Gladwell’s Power of Context theory essay
Malcolm Gladwell is a well-known journalist and non-fiction writer. His most popular books are The Tipping Point, Blink and Outliers. In these books, Gladwell explores different social and psychological phenomena as well as their implications for business, social sciences and for the society in general. In his book called “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference” Gladwell analyzes the threshold after which ideas, behaviors and trends quickly spread in the society and become common. Gladwell explores different aspects of social dynamics and social transformations.
Gladwell’s book quickly became a bestseller and its sales have remained high for a long time; it is likely that Gladwell applied the principles of his Power of Context theory while writing the book. The purpose of this paper is to outline Gladwell’s theory called the Power of Context, to identify the most significant elements used by Gladwell to support and illustrate this theory, to explain why Gladwell chose these elements and how Gladwell’s theory is reinforced by each of these arguments.
1. Gladwell’s Power of Context theory
In explaining the spread of ideas and behaviors in the society, Gladwell relies on three key principles shaping the transmission of the ideas: the Power of Context, the Law of the Few and the Stickiness Factor (Gladwell 298). The Power of Context theory emphasizes the role of the environment and its impact on the subconscious decisions and behaviors of human beings.
Gladwell cites numerous experiments showing that the impact of the environment on the decisions of human beings is more significant than it is generally thought. Moreover, many decisions which are attributed to the personal qualities and traits in fact depend largely on the context than on the conscious choices of human beings. Ideas, trends and behaviors can spread in the society starting with minor changes and factors. Furthermore, the environment provides certain “tipping points” which act as facilitators for human decisions: for example, the decision to commit a crime is likely to emerge in littered and vandalized environment, while clean and orderly environment motivates people to comply with social norms.
Gladwell illustrates that the Power of Context can actually provide the background for active social transformation: unlike the passive approach aimed at “correcting” the criminals, the Power of Context approach can be used to target the tipping points initiating the crime epidemics and other negative social phenomena. In support of this claims, Gladwell cites the examples of crime reduction in New York which were grounded in the Broken Windows theory. In fact, Gladwell explains that the Broken Windows theory is a narrower case of the Power of Context applied to the analysis of criminal behavior and criminal environments. Gladwell’s theory is revolutionary in the sense that it illustrates the role of environment and subconscious choices done by human beings due to environmental influences. The Power of Context provides new insight into social dynamics and provides background for positive social transformations.
2. The most significant elements used by Gladwell to support the argument
The narrative of Goetz’s case
Gladwell starts with a vivid sketch illustrating shooting in the subway and the role of Bernhard Goetz in this case. The author emphasizes the fact that Goetz was viewed as a hero and “subway vigilante”. Furthermore, Gladwell continues with the terrifying descriptions of the state of New York underground in the 1980s and provides William Bretton’s impressions of the subway. The reason why he starts with these arguments is the intention to draw the reader’s attention and appeal to emotions. The readers are “hooked” at the start: such introduction makes them more sensitive to the solutions that will be suggested by the author in the next sections.
New York criminal situation in the 1980s and in the 1990s
Gladwell passes on to the analysis of the decline of violent crime in the US in the 1990s and sets such reasons as the decline of crack cocaine and economic recovery. However, he argues that in New York these factors were not so influential, and it was the Broken Windows theory coined by Wilson and Kelling, and embodied by Kelling and Bratton in the 1980s-1990s in New York. By showing the contrast between the previous state of affairs and the changes which started with rebuilding of the New York subway and the campaign against fare-beating, Gladwell appeals both to logical and emotional parts of readers’ perception to persuade them that the Power of Context was the decisive moment of the change in this case.
Role of the Broken Windows theory and its relationship to the Power of Context theory
After establishing the first success in convincing the readers that the Broken Windows theory (and the Power of Context theory) are efficient and effectively explain social behaviors, Gladwell explains the Power of Context theory in more detail. He argues that social epidemics can be reversed by addressing the smallest details of the environment, and states that “behavior is a function of social context” (Gladwell 293). The consequence of this idea is the fact that crimes can be addressed by tackling the minor problems like fare-beating and graffiti. Furthermore, Gladwell dwells on the “contagious” nature of emotions and perceptions and explains the other factors influencing the spread of ideas and behaviors in the society, such as the Law of the Few and the Stickiness Factor (Gladwell 294). Gladwell uses this argument to strengthen the reader’s emotional support of the Power of Context and to provide a logical basis for this support.
