SOCIAL INFLUENCE: Persuasion: Mass Suicide

            Mass suicide is a scary topic which requires an immense amount of persuasion. Mass suicide begins with a leader, a message, and a following known as a cult. The leader is what needs to be the enticing perspective in gathering a cult, and this is done through the message. An individual can easily become persuaded by someone who they view as influential or powerful. They also can become persuaded when those they respect, love, or follow also follow and support the message. Mass suicide Robert Cialdini PhD. (2003) explained that, “Sources of influence can be like dynamite- they can be used for good or used for ill…” Melissa Dittmann (2003) explains that after researching several cases of mass suicide it has been discovered that several of the leaders have relied on research and knowledge of social psychology. Robert Cialdini PhD (2003) further explains that, “Social scientists need to pay more attention to not just the effectiveness of the strategies we study and uncover but also the ethical ramifications of the use these principles and practices.” 10 of the most notorious suicide cults in history are, Puputan, Bali, Order of the Solar Temple, Switzerland and Canada, Harakiri Japan, Sicarii Rebels, Masada, Israel, Jauhar, Rajput, India, Self-immolation, Vietnam, Haven’s Gate, San Diego, California, The Branch Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists, Waco Texas, Movement for the restoration of the ten commandments of God, Uganda, and People’s Temple Jonestown Massacre, Guyana. If you’re interested in learning more about the cause and effects of these mass suicides follow this link http://brainz.org/10-most-notorious-suicide-cults-history/. Please be warned the images are graphic though.

Reference:

Brainz.org. (2010). 10 Most Notorious Suicide Cults in History. Retrieved from http://brainz.org/10-most-notorious-suicide-cults-history/

Melissa Dittmann. (2003). Lessons from Jonestown. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/nov03/jonestown.aspx

‘

SOCIAL RELATIONS: Helping: Clinical Supervision

            Several forms of counseling are provided for a vast array of reasons. Counselors are viewed as those who can emotionally heal and help. They are helpers. Counseling, be it religious, behavioral, support group based, or for any other reason provides individuals and communities with an outlet to self-heal. Here is a representation of what clinical supervisors are ensuring is happening in order to best help the public. 

Reference:
Places For People INC. (2013). Retrieved from http://placesforpeople.org/

SOCIAL INFLUENCE: Genes, Culture, and Gender: Multiculturalism Education

            Multiculturalism is a great social influence on individuals, communities, and education. In a country which prides itself on its existence of multiculturalism we still face a lot of diverse differences which cause conflict and ridicule. It’s imperative that we educate ourselves and our community on the values, advantages, and differences multiculturalism provides in our society. Here is a representation of the importance of education within this subject. 

SOCIAL THINKING: Social Beliefs and Judgement: Personal Ethics Statement

Ethics are defined as being “a system of moral principles”. (Dictionary.com, LLC (2012) Morals are built on a person’s culture, religion, relationships, and self-value. Ethics are what we discover as we grow and develop. We are not born with a set of understood ethics, we are taught ethics, and over time we choose what ethics we use for ourselves. Ethics don’t define a person; however, they do shine light onto the characteristics of a person and the way they choose to live their life.

            Ethics assist in the development of our everyday choices and decisions. There are different environments which require different ethical decisions. According to Corey & Corey (2005) we have three primary ethical models. They consist of social ethics, professional ethics, and personal ethics. We surround ourselves in these environments on a daily basis. Without a clear understanding out our ethical decisions in each environment creates uncertainty and doubt in us and our values. Having a clear understanding of our ethics in each environment creates confidence and assurance in us and our decisions. With this in mind I have created a personal ethics outline.

Professional Philosophy

·         I will honor myself in the work I do, by following my faith, ethics, and beliefs. I will follow the word of the Lord and answer my calling to him through humanitarian aid. I will obey the American Counseling Association Code of Ethics, National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, and my own internal code of Ethics that I will provide a copy of to all clients, co-workers, and employers.

·         I will seek a higher education/ understanding in this field throughout my entire career. I will work hard to understand a client and their needs. I will educate myself with what I don’t know, and listen/ ask questions to what I don’t understand. I will strive to surround myself by professionals with the same common goal, and work as a union to better assist our clients overall welfare.

·         I will accept diversity and multiculturalism. I will base my opinions on biblical teachings, but offer my assistance regardless of my personal beliefs towards a single individual. I will educate myself on cultural differences I am unfamiliar with in order to better assist the client. I will embrace difference, and accept all members of distress regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. I will show respect to all members.

·         I will commit myself professionally to my clients and their wellbeing. I will complete all obligations. I will work hard to successfully assist all clients who request/require assistance. I will seek different professionals’ assistance if I feel I am unfit, unable, or unreliable to/for a client.

·         I will create goals that will further my career/education. I will monitor my own success and determine what I further need to improve on. I will openly accept criticism and feedback. I will encourage myself to strive for the best of the people I am helping.

·         I will collect accurate and appropriate data of all clients. I will accurately document sessions and the result of sessions over time. I will document success/fail within a client and their sessions.

·         I will protect the confidentiality of all clients within the spectrum of the ACA Code of Ethics, and the NASW Code of Ethics.

·          I will not threaten, bribe, or manipulate clients. I will keep all relationships professional and healthy.

·         I will continue to commit myself to other humanitarian efforts outside of my career, which may at times take me away from my career (United States Army Reserves, and Red Cross). I will show a sense of humanity and dignity to all other humans.

