then they must have done something wrong in order to deserve that misfortune.  This also contributes to societies that do not change and advance.  If people have the mindset that things have been done a particular way for years, then it is just the way it is. Inflexibility of this kind of thinking inhibits necessary change in this ever changing world.

One very controversial topic that fits the just-world phenomenon would be the death penalty. In some states in the United States the death penalty is not only legal but it is still used.  As the Death Penalty Information Center (2014) stated “the first established death penalty laws date as far back as the Eighteenth Century B.C. in the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which codified the death penalty for 25 different crimes” (para.1).  Through the years the uses of the death penalty changed in different ways it was carried out and what the crime committed was. The Death Penalty Information Center (2014) noted that in the United States “the first recorded execution in the new colonies was that of Captain George Kendall in the Jamestown colony of Virginia in 1608” (The Death Penalty in America, para. 1) for being a spy.  These days capital punishment is still legal in some states but there are laws regulating its use.  The death penalty is used for capital crimes such as murder and a jury usually decides whether the person gets the death penalty or a lesser sentence of life in prison.

I believe the death penalty exemplifies the idea of the just-world phenomenon. When talking about the just-world phenomenon, people believe that people get what they deserve.  In the case of the death penalty people who support it generally believe that if someone kills someone then they deserve to die also. In this phenomenon there is no room for change, so what has been done for centuries still plays a role in our society today.

References

Death Penalty Information Center (2014). Part I: History of the death penalty. Retrieved from http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/part-i-history-death-penalty

Myers, D. (2013).  Social Psychology (11^th ed.).  New York: McGraw Hill.

Foot-in-the-door Phenomenon

         Often people find themselves is situations where the foot-in-the-door phenomenon happens to them.  According to Myers (2013) the definition of foot-in-the-door phenomenon would be “the tendency for people who have first agreed to a small request to comply later with a larger request” (p.129).  The biggest situation where this type of phenomenon occurs is when people volunteer to have a small part in something and then later on be pushed into volunteering for bigger parts.  These situations can have a negative outcome and can sometimes become rather inconvenient to the person stuck in the situation. 

            I graduated in 2002 with an associated degree in health science with the emphasis in radiological technology. After receiving my license as a radiologic technologist I was hired for first shift in a major hospital.  I was very excited to get hired for first shift because there were rumors that new out of school technologist usually start with the shifts no one wants such as second shift and third shift.  About three months after I was hired I was asked if I could cover second shift for another technologist because she was going out for surgery.  Being a new technologist and wanting to prove that I was a team player I agreed.  So for six weeks while the other technologist was on leave I worked the dreaded second shift.  After the technologist came back from leave I was transferred back to first shift and sent to work at our outpatient centers.  I was exactly where I wanted to be with my dream job.   After about six months I was again asked to cover the second shift.  A technologist had left and they needed someone to cover the second shift until they hired another person.  I was assured it would be just like the first time that I agreed to work second shift, as soon as they hire for the second shift I would be back on first shift so they told me it would be for four weeks at the most.  Well, the four weeks they guaranteed turned into over six years of working second shift. 

            I believe my situation exemplifies the foot-in-the-door phenomenon because I volunteered for a small amount of time but was pushed to comply with a longer time.  I was told by my boss that since I had volunteered to work second shift both times that he felt I was fine with a permanent position on second shift.  Later, I found out that the person they hired told them that she was only able to work day shift so if she could not have day shift she would not take the job so they hired her anyways sticking me permanently on second shift.  As Myers (2013) stated:

The foot-in-the-door phenomenon is a lesson worth remembering. Someone trying to seduce us—financially, politically, or sexually—will often use this technique to create a momentum of compliance. The practical lesson: Before agreeing to a small request, think about what may follow. (p. 130).

From my experience, I have learned to think about any long term effects that might result before I agree to any type of volunteering.  

Reference

Myers, D. (2013).  Social Psychology (11^th ed.).  New York: McGraw Hill.