Zimbardo’s experiment – mock prison
To expand his idea that inner emotions and preferences are influenced by the minor personal influences which have an unconscious impact, Gladwell cites the experiment of Zimbardo group with the mock prison. Despite of the participants’ prior attitudes and beliefs, they quickly started behaving like true guardians and prisoners. The prisoners reported they were losing their identity and felt like it was a real prison. The message that the author wants to emphasize while citing this experiment is the fact that there exist situations that can change internal predispositions of a human being (Gladwell 295). The function of this argument is to provide evidence in support of the Power of Context theory.
The Fundamental Attribution Error
Gladwell explains that people tend to overestimate the role of individual traits and character and underestimate the power of context, i.e. the power of the environment and the situations (the Fundamental Attribution Error). To prove this thought, the author cites a number of psychological experiments where the people made conclusions about one’s personal qualities while disregarding the influence of the context. The core message of this part of the text is: “there is something in all of us that makes us instinctively want to explain the world around us in terms of people’s essential attributes” (Gladwell 297). The author further explains the meaning of this mechanism of human thinking: it makes life simpler and makes the world more comprehensible. This argument unveils a different side of the Power of Context theory – the fact that human brain tends to disregard context. Gladwell is addressing possible objections to his theory initiated by the fundamental mechanisms of human reasoning.
The experiment with the seminarians
One more powerful argument showing that the Power of Context is actually a greater driver of human behaviors than it is acknowledged is the experiment of Batson and Darley which modeled the story of the Good Samaritan. It appeared that the only factor that mattered in the experiment and made a difference on whether the students would stop and help someone was the fact whether they were late or not: 10% of those who were in a rush stopped to help, versus 63% of those who had some time to spare (Gladwell 298). The students’ moral reasoning, the stories they prepared for the experiment and other personal factors did not have an impact on the results of the experiment.
Gladwell uses this argument to show how this experiment illustrates the Power of Context and illustrates the existence of social epidemics in which the smallest changes in people’s attitude matter. The author further shows that in order to start such an epidemic it is important to address the people who have extraordinary personal connection. At the same time, Gladwell reminds that minor changes of the environment also form the roots of such social epidemics.
Conclusion
Gladwell uses different methods of conveying his opinion and convincing the reader to support his theory of the Power of Context. Gladwell uses vivid description of criminal New York to capture the reader’s attention, and shows the efficiency of his theory (aligned with the Broken Windows theory) in transforming the criminal situation in New York. After that, when the readers are intrigued, Gladwell explains his theory in more details, and relies on the evidence provided by numerous psychological experiments to support his statements. Gladwell uses the citations and comments of different authors to strengthen the impact on the reader and to make the ideas “stick” in the minds of readers.
At the same time, Gladwell does not deny the fact that character, personal history and individual psychological trait do have an influence on human behavior. Rather, he illustrates that even in the presence of predisposition to crime there should be some starting gear (or “tipping point”) that lead to actual crime. The author shows that such tipping points can be very minor and shaped by the context. Gladwell criticizes the passive understanding of crime based on personal traits: indeed, in the context of this predisposition, one can try to “improve” the criminal but one cannot prevent the initial crime. The assumptions of the Power of Context lead to a more active position: there are tipping points like broken windows or fare-beaters which can be addressed to prevent the crime epidemic.
Gladwell also shows how the Power of Context works in broader settings such as the upbringing of children: the studies show that the influence of environment is more powerful than the importance of family (e.g. a child in a good neighborhood and in a troubled family is better off than a child in a bad neighborhood and in a good family). The major conclusion of the chapter emphasizes the core idea carried by the Power of Context: it is easier to be a good person in a clean environment than in a littered and vandalized one.