            Ethics aren’t always decisions that come easily. There isn’t always a clear-cut black and white answer to everything that life presents us. The American Counseling Association (2005) created an aim to five main purposes. They are to “clarify ethical responsibilities for counseling professionals, help support the mission of the association, establish principles that define ethical behavior and best practices, serve as an ethical guide to assist counselors construct a professional course of action, and handle ethical complaints initiated against counseling professionals”. With this guideline I feel that we can better assist those struggling with ethical decisions and choices. Together we can build a community of knowledgeable and confident people. Through strong relationships with culture, religion, relationships, and ourselves we are able to make strong ethical decisions.

Reference

American Counseling Association. (2005). Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author

Corey, G., Corey, M.S., Callanan, P. (2005). An Approach to Teaching Ethics Courses in Human Services and Counseling.

Dictionary.com LLC. (2011). Ethics. Retrieved from http://dictionary.reference.com/

SOCIAL INFLUENCE: Conformity and Obedience: How authority influences our ethical decisions.

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” (Potter Stewart). When presented with the conflict in making decisions based on ethics or based on the fact that something was given as instruction by an authority figure it’s not always an easy call. I have some personal experience within as well as the knowledge gained studying Milgram Experiment. We may like to automatically say that we will always choose the ethical decision, but in reality when we’re threatened by authority the decision isn’t always easily made.

The Milgram Experiment in 1963 was an experiment that challenged “…how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involved harming another person.” (Saul McLeod 2007). In end the results of this experiment were pretty astonishing. Two thirds of participants who were the “teachers” administered the highest level of volts (450) to the participants, and all participants continued to 300 volts. This experiment concluded that people that “Ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure, even to the extent of killing and innocent human being.” (Saul McLeod 2007). Mr. McLeod further explains that people mostly obey orders which are given by other people if they’re able to recognize that individual is an authority figure and is morally right and legally based. 

In order to explain my own encounters with the challenge of taking orders based on authority or ethics I must further explain ethics. Ethics are defined as being “a system of moral principles”. (Dictionary.com, LLC (2012) Morals are built on a person’s culture, religion, relationships, and self-value. Ethics are things that we discover as we grow and develop. We are not born with a set of understood ethics, we are taught ethics, and overtime we chose what ethics we want to use. Ethics don’t define a person; however they do shine light onto the characteristics of a person and the way they chose to live their life.

            Ethics assist in the development of our everyday choices and decisions. There are different environments which require different ethical decisions. According to Corey G., Corey, M.S., Callanan, P. (2005) we have three primary ethical models. They consist of social ethics, professional ethics, and personal ethics. We surround ourselves in these environments on a daily basis. Without a clear understanding out our ethical decisions in each environment creates uncertainty and doubt in us and our values. Having a clear understanding of our ethics in each environment creates confidence and assurance in us and our decisions.

            While serving in the United States Army Reserves as a Military Police woman I encountered several instances in which I was asked to do things that I normally wouldn’t do as a part of my profession for the common good of the cause. The American Counseling Association (2005) reported that for professional organizations it’s important to articulate “standards of practice” for the overall work community. This was a way to express a collective system of values for professionals. I think is important to study and keep in mind while in professional environments.

            While serving in Afghanistan for the War on Terrorism, I was asked to do things that I was often uncomfortable with and questioned. While I may not have liked and always agreed with what was asked of me, I committed to my instructions as long as they were supported for a greater good, and stayed within the limits of clear and ethical orders. As an interrogator we used several different methods and processes in order to gather valuable intelligence to better support the American troops in the fight against terrorism. One order that I was given made me really question the ethical choices involved. I fought with this order for about three days before accepting the mission.

            I was asked to appear as though I was befriending certain detainees within a certain terrorist organization and convince them that I was converting to the Muslim faith. This order was one that I had never thought about, and had no idea how to approach the matter. This went against everything I stood for personally and socially. I am a strong Christian woman who often speaks of my religion and allows others to know how bonded to God I am. I also didn’t like the idea of “befriending” a detained terrorist. These were people who had cases that I knew of and disagreed with. When I thought of my profession and my job, I understood that I would be surrounded by these people, but I never considered what extent may be needed for necessary information. After convincing myself that I wasn’t going to be able to follow through with this order I began to consider my professional ethics. I had to remember why I was there. Why I offered to be a member of this force. Why I joined a certain profession. I had to consider the physical and mental damage I would do to myself as well as to the others who were involved. With all of these questions surrounding me I began to reconsider my decision. No one was being physically harmed. While I may have appeared to a different style, my God and I still knew what and who I was true to. I joined the United States Army Reserves to serve and to assist our nation. I joined the military police force to serve, protect, and defend. The information we needed was important to the overall mission’s success. I was a small puzzle piece in a very large complex puzzle. While I still struggle with the decision I made, I feel confident that I made the right ethical decision for myself and my comrades.

            Ethics aren’t always decisions that come easily. There isn’t always a clear cut black and white answer to everything that life presents us. The American Counseling Association (2005) created an aim to five main purposes. They are to “clarify ethical responsibilities for counseling professionals, help support the mission of the association, establish principles that define ethical behavior and best practices, serve as an ethical guide to assist counselors construct a professional course of action, and handle ethical complaints initiated against counseling professionals”. With this guideline I feel that we can better assist those struggling with ethical decisions and choices. Together we can build a community of knowledgeable and confident people. Through strong relationships with culture, religion, relationships, and ourselves we are able to make strong ethical decisions.

Reference

American Counseling Association. (2005). ACA Code of Ethics. Alexandria, VA: Author

Corey, G., Corey, M.S., Callanan, P. (2005). An Approach to Teaching Ethics Courses in Human Services and Counseling.

Saul McLeod. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html