Being Good and Bad
Scenario: Angel and Devil
At Mark’s job, everybody knows the accountant, Mike. Mike is a big, friendly, likable guy, and just about everybody likes him. But one day, an announcement is made that Mike is no longer with the company. When Mark and other employees who liked Mike a lot ask why, they are told that Mike has been fired for embezzling from the company for almost three years.
Prosocial behavior is doing what’s best for others and involves being fair, respectful, cooperative, forgiving, and sometimes obedient and conforming. It enables us to get along with others, to build trust, and to learn to like and love others. Antisocial behavior is behavior that either damages interpersonal relationships or is culturally undesirable, and it can even involve aggressive or criminal behavior. Sadly, antisocial, and criminal behavior often get much more attention than do prosocial acts of kindness and reciprocation. Everyone has a little angel and a little devil in them.
- Chapter 9, “Prosocial Behavior: Doing What’s Best for Others,” pages 290–329.
Chapter 10 in your Social Psychology and Human Nature text explains why people do things that damage interpersonal relations or are culturally undesirable. You will find questions from this chapter in the Week 7 quiz, and you may choose to include concepts from this chapter in your discussion.
- Chapter 10, “Aggression and Antisocial Behavior,” pages 330–368.
Behavior Ethics
These resources, courtesy of The University, introduce you to two new concepts in behavioral ethics and ethical reasoning: moral awareness and morals. You will be asked to identify and apply elements of ethical reasoning in your written assignments, and you are encouraged to consider elements of behavioral ethics as a possible topic for your discussion post.
- Moral awareness is the ability to detect and appreciate the ethical aspects of a decision that one must make.
- Morals are the prevailing standards of behavior that enable people to live cooperatively in groups. “Moral” refers to what societies sanction as right and acceptable.
Critical Thinking
This resource provides an introduction to the intellectual traits that comprise a disposition toward skillful critical thinking. You will be asked to identify and apply elements of critical thinking in your written assignments, and you are encouraged to consider elements of critical thinking as a possible topic for your discussion post.
- Write Your Discussion Post
What motivates people to help others? Is it self-interest or altruism? Conversely, why do people act aggressively toward others? For this week’s discussion, select a theory or concept that you found particularly interesting, illuminating, or insightful.
- What interested you about this theory or concept?
- How does it play a role in your personal or professional life?
- How do you see it applied in the world around you or in current events?
When posting your discussion be sure to include the following:
- Label the theory or concept with a hashtag (for example, #duplexmind) so that others can sort posts by theory.
- Include links to credible or scholarly articles, videos, images, or other web resources. These resources could be used to support your post or provide examples of an application of the theory you chose.
- You may also choose to create a slide show or use audio or video as your discussion post.
Keep in mind, your goal is to enthusiastically share something you have learned with your peers, apply it to real life, and make your Yellowdig pin (post) informative, attractive, and engaging to your readers. You may discover that readers are not attracted to reading a lot of text. So be creative!
